Using LEGO Fortnite to Teach Narrative Skills and Storytelling

Using LEGO Fortnite to Teach Narrative Skills and Storytelling

LEGO Fortnite provides a dynamic, engaging sandbox environment where students can build, explore, and play—while also developing powerful literacy and creative thinking skills. With its open-ended design and collaborative play, it’s an ideal platform for teaching narrative construction, character development, and world-building. Here’s how:

1. World-Building as a Story Foundation

In LEGO Fortnite, students can design their own environments, such as outposts, villages, or wild terrain. This becomes the setting for their stories. For example:

Mesa Rosso, the desert outpost in Carmine Rosso’s story, was built using survival and desert-themed kits. Students can recreate similar builds and use them as story settings.

By building their settings, students learn to:

• Describe environments vividly.

• Think about how setting influences a character’s lifestyle and challenges.

• Use physical space to inspire plot events (e.g., sandstorms, bandit raids, treasure hunts).

2. Character Creation through Roleplay

In the game, students can create avatars and give them names, personalities, and backstories.

Using Carmine Rosso as a model:

• Students create a character with a clear role (e.g., a desert mechanic).

• Define their traits (vigilant, no-nonsense, resourceful).

• Develop a motto or recurring phrase (e.g., “Stay on alert.”) to reflect their worldview.

This exercise teaches:

• Consistent character voice and personality.

• How motivation and background shape a character’s decisions.

• The power of symbolic phrases or habits in defining identity.

3. Storytelling Through Gameplay

Students can use quests, challenges, or events they experience in LEGO Fortnite as inspiration for plotlines.

For instance:

• A student playing as Carmine Rosso might be challenged by a lack of parts to fix a vehicle before a sandstorm hits. That becomes the central conflict of the story.

• Collaborative storytelling can involve classmates playing allies or rivals, building in dialogue, cooperation, and tension.

This teaches students:

• To construct plot arcs with conflict, climax, and resolution.

• To incorporate dialogue and actions that match their character’s personality.

• To build stories that emerge naturally from interactive, shared experiences.

4. Writing and Reflection

After playing, students can:

• Write backstories, just like Carmine’s.

• Reflect on what happened during their session and write journals or short stories.

• Create comic strips or scripts based on their characters and settings.

This transitions the play-based experience into written literacy, promoting:

• Narrative structure

• Descriptive language

• Creative thinking

Why It Works

LEGO Fortnite is kid-friendly, collaborative, and highly creative. It offers both structure (via themes and gameplay mechanics) and freedom (open-ended builds and storytelling), making it perfect for:

• Primary to secondary classrooms

• Cross-curricular learning (e.g., combining writing, digital literacy, and social studies)

• Engaging reluctant writers or learners through play

Conclusion:
By using LEGO Fortnite in the classroom, students don’t just build virtual worlds—they build stories, characters, and confidence as writers and storytellers. Stories like Carmine Rosso’s are not just written—they are lived and experienced, making the learning deeper, more memorable, and more fun.

Carmine Rosso – The Boss of Mesa Rosso

In the far reaches of the blistering desert, where maps fade into sand and the horizon hides more than it reveals, lies Mesa Rosso—a hidden outpost carved from rust, grit, and grit alone. It didn’t always look like much. Once, it was just a cluster of abandoned shacks, left to the wind and sun. But then Carmine Rosso came through.

No one knows exactly why she came to the desert, but those who meet her don’t ask twice. With nothing but her tools, a few crates of scrap, and her unmatched skill, Carmine rebuilt the entire outpost by herself, piece by stubborn piece. Shacks became shelters. Junk became generators. And in the heart of it all, she built her mechanic workshop—a fortress of metal and know-how, tuned for survival in the harshest conditions.

Out here, vehicles are lifelines. And Carmine? She’s the desert’s best lifeline engineer. She can rebuild anything with wheels and make it tougher, faster, and smarter than before. Survival in the sand isn’t about speed—it’s about preparation. And Carmine’s always prepared.

“Stay on alert.”
That’s what she tells every traveler who finds her. It’s not advice—it’s a warning.

She doesn’t advertise, doesn’t trust easy, and definitely doesn’t suffer fools. But over time, two people proved themselves worthy:

• Jules, a sharp-witted gearhead with a gift for invention, now runs the accommodation stay—a cobbled but cozy rest stop for the rare visitor who earns their place.

• Flint, once a wandering scavenger, now manages the local pub and a small convenience store, providing warmth, food, and parts for those who need more than just a tune-up.

Together, the three of them turned Mesa Rosso into more than a hideout. It’s a sanctuary for the lost, the clever, and the desperate.

Not many know where Mesa Rosso is.
But those who need it? They’ll always find their way.

Carmine prefers to keep it that way—quiet, under the radar, useful. But make no mistake: if danger comes knocking, this desert outpost won’t be caught off guard. With Jules, Flint, and Carmine at the helm, Mesa Rosso is tougher than it looks—and far more dangerous than it lets on.

Out here, the sand never sleeps. And neither does Carmine Rosso.

LEGO Fortnite Literacy Adventure

A Classroom Activity Guide for Narrative Writing, Story Worlds, and Character Creation

Learning Objectives (Literacy & English Curriculum)

By the end of this project, students will be able to:

• Construct vivid narrative settings and original story worlds.

• Develop complex characters with personality traits, motivations, and dialogue.

• Write structured narratives with conflict, climax, and resolution.

• Collaborate creatively using digital environments and visual storytelling tools.

• Use vocabulary and figurative language to enhance storytelling.

• Reflect on narrative choices and revise based on peer or teacher feedback.

Activity Overview

Students will:

1. Play & Build in LEGO Fortnite (in teams or solo).

2. Create a Narrative World like Mesa Rosso using the Story World Builder Worksheet.

3. Invent or Develop Characters using Character Templates.

4. Write and Share Short Stories, journal entries, or role-play scripts based on their world.

5. Present Their World, either live, digitally, or through a class “Story Gallery Walk.”

Suggested Timeline (1–2 weeks)

Literacy Skills Practiced

Optional Extensions

• Comic Book Panels – Students turn stories into visual narratives using drawings or digital tools.

• Podcast-Style Interviews – Students record interviews as their characters.

• Book Trailer Videos – Using footage from LEGO Fortnite, students make a 30-second trailer for their story.

• Character Debates – Role-play a desert council meeting: how would Carmine, Jules, and a new NPC respond to a challenge?

Printable Resources to Include

✅ Story World Builder Worksheet
✅ Character Templates (Jules, Flint, Custom NPC)
✅ Story Writing Template (optional scaffold)
✅ Peer Review Checklist
✅ Reflection Sheet

Story World Builder Worksheet

Name: _______________________
Date: _______________________
Title of Your World: _______________________

1. What is the name of your world or location?

E.g., Mesa Rosso

2. What kind of place is it?

Circle all that apply or add your own:

• Desert

• Forest

• Mountain

• Island

• Snowy tundra

• Underwater

• Urban city

• Other: __________________________

3. What is the world made of?

Describe the buildings, terrain, and environment. What materials are used? How does it feel to be there?

4. Who built it? Why?

Is the world ancient, newly built, or rebuilt like Mesa Rosso? Was it built for survival, secrecy, exploration, or something else?

5. Who lives here?

List or describe the main characters (you can invent your own or use ones like Carmine, Jules, Flint).

6. What’s the story here?

What makes this place special or mysterious? Is there a legend, conflict, or hidden secret?

 7. Who can find this world?

Is it hidden? Open to everyone? Only found by people in need?

8. What dangers or challenges exist here?

Weather, enemies, wild creatures, betrayal… what do people fear in your world?

9. What is the motto or phrase that defines this world?

E.g., “Stay on alert.”

“______________________________________________________”

10. Sketch Your World (Optional)

Draw a bird’s-eye view or a key scene from your world:

📐 (Use space below or on the back of the sheet)

Character Template – Jules

Name: Jules
Role: Engineer / Inventor
Location: Mesa Rosso – Runs the Stay-Inn for visitors

 Skills & Talents:

• Mechanical tinkering

• Invents odd gadgets and upgrades

• Excellent with energy systems and power storage

 Personality Traits:

• Curious and clever

• Witty and sarcastic

• Loyal but stubborn

What motivates Jules?

Favorite Saying or Motto:

“___________________________________________________”

Secrets or Mysteries:

Character Template – Flint

Name: Flint
Role: Pub Owner / Merchant
Location: Mesa Rosso – Runs the Dusty Cactus pub and general store

Skills & Talents:

• Trading and bartering

• Great cook and storyteller

• Once a desert scavenger with a shady past

Personality Traits:

• Charismatic and warm

• Street-smart

• Has a good heart, but hides it well

What motivates Flint?

Favorite Saying or Motto:

“___________________________________________________”

Secrets or Mysteries:

Invent Your Own NPC (Non-Player Character)

Name: ___________________________________
Nickname (if any): ________________________
Role in the world: ________________________
(e.g., guard, herbalist, rogue tech dealer, mapmaker, scout)

Skills & Talents:

Personality Traits (Choose 3 or more):

🔲 Brave
🔲 Secretive
🔲 Funny
🔲 Loyal
🔲 Clever
🔲 Grumpy
🔲 Kind
🔲 Mysterious
🔲 Other: ___________________

What motivates this character?

Favorite Saying or Motto:

“___________________________________________________”

Secrets or Backstory:

How This Character Helps or Challenges the Main Story:

Student Reflection Sheet – My LEGO Fortnite Storytelling Journey

Name: _______________________
Date: _______________________
Title of Your Story: _______________________

1. My Story World

What was the name of your world or location?
What inspired it?

✎

2. My Characters

Who was your favorite character to create or write about? Why?

✎

3. Writing Process

What part of the story was the hardest to write? What part was the most fun?

✎

4. Building + Writing

How did your LEGO Fortnite build help you plan or imagine your story?

✎

5. What I Learned

What did you learn about storytelling, characters, or writing from this project?

✎

6. Next Time

What would you do differently if you wrote another story or built another world?

✎

7. Proud Moment

What part of your story, build, or project are you most proud of?

✎