Fantastic Mr. Fox

8-10 yrs old

11-13 yrs old

Animals

Reading and Writing

Identify how words and phrases supply meaning to a story, create your own narrative, and build an underground world in Minecraft.

Submitted By: Minecraft Education

May 16, 2018

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Skills

Communication
Creativity

External References

Fantastic Mr. Fox Minecraft World File

Minecraft world file to support teaching Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Imaginormous Challenge

Even the smallest of ideas can become the most amazing creations! Every year the Imaginormous Challange invites youth to write 100 word stories.

Additional Lesson Plans

Additional Lesson Plans to teach about Roald Dahl’s children’s stories.

Supporting Files

World Coordinates

Coordinates to find all of the landmarks in the Fantastic Mr. Fox world.

Learning Objectives

CCSSI ELA, Reading K-5, Key Ideas and Details: Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).
CCSSI ELA, Reading K-5, Craft and Structure: Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.
CCSSI ELA, Reading K-5, Craft and Structure: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text.
CCSSI ELA, Writing K-5, Text Types and Purposes: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

Guiding Ideas

Introductory Activity:

Introduce yourself to the class using a new name including alliteration. For example: “My name is Serious Sam Smith.” Write it on the board and underline the ‘S’ for emphasis. Have the students each think of an alliterative adjective for their name. Have the students walk around the room and introduce themselves to each other using their alliterative names. Have students share their favorite names with the rest of the class.

Student Activities

Review with the students the ending of Fantastic Mr. Fox. What happened? What do you think the animals will do next? Tell the students they will be continuing the story by building an underground home for the animals so that they can live in peace.

Brainstorm with the class:

What types of buildings and resources would the animals need to be self-sufficient living underground?

What types of modifications would make a house more comfortable for different animals?

Have the students choose an animal and create an alliterative name for them. Have the students load the Fantastic Mr. Fox Minecraft world. After loading, find the tunnel under the fox home that leads to the large underground free build area. Students will create a home for their new character. Encourage them to include elements that relate to their name and type of animal.

Once the students have completed building, re-read the poem that describes the farmers out to get Mr. Fox:

Boggis and Bunce and Bean

One fat, one short, one lean.

These horrible crooks

So different in looks

Were none the less equally mean.

Have the students work in groups or individually to write a short poem about their characters.

To finish the lesson, have the students show the class their animals home and read their poems aloud.

See below for further extension activities using the Fantastic Mr. Fox Minecraft world.

Write a newspaper article from the animal’s perspective about the events leading to the founding of the town.
Have students explore the Fantastic Mr. Fox Minecraft world. Challenge them to find each of the scenes from the book. Ask students, how is the world different from the text or how you pictured it in your mind? Use the attached coordinate list to identify all of the landmarks.
Use the animal town the students built as a writing prompt to a write short story detailing a day in the life of the animals living underground town.
Using the coordinates, dig a full tunnel from the Fox home to the three farms.

Performance Expectations

Students should be active participants in all activities.
Students will be able to describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).
Students will be able to describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song
Students will be able to determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text.
Students will be able to write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.