Minecraft Meets Art

Minecraft Meets Art - For students to become familiar with famous artists and their works along with the museums where the masterpieces are housed by building the museum in Minecraft. To research artists, works, and the mediums used to recreate masterpieces of Art

Guiding Ideas

The goal of this lesson is for students to become more familiar with masterpieces of Art and the museum where they are housed. To do this for elementary students they are given a variety of choices of art from either the Musee D'Orsay in Paris, France or the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The students' assignment is two-pronged:

• Select a work of art, research the artist, and recreate that masterpiece in the student’s chosen medium. The Art is not limited to painting, ceramics and sculpture can be chosen as well. For elementary students, teachers pre-choose an assortment of masterpieces appropriate for the age group. For middle and high school this would be a good opportunity for them to peruse the Art housed at both museums and make a selection they would like to work with. This gives students a new appreciation for Art they might never have been in contact with, and the time to explore the history of the Art and techniques used to create it.

• Questions might include: Who is the Artist? When did they live? What was their life like? What led to them becoming an Artist? What medium are they known for working with? Why did you select this piece of Art? Where is the Art housed? Is there a story behind this particular masterpiece? What time in history was it created? If it is not a painting what was the use/purpose of the Art? (See Research Guide in Student Activities)

• Students then research the floorplans and architecture of both museums. Based upon that research, working collaboratively, they re-construct the exterior and/or interior of the museum. The interior should be constructed to allow for NPCs to serve as docents of the museum and be able to inform visitors about the Art housed there. This tends to be a large project. Complete maps of the finished products of both museums are attached as guides. Also attached are “shells” of both museums. Knowing the amount of work required to build these museums, if you choose, your students can just reproduce the interior of the museums.

Student Activities

• The student, working individually or in a group, will then use research tools to discover information about the artist and his life and what led to producing the masterpiece they are going to recreate. The student chooses how to be creative in presenting their research and there is a Rubric to guide grading. The student or group can then decide how they will recreate their work of Art, what medium they will use and how they will accomplish this goal. Once the artwork has been completed, students will photograph and upload.

Research Guide:

ARTIST:

• Name

• Birthplace

• Date of birth

• Date of death

ART WORK:

• Title

• Media of Art

• Current location of art

• Description of art

EXTRA FACTS ABOUT THE ARTIST:

• Anything that you found interesting that makes for good writing

EXTRA FACTS ABOUT THEIR ART:

• Anything to help you with reproducing the art or write about the art

MUSEUM INFORMATION/FACTS:

Students will build their museum in Minecraft based upon the architecture they have researched trying to recreate the feel of each museum. If building the museum in its entirety is too large use the shell map provided.

Performance Expectations

Here is the rubric for the project. We felt it best for students to see the rubric from the beginning to know expectations and to set goals.

Your goals as a group member:

1. Collaborate well with every member of your group

2. Create roles for each member (everyone should have a purpose)

3. Present your project to the class (if time allows)

Your goals as an individual:

1. Take great notes to show evidence of participating in class/group discussions

2. Follow through with the role chosen for you

3. Have a positive attitude and take risks

4. Rate each team member on their participation

COMPONENTS POINTS

Art:

• Your reproduction is recognizable as the famous work, but not identical

• The thought your team put in to “how” you reproduced the artwork

• The media (art supply) you chose to work in is used appropriately, complete with good craftsmanship, and makes sense for the work being reproduced

10 points per bullet point

Technology:

• An effort is made to make the build look like the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Musee d’Orsay

• The build is well thought out and effort is made to recreate the rooms for the art in a recognizable manner

• The medium we are working in (Minecraft) is used appropriately. There is no blowing things up, PVP, bullying or inappropriate comments in chat (*Digital Citizenship*)

10 points per bullet point

Social Studies/ Literacy Component:

Each group will need to do a bit of research on their chosen artist/artwork. (Research guide provided on Classroom) Once the research is completed, your team will then write a short summary of the information found (this write up will be embedded into your Minecraft museum)

15 points

Creativity Points:

• ART: How did you make the famous work your own but, still stay true to the artist’s design?

• WRITING: This can be in a story, poem, paragraph, list, or any format of choice

• TECH: The use of blocks and materials in Minecraft to achieve the desired effects 5 points per bullet point

Participation Requirements: Everyone will be graded individually on participation, and it will be the job of the group to rate each member. This will allow for feedback and reflection (This will be the only points given as an individual score, and not as a whole group score)

10 points

TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE 100

Standards:

ISTE Standards: 3, 4, 6

CCSS Literacy.RL 4.1, 4.3; Literacy.RI 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.7, 4.9; Literacy.W 4.1a, 4.1b,4.1c, 4.1d, 4.2a, 4.2b, 4.2c, 4.2d, 4.2e, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9