Throughout the world, students will encounter the long slate-type called a poster. Each poster is an indication of an opportunity for formative assessment.  Posters will typically prompt assessments for either coding challenges, or research site learning.

Note: If having students do their own research into the properties of rocks and minerals, be sure to have a discussion with them about reliable sources. Thanks to search engine algorithms, many of the first hits in search engines are sites (usually connected to a vendor) listing "magical" properties of various minerals that anyone can just make up as they wish. Suggest that students search museums or other science-based sites rather than taking the first hits that come up in your search engine.

Book & Quill and/or Padlet

The two recommended tools for assessment are the in-game camera and book & quill that students can get from Sarah at the Research Centre at the start of the game, and Flip. You may use whatever tool works best for you and your class.

Guiding Questions

The new guiding questions sheets provided with each lesson plan can help structure your assessment as well.  There are several potential ways to use them.

• Assign the questions sheets to students and have them fill them in directly.

• Assign the questions sheets to students and have them document their answers using photos and the book & quill.

• Use the questions as prompts for Padlet topics.

Rubrics

There are single-point rubrics provided for each lesson plan that make direct connections to relevant curriculum content in the Math & Science curriculum, as well as some relevant 21st Century Skills/Global Competencies.

Student responses to the guiding questions can be used to fill out these rubrics both as formative assessment during Phase One of the program, and as summative asssessment during Phase 2.

Once the students have visited all three sites, the yellow door should finally open. (Owing to the distance of the mountain research site from the Research Centre, if students don't ride their horse back after talking to Kim, they may need to use the emergency button in the Research Centre first).

Outside, students will meet the avatar of Courtney Murfin, the ROM's interpretive planner, who will allow them to switch into Creative mode and build their own museum to present their learning both within the Minecraft world, and any additional learning they have done in class.

Courtney has some prompts for them to include in the building and labelling of their rock museum:

1. What types of rocks did you find at each research site?

2. What clues did you find in each of the research sites about how the rocks there were formed?

3. What are different rocks and minerals used for?

4. Why is it important for Indigenous scientists to be part of the research team?

5. Which ROM Scientist's research would you like to learn more about?

6. Why is it important to understand rocks and minerals?

7. How does our use of rocks and minerals affect people and the environment? (Extension question)

8. Why is studying rocks and minerals in space important for life on Earth? (Extension question)

You may also wish to have students do independent research on one particular rock type in Minecraft to learn: 

• how it forms 

• what it's made of

• what properties it has, and how that affects what it's used for

• how its role in Minecraft is the same or different from its role in real life

The format of their final report/assignment is up to you, but we suggest a combination of a "My Rock Museum Guidebook" using the camera and book & quill, and a video tour using Flipgrid.

Math extension:

1. Have students figure out the area and perimeter of the buildable space. They can build on top of the yellow and black blocks, so the calculation is 73 blocks x 49 blocks.

2. Have students use these findings and graph paper at a scale of 1 block = one Minecraft block to plan out their blueprint for their museum and any gardens or outside displays. This blueprint can take up multiple floors. Download custom graph paper in the dimensions of the build space.