Redstone and Redstone Devices

Before class, it’s strongly recommended to build some kind of demo plot with a bunch of different redstone examples on it.

(Again, start with all the monitors off and all the players frozen. We’re going to teach about redstone first, then they get to build.)

Ask if anyone already knows what Redstone is.

Redstone is basically the electrical wire of Minecraft, and we can use it to make many devices and machines. There are a lot of different redstone blocks and items, but we can group them into a few categories (write them on the board and put space to fill in the names of the components): We have power sources, conductors that carry redstone current, and output devices that do something when they get a redstone current.

Begin prompting the students for redstone devices that they know, and fill them in under the appropriate category. 

The following is a list of all the existing redstone devices in Minecraft (as of 1.11) in the appropriate categories, for reference: 

Start showing the demo plot with redstone devices.

REFER TO THIS PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT REDSTONE DEVICES 

Building Time!

Give the kids this challenge: 

Make three different redstone devices. They have to be more advanced than just something like a pressure plate opening a door or a lever stuck on a redstone lamp.

While they’re building, keep checking to see if anyone needs any help or advice on anything. Everyone should only be able to build in their own space; try to keep them focused on the task at hand.

At the end, maybe show off people’s devices (or just the best/coolest ones) on the big screen (if time permits - for something more complex like this, it’s probably best to leave as much building time as possible).