Powercourt House and Gardens
Lesson 1:
Introduce the idea of Powerscourt House and Gardens through brochure from the historical site, old pictures from the house and a copy of the census from 1911.
Pictures would be provided and the students would be asked to time line them. The teacher would show a PowerPoint presentation based on the family that resided there during the time of 1911.
Teacher would introduce the project, telling the students that they will be showcasing there minecraft version of Powerscourt House.
Teacher will elicit from students different ways in which they might research and complete this project. Student would be placed in mixed level groups to facilitate peer to peer learning.
Lesson 2:
Students will work in groups to research the Powercourt house and gardens. The students will be given shown old maps of the grounds. The teacher will demonstrate how to recreate the map using co-ordinates. The students will be given time to complete this in their groups. The students will be told that they will go on a trip to Powerscourt House and Gardens and have a chance to talk to a historian.
Lesson 3:
The students will be introduced to Minecraft. In their groups they will tackle their build of Powerscourt house and gardens, using their maps, old photos and information they gleaned from their visit to the House. The teams will support Peer to peer learning with the students who are more adept with minecraft taking on a mentoring roll within the group.
Lesson 4:
During this lesson the students will continue with their build as well as give time to a paper display from the class room. The teacher will show the students how to document their minecraft build through photos withhin the platform and the use of portfolios and books they can write within the game. These will be printed to accompany the paper display.
The students will continue this project with the end goal of presenting it to the rest of the school as well as taking part in Mindrising.
Review:
The Students will have the opportunity to work in groups and in pairs. Peer tutoring will take place, and all students will be able to work to their own ability within their group.
The students will work collaboratively with a range of resources and materials.
Curricular areas covered include: History, English, Maths, Art, SPHE, Geography