Originally published in TEACH Magazine, March/April 2016 Issue
By Saima Zaidi
Toronto teacher Kristin Matus had been mulling over engaging ways to tackle social studies lessons when she suddenly had a brainwave. Why not teach the mundane units using Minecraft—a wildly popular computer game her elementary students were already playing?
She enlisted the help of Diana Maliszewski, a teacher-librarian and gaming expert. The two of them worked together to bring topics like landforms and government to life. Soon, Grade 4 students were zooming around the landscapes of Minecraft to find biomes similar to those in Canada.
Saima Zaidi is a freelance writer in Edmonton, AB. She can be reached at [email protected].

