Level-up Missions

Mission Guide

Before moving on to the creative project, students must "Level-up" their Python skills by completing 9 Missions. Each mission is printed as a handout in the student folders. These missions are designed to introduce and reinforce Python coding concepts.

The mission guide is printed in the student folders. A digital version can be found here: Minecraft Missions.pdf

There are 8 total missions:

• Mission 1: Escape The Pit
• Mission 2: Bird’s-eye View
• Mission 3: Flower Child
• Mission 4: Teleportation Pad
• Mission 5: Buildings and Shields
• Mission 6: Magic Weapons
• Mission 7: Magic Spells and Incantations
• Mission 8: Create Your Own Superhero

Pacing

Students will begin the "Escape the Pit" mission at the end of Session 1 (time allowing). This mission includes a short mentor-lead group discussion about 3D coordinates. After that, students will begin to work with mentors at their own pace.

Some students might progress very quickly through each mission, and might need more challenges. We have a number of "mod recipes" students can try that are less structured, some of which require learning even more advanced Python concepts.

Python Reference Sheets

The student folders include a number of Reference Sheets to help students learn specific Python concepts, such as expressions & variables, loops, conditions, etc. These are written to be more generic (ie, not course-specific) so that we might use them in future courses.

Some missions require students to "learn about _____" in a reference sheet, other missions might glaze over topics such as variables. So, for example, if you believe a student is struggling with how variables or expressions work, a reference sheet is available that will help strengthen their understanding of that concept.

Most reference sheets contain guided exercises to help students learn a concept. Often this involves doing something in the Python shell or using a python script.

Mentors work closely with students to ensure they've learned a concept, and can then apply that concept to finishing a mission. Some students might try to find creative ways to get around having to learn a concept. In these cases, a mentor should help a student understand how/why this concept is useful in programming, and encourage students to complete the mission using what they learned with Python.

Pairing

Students can work at their own pace through these missions. During the first few missions, you can switch pairs if you feel a different pairing is necessary. Pairs should, however, become consistent at or around mission #6.