How does this scene from the movie remind you of the game?

Warner Bros./Album/Alamy Stock Photo

STANDARDS

CCSS: 6.G.A.2, 7.G.B.6, MP1, MP4, MP6

TEKS: 6.8C, 6.8D, 7.9A, 7.9D

Minecraft Mania!

The pixelated world of this popular video game is bursting onto the big screen

Almost anything you can dream about, you can make in Minecraft! For more than a decade, kids of all ages have been busting up rocks, building skyscrapers, and rounding up blocky chickens in the popular open-ended video game. Next month, a live-action adventure movie based on the game is hitting the big screen.

A Minecraft Movie, starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa, follows a group of adventurers on a quest to save the Overworld, the mythical dimension where Minecraft takes place. Most exciting for Minecraft fans, the look of the movie stays true to the original game. Apart from the human actors, everything—trees, clouds, sheep, and even zombies—is square!

The iconic look of Minecraft is based on digital cubes, called “blocks.” These simple building units can be combined in infinite ways. For instance, a tree trunk might consist of three blocks stacked vertically. A player could “mine,” or collect, three trees to get nine blocks of wood to build into something else. Using your mined blocks, you can create to your heart’s content. Up for a challenge? You could build a spaceship, a castle, or even a working computer—all things Minecraft players have made!

You can make almost anything in Minecraft! The popular game has been around for more than ten years. Kids of all ages break rocks, create buildings, and chase blocky chickens while playing. A live-action adventure movie based on the game comes out next month.


A Minecraft Movie stars Jack Black and Jason Momoa. It follows a group of adventurers on a quest to save the Overworld. That’s the made-up world where Minecraft takes place. Minecraft fans are excited that the movie looks like the original game. Apart from the human actors, everything is square! Trees, clouds, sheep, and even zombies are made of blocky shapes.


The way Minecraft looks is based on digital cubes. The cubes are called “blocks.” These simple building units can be used to make countless things. A tree trunk might be made of three blocks stacked vertically.A player could “mine,” or collect, three trees to get nine blocks of wood. The wood can make something else. You can create to your heart’s content using the blocks you mine. Up for a challenge? You could build a spaceship, a castle, or even a working computer. Those are all things Minecraft players have made!

Warner Bros./Album/Alamy Stock Photo

(left to right): Danielle Brooks, Sebastian Eugene Hansen, Jason Momoa, Emma Myers

Warner Bros./Album/Alamy Stock Photo

It looks fluffier in the movie, but this llama is still blocky!

Bigger projects might require planning and calculation. But it can be done, says Mike Weselcouch, a math professor at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. Weselcouch likes to use Minecraft to explain math concepts to his students. “Minecraft is creative, but it’s also about finding patterns—just like math,” he says.

Say you want to build a castle with a huge library. You could use a crafting “recipe” for one bookshelf, which takes nine wood blocks. How many shelves would you need to fill your library, and how many trees would you need to mine to build them? How much space would you have left over? You could figure it out as you go, but some simple equations could tell you much faster.

Making a plan gives you more time to build and explore—and exercise your math smarts! The only limit is your imagination. “That’s another thing with Minecraft—there are no rules,” says Weselcouch. “Just do whatever you like! And if that’s math, that’d be really cool.”

Bigger projects can be hard. They might need planning and math. But it can be done, says Mike Weselcouch. He’s a math professor at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. Weselcouch likes to use Minecraft to explain math ideas to his students. “Minecraft is creative, but it’s also about finding patterns—just like math,” he says.


Pretend you want to build a castle with a huge library. You could use a crafting “recipe” for one bookshelf. The bookshelf needs nine wood blocks. How many bookshelves would you need to fill your library? How many trees would you need to mine to build them? How much space would you have left over? You could figure it out as you go. But some simple equations could tell you faster.

Making a plan gives you more time to build and explore. It also lets you exercise your math smarts! The only limit is your imagination. “That’s another thing with Minecraft. There are no rules,” says Weselcouch. “Just do whatever you like! And if that’s math, that’d be really cool.” 

Find the volumes of different Minecraft structures. Record your work and answers on our answer sheet.

Find the volumes of different Minecraft structures. Record your work and answers on our answer sheet.

A Minecraft shelter has a stone foundation 21 blocks long, 8 blocks wide, and 1 block high. What’s its volume?

A Minecraft shelter has a stone foundation 21 blocks long, 8 blocks wide, and 1 block high. What’s its volume?

You use water blocks to build a lake 5 blocks wide, 13 blocks long, and 5 blocks deep. What’s the lake’s volume?

You use water blocks to build a lake 5 blocks wide, 13 blocks long, and 5 blocks deep. What’s the lake’s volume?

Next to your lake, you build a square pyramid with a 5-by-5 block base. The next layer is 4-by-4 blocks. As you go up, each layer has 1 fewer block on each side than the previous layer until you reach the single block at the top. What’s the total volume of the pyramid?

Next to your lake, you build a square pyramid with a 5-by-5 block base. The next layer is 4-by-4 blocks. As you go up, each layer has 1 fewer block on each side than the previous layer until you reach the single block at the top. What’s the total volume of the pyramid?

On a separate piece of paper, sketch a structure you want to build in Minecraft. Label its dimensions, and then calculate its total volume. Use your imagination and show your work!

On a separate piece of paper, sketch a structure you want to build in Minecraft. Label its dimensions, and then calculate its total volume. Use your imagination and show your work!

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