Creative Computing Curriculum Guide Scratch 3.0

User Manual:

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Greetings, friends!

Are you excited for Scratch 3.0? We certainly are!

In celebration of Scratch 3.0, we are hard at work developing a new version of our

Creative Computing Curriculum Guide (CCCG). The ﬁrst edition of the CCCG, for

Scratch 1.4, was released in 2011. The second edition, for Scratch 2.0, was

released in 2014. This third edition, for Scratch 3.0, will be released in early 2019.

The new CCCG will be full of activities for playing and designing with Scratch,

exploring the intersection of creativity and computing.

But for those of you who are currently teaching with the CCCG, we wanted to

make sure that you were still well supported while we ﬁnish up the third edition!

So, in the interim, we're delighted to share a version of the second edition. The

changes made to this edition include images of blocks and projects, and minor

content revisions to reﬂect the new Scratch 3.0 website.

We hope that this Scratch 3.0 version of the CCCG is helpful to you, until the next

edition of the CCCG is ready. If you have any questions about the Creative

Computing Curriculum Guide, please contact us at: scratched@gse.harvard.edu

Yours in creativity and computing,

Karen Brennan, Laura Peters, and Alexa Kutler

The Creative Computing Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

CREATIVE COMPUTING

Karen Brennan | Christan Balch | Michelle Chung

Harvard Graduate School of Education

BACKGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

What is Creative Computing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

What is Scratch? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

What is this guide? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Who is this guide for? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

What do I need in order to use this guide? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

What is included in this guide? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

How should I use this guide? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Where did this guide come from? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

UNIT 0 – GETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Introducing Scratch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Scratch Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Design Journal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Scratch Surprise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Scratch Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Critique Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

UNIT 1 – EXPLORING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Programmed to Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Step-By-Step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

10 Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

My Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Debug It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

About Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

UNIT 2 – ANIMATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Performing Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Build-A-Band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Orange Square, Purple Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

It’s Alive! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Debug It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Music Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

UNIT 3 – STORIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Conversations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

Debug It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Creature Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Pass It On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 68

UNIT 4 – GAMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Dream Game List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Starter Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Score . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Debug It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

UNIT 5 – DIVING DEEPER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Know Want Learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Round Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Advanced Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Hardware & Extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Activity Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

My Debug It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

UNIT 6 – HACKATHON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Project Pitch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Project Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Design Sprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Project Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Project Check-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Unfocus Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Showcase Prep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Showcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139

Computational Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

For Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

To help you dive into the world of creative

computing as quickly as possible, we have

assembled answers to eight common questions:

1. What is Creative Computing?

2. What is Scratch?

3. What is this guide?

4. Who is this guide for?

5. What do I need in order to use this guide?

6. What is included in this guide?

7. How should I use this guide?

8. Where did this guide come from?

BACKGROUND

Welcome to the

Creative

Computing

Curriculum

Guide!

Creative computing is about creativity.

Computer science and computing-related

ﬁelds have long been introduced to young

people in a way that is disconnected from

their interests and values – emphasizing

technical detail over creative potential.

Creative computing supports the

development of personal connections to

computing, by drawing upon creativity,

imagination, and interests.

Creative computing is about agency.

Many young people with access to

computers participate as consumers, rather

than designers or creators. Creative

computing emphasizes the knowledge,

practices, and fundamental literacies that

young people need to create the types of

dynamic and interactive computational

media that they enjoy in their daily lives.

Creative computing is about computing.

Engaging in the creation of computational

artifacts prepares young people for more

than careers as computer scientists or

programmers. It supports young people’s

development as computational thinkers –

individuals who can draw on

computational concepts, practices, and

perspectives in all aspects of their lives,

across disciplines and contexts.

WHAT IS CREATIVE COMPUTING?

WHAT IS THIS GUIDE?

WHAT IS SCRATCH?

PRINCIPLE #1:

CREATING

PRINCIPLE #2:

PERSONALIZING

PRINCIPLE #3:

SHARING

PRINCIPLE #4:

REFLECTING

Offer opportunities for

learners to engage in

designing and making, not

just listening, observing,

and using.

Offer opportunities for

learners to engage in

activities that are

personally meaningful and

relevant.

Offer opportunities for

learners to engage in

interactions with others as

audience, coaches, and

co-creators.

Offer opportunities for

learners to review and

rethink their creative

practices.

This guide is a collection of ideas, strategies, and activities for an introductory creative computing experience using

the Scratch programming language. The activities are designed to support familiarity and increasing ﬂuency with

computational creativity and computational thinking. In particular, the activities encourage exploration of key

computational thinking concepts (sequence, loops, parallelism, events, conditionals, operators, data) and key

computational thinking practices (experimenting and iterating, testing and debugging, reusing and remixing,

abstracting and modularizing). Learn more about computational thinking – what it is and how to assess its

development in learners – from resources in the appendix or by visiting http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu/ct

Inspired by constructionist approaches to learning, the activities in this guide emphasize the following principles:

There are many different tools that can be used

for creative computing. In this guide, we use

Scratch, which is a free computer programming

language available at http://scratch.mit.edu.

With Scratch, people can create a wide variety

of interactive media projects – animations,

stories, games, and more – and share those

projects with others in an online community.

Since Scratch’s launch in May 2007, hundreds of

thousands of people all around the world have

created and shared more than 6 million

projects.

In addition to time and an openness to adventure, some important resources include:

+Computers with speakers (and, optionally, microphones and webcams): for the computer-based design activities

+Network connection: for connecting to Scratch online (if your environment does not offer a network connection, a

downloadable version of Scratch is available)

+Projector or interactive whiteboard with speakers: for sharing works-in-progress and for demonstrations

+Design notebooks (physical or digital): for documenting, sketching, and brainstorming ideas and plans

Scratch is being used in thousands of elementary, middle-school,

and high-school classrooms around the world. The guide can be

used in its entirety as a semester-long computing course, or

selectively as part of other curricular areas. Many educators

introduce creative computing as an after-school or lunch-time

program, using the activities as inspiration and scaffolding for

students’ open-ended explorations.

K-12 TEACHER

Scratch can serve as an introduction to fundamental computational

concepts and practices, often followed by a transition to more

traditional text-based programming languages in computer science

courses. For example, the CS50 course at Harvard University uses

Scratch as an introductory programming experience before

transitioning to the C programming language. The activities have

also been used as part of education, art, and media literacy courses

at the college level.

COLLEGE INSTRUCTOR

In addition to formal learning environments like classrooms,

Scratch has been used in informal learning spaces like museums

and libraries. Whether as a structured workshop experience or a

drop-in play space, these learning environments are ideal for

supporting explorations in creative computing, without some of the

restrictions present in traditional settings.

MUSEUM OR LIBRARY EDUCATOR

Parents can use the guide in a wide range of ways. From supporting

homeschooling activities, to starting creative computing clubs at

school, to hosting workshops at local community centers, parents

are encouraged to think about how to use the guide to support the

creative computing experiences of young learners.

PARENT

Over the past seven years since Scratch’s launch, young learners

have been passionate advocates for creative computing in a variety

of settings. From introducing their parents and teachers to

programming, to creating learning opportunities for their peers,

creative computing can be something that is done with them or by

them, rather than just for them.

YOUNG LEARNER

No matter your current context or prior

experience, this guide was designed with a wide

range of learners and educators in mind. Here are

a few examples of who might use the guide and

how they might use it:

Creative

computing is

for

everybody!

WHO IS THIS GUIDE FOR?

WHAT DO I NEED IN ORDER TO USE THIS GUIDE?

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THIS GUIDE?

This guide is organized in seven units — from

an initial preparatory unit to a culminating

project-based unit — with each unit typically

including six activities. A summary of each unit

follows:

Assessment strategies are described throughout the guide, and several assessment instruments are included in the guide

appendix. Our approach to assessment is process-oriented, with a focus on creating opportunities for students to talk about

their own (and others’) creations and creative practices. There are many forms of process-oriented data that could be collected

and various strategies are suggested throughout the guide, such as:



+ supporting conversations with and among students about their projects, recorded through audio, video, or text

+ examining portfolios of projects

+ maintaining design journals



We view assessment as something that is done with students, to support their understanding of what they already know and

what they still want to learn. Assessment can involve a variety of participants, including the creators, their peers, teachers,

parents, and others.

Create new interactive worlds through collaborative

storytelling. Begin by developing characters, learning

to code conversations, and then situating those

characters and conversations in shifting scenes.

Combine characters, conversations, and scenes in a

larger story project that is passed along to other

creators to further develop – and possibly reimagine

entirely!

UNIT 3 - STORIES

Play with visuals and audio in these activities

focused on animation, art, and music. Explore

Scratch’s focus on media – and the key

computational concepts of loops, events, and

parallelism – by building your own band, designing

animated creatures, and creating a music video for a

favorite song.

UNIT 2 - ANIMATIONS

Get comfortable with the key computational concept

of sequence through a series of activities that

provide varying levels of structure – from a

step-by-step tutorial, to a creative challenge using a

limited number of blocks, to open-ended

explorations through making a project about

yourself.

UNIT 1 - EXPLORING

Prepare for the culture of creative computing by

exploring possibilities and setting up technical

infrastructure (e.g., creating Scratch accounts, starting

design journals) and social infrastructure (e.g.,

establishing critique groups). Dive into an initial

creative experience by making something

“surprising” happen to a Scratch character.

UNIT 0 – GETTING STARTED

Connect fundamental game mechanics such as

score and levels to key computational concepts,

such as variables, operators, and conditionals.

Analyze your favorite games, imagine new ones, and

practice game design by implementing (and

extending) classic games, like Pong.

UNIT 4 - GAMES

Before the culminating unit, take a moment to revisit

work from prior units, further exploring advanced

concepts or helping others by designing new

activities or debugging challenges.

UNIT 5 – DIVING DEEPER

Put all of the computational concepts and practices

into action by designing and developing a project of

your own through iterative cycles of planning,

making, and sharing.

UNIT 6 - HACKATHON

This guide was developed by members of the ScratchEd research team at the Harvard Graduate School of Education – Christan

Balch, Michelle Chung, and Karen Brennan. Jeff Hawson provided editing support and inexhaustible enthusiasm.



The guide contents draw on a previous version of the Creative Computing Guide (released in 2011) and on the Creative

Computing Online Workshop (hosted in 2013). These were made possible with support from the National Science Foundation

through grant DRL-1019396, the Google CS4HS program, and the Code-to-Learn Foundation.



We are enormously appreciative of the numerous educators who have used the previous version of this guide and participated

in workshops. In particular, we would like to thank the educators who extensively tested the ﬁrst guide (Russell Clough, Judy

Hoffman, Kara Kestner, Alvin Kroon, Melissa Nordmann, and Tyson Spraul) and the educators who extensively reviewed the

current guide (Ingrid Gustafson, Megan Haddadi, Keledy Kenkel, Adam Scharfenberger, and LeeAnn Wells).

We are also greatly appreciative of our collaborators. We would like to thank Wendy Martin, Francisco Cervantes, and Bill Tally

from Education Development Center’s Center for Children & Technology, and Mitch Resnick from the MIT Media Lab for their

extensive contributions in developing the computational thinking framework and resources. We would like to thank the many

amazing Harvard Graduate School of Education interns who have contributed to the guide development over the past several

years since the initial version in 2011, including Vanity Gee, Vanessa Gennarelli, Mylo Lam, Tomoko Matsukawa, Aaron Morris,

Matthew Ong, Roshanak Razavi, Mary Jo Madda, Eric Schilling, and Elizabeth Woodbury.

USE AS MUCH

OR AS LITTLE AS

YOU LIKE

DESIGN

NEW

ACTIVITIES

REMIX

INCLUDED

ACTIVITIES

CHOOSE

YOUR OWN

ADVENTURE!

We encourage you to use as much or as little of the

guide as you like, to design new activities, and to

remix the included activities. No matter your prior

experience or expertise, we think of every educator

as a co-designer of the Creative Computing

experience. We would love to learn about what

you’re doing, so we encourage you to document and

share your experiences with us and with other

educators via the ScratchEd community at

http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu

We are releasing this guide under a Creative

Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license, which means

that you are completely free to use, change, and share

this work, as long as you provide appropriate

attribution and give others access to any derivative

works.

HOW SHOULD I USE THIS GUIDE?

WHERE DID THIS GUIDE COME FROM?

INTRODUCING SCRATCH 10

SCRATCH ACCOUNT 12

DESIGN JOURNAL 14

SCRATCH SURPRISE 16

SCRATCH STUDIO 18

CRITIQUE GROUP 20

WHAT’S INCLUDEDYOU ARE HERE

12 3 4 5 6

UNIT 0

GETTING STARTED

THE “BIG IDEA”

When we shared a draft of this guide with

teachers, a common initial reaction was,

“Unit 0?!? Why 0?”

We hoped to communicate that this is a

preparatory

unit, supporting you in establishing

a culture of creative computing through

creating, personalizing, sharing, and reﬂecting.

Our ambition to support this type of learning

culture will be evident throughout the guide.

Creative computing culture has an intellectual

dimension, engaging with a set of

computational concepts and practices. It has a

physical dimension, encouraging interactions

with others through the placement of desks,

chairs, and computers. Most importantly, it has

an affective dimension, cultivating a sense of

conﬁdence and fearlessness.

It really helps if you have kind of a culture or climate

in your classroom. It starts on the ﬁrst day – getting

kids to appreciate that they’re going to make

mistakes and that I’m going to be asking them to do

stuff that is hard. I always just put that right out

there. And they don’t, at ﬁrst, just because they want

to succeed. Even adults don’t like to fail, or make

mistakes. But it is important, I feel, that when you do

run into difﬁculties that it’s not time to give up or cry.

It’s time to think about the strategies that you have

to solve your problem, or to look for help. No reason

to break down or give up – you keep at it.

TS, Elementary School Teacher

UNIT 0

OVERVIEW

+ Coordinate with your IT department to make sure your

computers can access the Scratch website.

+ Don’t have internet access? An ofﬂine version of Scratch

is available for download:

https://scratch.mit.edu/download

NOTES

+ proﬁle editor

+ project page

+ studio

+ critique croup

+ red, yellow, green

KEY WORDS, CONCEPTS, & PRACTICES

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will:

+ be introduced to the concept of computational creation, in

the context of Scratch

+ be able to imagine possibilities for their own Scratch-based

computational creation

+ become familiar with resources that support their

computational creation

+ prepare for creating Scratch projects by establishing Scratch

accounts, exploring Scratch studios, creating design

journals, and organizing critique groups

Ready to get started? This unit is designed for those who

are completely new to Scratch. From exploring inspiring

projects, to creating a Scratch account, to having an initial

experience playing with the Scratch project editor, each

activity is designed to guide you and your students

through the process of getting started with Scratch.

In each unit, we offer a selection of activities – but we

encourage you to tinker with the choice and order of the

activities. Different contexts and audiences will invite

different experiences. Choose your own adventure by

mixing and matching the activities in ways that are most

compelling for you and the learners you support.

Not sure where to start? For more support, check out the

suggested path through the activities provided below.

SESSION 1 SESSION 2

Watch the

Scratch overview

video and

imagine what’s

possible with

Scratch.

INTRODUCING

SCRATCH

Set up a Scratch

account to save

and share your

projects.

SCRATCH

ACCOUNT

Create a design

journal to write

down notes and

reﬂections on

the process of

designing

Scratch projects.

DESIGN

JOURNAL

Learn how to

create a studio and

add a project to

the studio.

SCRATCH

STUDIO

SCRATCH

SURPRISE

Can you make

the Scratch cat

do something

surprising?

Gather in small

peer groups to

give and receive

feedback on

ideas and

projects drafts.

CRITIQUE

GROUP

POSSIBLE PATH

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

❑Ask students about their experiences with computers

using the reﬂection prompts to the right.

❑Introduce students to creative computing with Scratch

and the range of projects they will be able to create by

showing the Scratch overview

video

and some sample

projects that your students will ﬁnd engaging and

inspiring. Explain that over the next several sessions

they will be creating their own interactive

computational media with Scratch.

❑What will you create? Ask students to imagine what

types of projects they want to create with Scratch.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

❑projector for showing Scratch overview video

(optional)

❑Scratch overview

video

http://vimeo.com/65583694

http://youtu.be/-SjuiawRMU4

❑sample projects studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/137903

RESOURCES

+ What are the different ways you interact with

computers?

+ How many of those ways involve being creative with

computers?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Did students brainstorm a diverse range of project

ideas? If not, try showing a wide variety of projects

to give students a sense of the possibilities.

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ If you don’t have internet access, download the Scratch

overview video from Vimeo before class, available at

http://vimeo.com/65583694

+ Instead of writing out their answers to the reﬂections

prompts, encourage students to get creative by

drawing their responses. (e.g., “Draw different ways you

interact with computers.”)

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ be introduced to computational creation with the

Scratch programming environment by watching

the Scratch overview video

or exploring sample

projects

+ be able to imagine possibilities for their own

Scratch-based computational creation

INTRODUCING

SCRATCH

SUGGESTED TIME

5–15 MINUTES

UNIT 0 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

❑Scratch online accounts require an email address. If

students cannot provide a personal or school email

address, a teacher or parent/guardian email address

may be used. Plan in advance if permission slips for

online accounts need to be collected.

❑Help students navigate to the Scratch website at

http://scratch.mit.edu and click on “Join Scratch” to get

started creating a Scratch account. Optionally, have the

Scratch Account handout

available to guide students.

Give students time to register, update their Scratch

proﬁle page, and explore the Scratch online

community. Encourage students to practice signing in

and out of their accounts.

❑To make it easier for members of the class to ﬁnd and

follow one another’s Scratch proﬁles, consider creating

a class list of usernames and names.

❑Examine the Scratch community guidelines as a group

to discuss respectful and constructive behavior. Review

how to report inappropriate posts on the website.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

❑Scratch Account handout

❑Scratch community guidelines

http://scratch.mit.edu/community_guidelines

RESOURCES

+ What is your Scratch account username?

+ What is a hint to help you remember your password?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Were students able to create Scratch accounts and

successfully sign in and out of the Scratch website?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

+ Teachers may prefer providing their email or creating a

class email address, as notiﬁcations of any

inappropriate behavior on the Scratch website will be

sent to the email that is registered with the account.

+ Check if any students already have an online account.

+ To remember passwords while maintaining privacy,

have students write down their username and

password in sealed envelopes that are kept in a secure

place in the classroom.

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ create a Scratch account

+ explore the Scratch online community and review

the Scratch community guidelines

SUGGESTED TIME

5–15 MINUTES

SCRATCH ACCOUNT

UNIT 0 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

FINISHED?

NEW TO SCRATCH? GET STARTED BY

CREATING YOUR SCRATCH ACCOUNT!

You will need a Scratch account to

create, save, and share your Scratch

projects. The steps below will walk you

through creating a new account and

setting up your proﬁle.

START HERE

❑Open a web browser and navigate to the

Scratch website: http://scratch.mit.edu

❑On the homepage, click on “Join Scratch” at the

top on the right of the page.

❑Complete the three steps to sign up for your

very own Scratch account!

SCRATCH ACCOUNT

❑sample design journals

http://bit.ly/designjournal-paper

http://bit.ly/design-journal-digital

http://bit.ly/designjournal-blog

❑paper and craft materials (for paper journals)

RESOURCES

+ How would you describe Scratch to a friend?

+ Write or sketch ideas for three different Scratch

projects you are interested in creating.

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ What do the reﬂection responses tell you about the

types of projects students might be interested in

pursuing?

+ Based on students’ responses, which units in this

guide might appeal to your different students?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

❑Introduce students to the idea of the design journal, a

physical or digital notebook where they can brainstorm

ideas and share personal reﬂections, similar to a

personal journal or diary. Explain that students will be

prompted to update their design journals throughout

their Scratch programming adventures, but encourage

them to add to their journals anytime during the

process of designing projects to capture ideas,

inspiration, notes, sketches, questions, frustrations,

triumphs, etc.

❑Look through sample design journals to get ideas for

what type of design journals (paper or digital) will

work best for your students. Give students time to start

and personalize their design journals.

❑Ask students to create their ﬁrst design journal post by

responding to the reﬂection prompts on the right.

❑Encourage students to share their design journals and

initial reﬂections with a neighbor.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ During other guide activities, facilitate group

discussions around relevant reﬂection prompts.

+ Decide whether design journals should be private or

public. For example, you could maintain one-on-one

feedback with students through private journals or

have students leave comments for peers on shared

journals. Consider the pros and cons of each option.

UNIT 0 ACTIVITY

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ start a personalized design journal for

documenting their design process and reﬂections

DESIGN JOURNAL

SUGGESTED TIME

15–30 MINUTES

❑_______________________

❑Help students open the Scratch project editor by

navigating to the Scratch website at

http://scratch.mit.edu, signing in to their Scratch

accounts, and then clicking on “Create”

at the top of

the page. Optionally, have the Scratch Surprise

handout and Scratch Cards

available to guide students

during their explorations.

❑Give students 10 minutes to explore the Scratch

interface in an open-ended way. Prompt students with,

“You have 10 minutes to make something surprising

happen to the Scratch cat.” Or, “Take 10 minutes to

explore the interface fearlessly. What do you notice?”

Encourage students to work together, ask each other

for help, and share what they are ﬁguring out.

❑Ask for 3 or 4 volunteers to share with the entire group

one thing that they discovered. Optionally, after the

volunteers have shared, offer several challenges to the

students:

- Did anyone ﬁgure out how to add sound?

- Did anyone ﬁgure out how to change the

background?

- Did anyone ﬁgure out how to get help with blocks?

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

❑Scratch Surprise Handout

❑Scratch Cards

https://scratch.mit.edu/info/cards/

RESOURCES

+ What did you ﬁgure out?

+ What do you want to know more about?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Do students know how to initiate a new project?

+ Do students understand the basic mechanism of

snapping Scratch blocks together?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

SCRATCH SURPRISE OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ engage in an exploratory, hands-on experience

with Scratch

SUGGESTED TIME

15–30 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ A major goal of this activity is to establish a culture of

fearlessness, exploration, and peer collaboration. It is

expected that students (and their teachers!) will not

know everything ahead of time – and the environment

becomes a space where everyone is learning together.

UIT 0

ACTIVITY

UNIT 0 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

CAN YOU MAKE THE SCRATCH CAT

DO SOMETHING SURPRISING?

In this activity, you will create a new

project with Scratch and explore

different Scratch blocks to make the cat

do something surprising!

What will you create?

START HERE

❑Go to the Scratch website: http://scratch.mit.edu

❑Sign into your account.

❑Click on the “Create” tab located at the top left

of the browser to start a new project.

❑Time to explore! Try clicking on different parts

of the Scratch interface to see what happens.

❑Play with different Scratch blocks! Drag and

drop Scratch blocks into the scripting area.

Experiment by clicking on each block to see

what they do or try snapping blocks together.

SCRATCH SURPRISE

❑Scratch Studio handout

❑Scratch Surprise studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/460431

RESOURCES

❑Scratch studios are one way to collect and organize

Scratch projects online. In this activity, help students

understand what studios are and how to add a project

to a studio. Optionally, have the Scratch Studio

handout

available to guide students.

❑First, have students navigate to the Scratch website

and sign in to their accounts. Next, help students ﬁnd

the Scratch Surprise studio or a class studio you’ve

created. Then, let students share their Scratch Surprise

explorations with others by adding their programs to

the studio.

❑Encourage students to investigate other projects in the

studio. Invite them to add a comment on the project

page of two projects in the collection that they ﬁnd

particularly interesting or inspiring. Engage the group

in a discussion about how to give appropriate and

purposeful feedback.

❑Ask students to think back on their creative

explorations by responding to the reﬂection prompts

in their design journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

+ Did students successfully add their projects to the

studio?

+ Did students comment appropriately on others’

work?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

+ What are Scratch studios for?

+ What did you ﬁnd interesting or inspiring about

looking at other projects?

+ What two comments did you share?

+ What is “good” feedback?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Create your own studio(s) to collect student work. Start

a class Scratch Surprise studio using your Scratch

account and then give students the studio link to “turn

in” projects. Create one dedicated studio to gather all

class projects or distribute activities across separate

studios to track student progress.

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ be able to add a project to a studio

+ be able to post comments on other Scratch

projects

SCRATCH STUDIO

SUGGESTED TIME

5–15 MINUTES

UNIT 0 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

START HERE

❑Go to the Scratch Surprise studio using this link:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/460431

❑Sign into your account.

❑Click on “Add Projects” at the bottom of the page

to show your your projects, favorite projects, and

recently viewed projects.

❑Use the arrows to ﬁnd your Scratch Surprise

project and then click “Add + ” to add your

project to the studio.

LEARN HOW TO ADD YOUR PROJECT

TO AN ONLINE SCRATCH STUDIO!

Studios are collections of Scratch projects.

Follow along with the steps below to add

your Scratch Surprise program to the Scratch

Surprise studio on the Scratch website.

SCRATCH STUDIO

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ divide into small critique groups in order to give

and get feedback on design ideas and

works-in-progress

❑Critique Group handout

RESOURCES

❑Introduce students to the idea of a critique group, a

small group of designers who share ideas and

projects-in-progress with one another in order to get

feedback and suggestions for further development.

❑Optionally, have the Critique Group handout available

to guide students in giving feedback.

❑Divide students in smaller groups of 3-4 people.

In these critique groups, ask students to take turns

sharing their ideas, drafts, or prototypes, for example,

Scratch Surprise projects.

❑Let students gather feedback by having their critique

group members respond to the Red, Yellow, Green

reﬂection prompts or using the Critique Group

handout. Encourage students to record other notes,

feedback, and suggestions in their design journals.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

+ RED: What is something that doesn’t work or could

be improved?

+ YELLOW: What is something that is confusing or

could be done differently?

+ GREEN: What is something that works well or you

really like about the project?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Did all students have a chance to share their work

and get feedback?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

CRITIQUE GROUP

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ It can be valuable to have a dedicated group of peers

to give you encouragement and feedback on your

design iterations. Provide opportunities for students to

continue meeting with their critique groups during

Units 1-6.

SUGGESTED TIME

15–30 MINUTES

UNIT 0 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

PROJECT

FEEDBACK

PARTS OF THE PROJECT THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO THINK ABOUT:

+ Clarity: Did you understand what the project is supposed to do?

+ Features: What features does the project have? Does the project work as expected?

+ Appeal: How engaging is the project? Is it interactive, original, sophisticated, funny, or interesting? How did you feel as you interacted

with it?

FEEDBACK FOR: ______________________________________________________________________

PROJECT TITLE: ______________________________________________________________________

FEEDBACK BY

[YELLOW]

What is something that is confusing or

could be done differently?

[RED]

What is something that doesn’t work or

could be improved?

[GREEN]

What is something that works well or

you really like about the project?

CRITIQUE GROUP

PROGRAMMED TO DANCE 26

STEP-BY-STEP 28

10 BLOCKS 30

MY STUDIO 32

DEBUG IT! 34

ABOUT ME 36

WHAT’S INCLUDEDYOU ARE HERE

0 2 3 4 5 6

UNIT 1

EXPLORING

THE “BIG IDEA”

Many of the educators that we have worked with over the

years wrestle with two questions when getting started with

creative computing: “What’s the best way of helping learners

get started?” and “What do I, as teacher, need to know?” The

writings of Seymour Papert (a renowned mathematician,

educator, and major inﬂuence on the development of Scratch

through the Logo programming language) serve as

inspiration for thinking about these questions.

With respect to the ﬁrst question, two extreme positions tend

to be taken up. Either learners need to be told what to do and

should have highly structured experiences – or learners need

to be left totally alone to explore under their own direction.

Papert, a proponent of the notion that young learners should

act as advocates for and explorers of their own thinking and

learning, encouraged teachers to seek a balance between

teaching and learning. Throughout the guide, we vary the

amount of structure in the activities in an effort to provide

balance.

With respect to the second question, educators sometimes

worry that they don’t “know” enough about Scratch to be able

to help others. We encourage you to take a broad view of

what it means to “know” Scratch. You don’t need to know

everything about the Scratch interface or how to solve every

problem that a learner encounters. But, as Papert noted,

educators can serve as cognitive guides, asking questions and

helping break down problems into manageable pieces.

UNIT 1

OVERVIEW

As they puzzled together the child had a

revelation: “Do you mean,” he said, “that you really

don’t know how to ﬁx it?” The child did not yet

know how to say it, but what had been revealed to

him was that he and the teacher had been

engaged together in a research project. The

incident is poignant. It speaks of all the times this

child entered into teachers’ games of “let’s do that

together” all the while knowing that the

collaboration was a ﬁction. Discovery cannot be a

setup; invention cannot be scheduled.

(Papert, 1980, p. 115)

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will:

+ build on initial explorations of the Scratch environment by

creating an interactive Scratch project

+ be introduced to a wider range of Scratch blocks

+ become familiar with the concept of sequence

+ practice experimenting and iterating while creating projects

+ Make sure students already have a Scratch account for saving

and sharing their projects online.

+ Think about how you plan to access your students’ work. For

example, you can create class studios to collect projects, have

students email you project links, or start a class blog.

NOTES

+ experimenting and

iterating

+ testing and debugging

+ sequence

+ sprite

KEY WORDS, CONCEPTS, & PRACTICES

+ motion

+ looks

+ sound

+ costume

+ backdrop

+ tips window

+ remix

+ interactive

collage

+ pair-share

This unit includes a mix of structured and open-ended

activities that engage students in exploration of the key

concept of sequence – identifying and specifying an

ordered series of instructions. This is often a powerful

moment for students: they’re telling the computer what to

do, by translating their ideas into blocks of computer code.

From a step-by-step tutorial, to playing with a constrained

number of blocks, to a debugging challenge, each activity

helps learners build the skills needed to create an About

Me project. In the culminating project, learners will

explore and experiment with sprites, costumes, looks,

backdrops, and sounds to create a personalized, interactive

collage in Scratch.

Take advantage of all the activities or pick a few that cater

to your students’ speciﬁc needs and interests; the choice is

up to you. If you’re not sure where to start, a possible order

for the activities is suggested below.

SESSION 2 SESSION 4 & SESSION 5

SESSION 1 SESSION 3

How can you

express a sequence

of dance moves

using simple verbal

instructions?

PROGRAMMED

TO DANCE

New to Scratch?

Create your ﬁrst

Scratch project!

STEP-BY-STEP

What can you

create with only

10 Scratch

blocks?

10 BLOCKS

Help!

Can you debug

these ﬁve Scratch

programs?

DEBUG IT!

MY STUDIO

What can be

created with

Scratch?

How can you

combine images and

sounds to make an

interactive collage

about yourself?

ABOUT ME

POSSIBLE PATH

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

❑Ask for 8 volunteers – four people who don’t mind

being bossy and four people who don’t mind being

bossed. Create four bossy/bossed pairs. Optionally,

have a projector ready to present the Programmed to

Dance videos.

❑For each bossy/bossed pair:

1. Have the bossed partner facing away from the

display and the bossy partner (and the rest of the

group) facing the display.

2. Show the video to the bossy partner and the group,

but NOT to the bossed partner.

3. Ask the bossy partner to describe to their partner

(using only words!) how to perform the sequence of

dance moves shown in the video.

❑Use this activity to start a discussion about the

importance of sequence in specifying a set of

instructions. You can let students reﬂect individually in

their design journals or facilitate a group discussion by

inviting different bossy/bossed pairs and observers to

share their thoughts.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

❑projector (optional)

❑Programmed to Dance videos

http://vimeo.com/28612347

http://vimeo.com/28612585

http://vimeo.com/28612800

http://vimeo.com/28612970

RESOURCES

+ What was easy/difﬁcult about being the bossy partner?

+ What was easy/difﬁcult about being the bossed partner?

+ What was easy/difﬁcult about watching?

+ How does this activity relate to what we’re doing with

Scratch?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Can students explain what is important about

sequence when specifying instructions?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ learn to express a complex activity using a

sequence of simple instructions

PROGRAMMED TO

DANCE SUGGESTED TIME

45–60 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ This is one of several activities in this guide that are

computer-free. Stepping back from the computer can

support fresh perspectives on and new understandings

of computational concepts, practices, and perspectives.

+ Have students write down step-by-step instructions for

one of the dances. In programming, this is called

“pseudocode”.

UNIT 1 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

❑Step-by-Step handout

❑Step-by-Step studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475476

❑Scratch Cards

https://scratch.mit.edu/info/cards/

RESOURCES

❑Help students sign in to their Scratch accounts and

click on the Create button at the top of the Scratch

website to open the project editor. Optionally, have the

Step-by-Step handout and Scratch Cards available to

guide students during the activity.

❑Have students open the Tips window and follow the

Getting Started with Scratch step-by-step tutorial to

create a dancing cat program. Encourage students to

add other blocks and experiment with motion, sprites,

looks, costumes, sound, or backdrops to make the

project their own.

❑Let students share their ﬁrst Scratch creations with

one another! Optionally, help students share and add

their projects to the Step-by-Step studio or a class

studio.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or as a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

+ Were students able to open Scratch and ﬁnd the Tips

Window?

+ Were students able to create a dancing cat?

+ Were students able to save and share projects?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

+ What was surprising about the activity?

+ How did it feel to be led step-by-step through

the activity?

+ When do you feel most creative?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ If they don’t have one already, help learners create a

Scratch account using the Unit 0 Scratch Account

activity, so that students can save and share their ﬁrst

Scratch project with friends and family.

+ Remind students how to add a project to a studio with

the Unit 0 Scratch Studio activity or handout.

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ create a dancing cat in Scratch by following a

step-by-step tutorial

+ experience building up a program by

experimenting and iterating

STEP-BY-STEP

SUGGESTED TIME

15–30 MINUTES

UNIT 1 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

START HERE

❑Follow the Step-by-Step Intro in the Tips

Window.

❑Add more blocks.

❑Experiment to make it your own!

❑Try recording your own sounds.

❑Create different backdrops.

❑Turn your project into a dance party by

adding more dancing sprites!

❑Try designing a new costume for your

sprite.

What blocks do you want to experiment with?

THINGS TO TRY FINISHED?

+ Add your project to the Step-by-Step Studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475476

+ Challenge yourself to do more! Play with adding new blocks,

sound, or motion.

+ Help a neighbor!

+ Choose a few new blocks to experiment with. Try them out!

NEW TO SCRATCH? CREATE YOUR

FIRST SCRATCH PROJECT!

In this activity, you will follow the

Step-by-Step Intro in the Tips Window to

create a dancing cat in Scratch. Once you

have completed the steps, experiment by

adding other Scratch blocks to make the

project your own.

STEP-BY-STEP

❑Help students sign in to their Scratch accounts and

click on the Create button at the top of the Scratch

website to start a new project. Optionally, have the 10

Blocks handout available to guide students during the

activity.

❑Give students time to create a project with only these

10 Scratch blocks: go to, glide, say, show, hide, set size

to, play sound until done, when this sprite clicked, wait,

and repeat. Remind students to use each block at least

once in their project and encourage them to

experiment with different sprites, costumes, or

backdrops.

❑Invite students to share their projects in their critique

groups (see the Unit 0 Critique Group activity).

Optionally, have students add their projects to the 10

Blocks studio or a class studio.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

❑10 Blocks handout

❑10 Blocks studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475480

RESOURCES

+ What was difﬁcult about being able to use only 10

blocks?

+ What was easy about being able to use only 10

blocks?

+ How did it make you think of things differently?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Do projects include all 10 blocks?

+ How do different students react to the idea of

creating with constraints? What might this tell you

about how this student learns?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ It’s surprising how much one can do with just 10

blocks! Take this opportunity to encourage different

ideas and celebrate creativity by inviting a few

students to present their projects in front of the class

or by exploring other projects online in the 10 Blocks

studio.

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ create a project with the constraint of only being

able to use 10 blocks

10 BLOCKS

SUGGESTED TIME

15–30 MINUTES

UNIT 1 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

FINISHED?

FEELING

STUCK?

THAT’S OKAY! TRY THESE THINGS…

+ Add your project to the 10 Blocks Studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475480

+ Play with different sprites, costumes, or backdrops.

+ Challenge yourself to do more! See how many different

projects you can create with these 10 blocks.

+ Swap projects with a partner and remix each others’

creations.

START HERE

❑Test ideas by experimenting with each block.

❑Mix and match blocks in various ways.

❑Repeat!

❑Test ideas by trying out different block combinations.

Mix and match blocks until you ﬁnd something that

interests you!

❑Try brainstorming ideas with a neighbor!

❑Explore other projects to see what others are doing in

Scratch. This can be a great way to ﬁnd inspiration!

WHAT CAN YOU CREATE WITH ONLY

10 SCRATCH BLOCKS?

Create a project using only these 10

blocks. Use them once, twice, or

multiple times, but use each block at

least once.

10 BLOCKS

❑My Studio handout

❑example studios

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/211580

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/138296

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/138297

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/138298

RESOURCES

❑Optionally, demonstrate how to create a new studio or

have the My Studio handout available to guide

students.

❑Optionally, show example inspiration studios using the

links provided. Give students 10 minutes to browse

existing Scratch projects on the Scratch homepage and

search for interesting programs using the Explore

page.

❑Ask students to identify three or more Scratch projects

that can be used to inform and inspire a project of

their own. Help students create a new studio from

their My Stuff page and add the inspirational projects

to the studio.

❑Invite students to share their approaches for ﬁnding

inspirational programs. We suggest pair-share: have

students share studios and discuss search strategies in

pairs.

❑Ask students to think back on the process of discovery

by responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

+ What search strategies did you use to ﬁnd interesting

projects?

+ How might each example project help with future

work?

+ It’s important to give credit to sources of inspiration.

How can you give credit for inspiration from these

projects?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Are there three or more projects in the studio?

+ What do these projects tell you about your students’

design interests?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ If students don’t have individual Scratch accounts,

create a class studio that students can curate.

+ A variety of studios can be created - students could

collect Scratch projects that are similar in theme or

topic to what they want to create or gather programs

that include techniques or assets to incorporate in a

future creation.

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ investigate the range of creative possibilities with

Scratch by exploring some of the millions of

projects on the Scratch website

+ curate a collection of 3 or more Scratch projects in

a Scratch studio

MY STUDIO

SUGGESTED TIME

15–30 MINUTES

UNIT 1 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

WHAT CAN BE CREATED WITH

SCRATCH?

In this activity, you will investigate the

range of creative possibility with Scratch

by exploring some of the millions of

projects on the Scratch website -- and

start a collection of favorites in a Scratch

studio!

❑Browse projects on the Scratch homepage OR

click on “Explore” to search for speciﬁc types of

projects.

❑Create a new studio from your My Stuff page.

❑Add three (or more!) inspiring projects to your

studio.

❑Use the search bar to ﬁnd projects that

relate to your interests.

❑Explore each of the Animations, Art,

Games, Music, & Stories categories on

the Explore page.

❑Look through the Featured Studios on

the homepage for ideas.

+ Challenge yourself to do more! The more Scratch projects you explore,

the more you learn about what can be accomplished in Scratch!

+ Find studios created by other Scratchers that you ﬁnd interesting!

+ Ask a neighbor what strategies they used to ﬁnd interesting projects.

+ Share your newly created studio with a neighbor!

START HERE

MY STUDIO

THINGS TO TRY FINISHED?

❑Unit 1 Debug It! handout

❑Unit 1 Debug It! studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475483

RESOURCES

❑Optionally, have the Unit 1 Debug It! handout

available to guide students during the activity.

❑Help students open the Debug It! programs from the

Unit 1 Debug It! studio or by following the project

links listed on the Unit 1 Debug It! handout. Encourage

students to click on the “Look Inside” button to

investigate the buggy program, tinker with problematic

code, and test possible solutions.

❑Give students time to test and debug each Debug It!

challenge. Optionally, have students use the remix

function in Scratch to ﬁx the bugs and save corrected

programs.

❑Ask students to reﬂect back on their testing and

debugging experiences by responding to the reﬂection

prompts in their design journals or in a group

discussion.

❑Create a class list of debugging strategies by collecting

students’ problem ﬁnding and problem solving

approaches.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

+ What was the problem?

+ How did you identify the problem?

+ How did you ﬁx the problem?

+ Did others have alternative approaches to ﬁxing the

problem?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Were students able to solve all ﬁve bugs? If not, how

might you clarify the concepts expressed in the

unsolved programs?

+ What different testing and debugging strategies did

students employ?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ This activity works well in groups! Get students

working in teams of 2-4 people to collectively problem

solve and share debugging strategies.

+ Testing and debugging is probably the most common

activity of programmers. Things rarely work as planned,

so developing a set of testing and debugging

strategies will be beneﬁcial to any computational

creator.

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ investigate the problem and ﬁnd a solution to ﬁve

debugging challenges

+ explore a range of concepts (including sequence)

through the practices of testing and debugging

+ develop a list of strategies for debugging projects

SUGGESTED TIME

15–30 MINUTES

DEBUG IT!

UNIT 1

ACTIVITY

UNIT 1 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

HELP! CAN YOU DEBUG THESE FIVE

SCRATCH PROGRAMS?

In this activity, you will investigate what

is going awry and ﬁnd a solution for each

of the ﬁve Debug It! challenges.

❑Make a list of possible bugs in the program.

❑Keep track of your work! This can be a useful reminder

of what you have already tried and point you toward

what to try next.

❑Share and compare your problem ﬁnding and problem

solving approaches with a neighbor until you ﬁnd

something that works for you!

+ Discuss your testing and debugging practices with a

partner. Make note of the similarities and differences in

your strategies.

+ Add code commentary by right clicking on blocks in your

scripts. This can help others understand different parts

of your program!

+ Help a neighbor!

❑DEBUG IT! 1.1 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10437040

When the green ﬂag is clicked, both Gobo and Scratch Cat

should start dancing. But only Scratch Cat starts Dancing!

How do we ﬁx the program?

❑DEBUG IT! 1.2 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10437249

In this project, when the green ﬂag is clicked, the Scratch Cat

should start on the left side of the stage, say something

about being on the left side, glide to the right side of the

stage, and say something about being on the right side. It

works the ﬁrst time the green ﬂag is clicked, but not again.

How do we ﬁx the program?

❑DEBUG IT! 1.3 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10437366

The Scratch Cat should do a ﬂip when the space key is

pressed. But when the space key is pressed, nothing happens!

How do we ﬁx the program?

❑DEBUG IT! 1.4 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10437439

In this project, the Scratch Cat should pace back and forth

across the stage, when it is clicked. But the Scratch Cat is

ﬂipping out – and is walking upside down! How do we ﬁx the

program?

❑DEBUG IT! 1.5 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10437476

In this project, when the green ﬂag is clicked, the Scratch Cat

should saw ‘Meow, meow, meow!’ in a speech bubble and as a

sound. But the speech bubble happens before the sound –

and the Scratch Cat only makes one ‘Meow’ sound! How do

we ﬁx the program?

❑Go to the Unit 1 Debug It! studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475483

❑Test and debug each of the ﬁve debugging

challenges in the studio.

❑Write down your solution or remix the buggy

program with your solution.

START HERE

DEBUG IT!

FINISHED?

FEELING

STUCK?

THAT’S OKAY! TRY THESE THINGS…

❑About Me handout

❑About Me studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475470

❑Scratch Cards

http://scratch.mit.edu/help/cards

RESOURCES

+ What are you most proud of? Why?

+ What did you get stuck on? How did you get

unstuck?

+ What might you want to do next?

+ What did you discover from looking at others’ About

Me projects?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Do projects make creative use of sprites, costumes,

looks, backdrops, or sound?

+ Are projects interactive? Can users interact with

various elements within the project?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

ABOUT ME OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ become familiar with a wider range of Scratch

blocks

+ be able to create an open-ended Scratch project

that is an interactive digital representation of

their personal interests

SUGGESTED TIME

45–60 MINUTES

❑Introduce students to the concept of the interactive

collage, a Scratch project that represents aspects of

themselves through clickable sprites. Optionally, show

interactive project examples from the About Me studio.

❑Have students sign in to their Scratch accounts and

open a new project. Optionally, have the About Me

handout and Scratch Cards available to provide

guidance. Give students time to create an About Me

interactive collage Scratch project, encouraging them

to build up their programs by experimenting and

iterating.

❑Allow students to share their works-in-progress with

others. We suggest pair-share: have students share and

discuss their projects in pairs. Optionally, invite

students to add their projects to the About Me studio

or a class studio.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Example projects can simultaneously inspire and

intimidate, open the creative space and constrain it.

Encourage a wide range of creations; diversity is great!

+ Students can further personalize projects by using a

camera or webcam to bring images into the project.

UNIT 1 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

TIPS & TRICKS

Make your sprite interactive by adding scripts that

have the sprite respond to clicks, key presses, and

more!

BLOCKS TO PLAY WITH FINISHED?

❑Use costumes to change how your sprite

looks.

❑Create different backdrops.

❑Try adding sound to your project.

❑Try adding movement into your collage.

THINGS TO TRY

+ Add your project to the About

Me Studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios

/475470

+ Challenge yourself to do

more! Play with adding new

blocks, sound, or motion!

+ Help a neighbor!

HOW CAN YOU COMBINE INTERESTING IMAGES

AND SOUNDS TO MAKE AN INTERACTIVE

COLLAGE ABOUT YOURSELF?

START HERE

❑Create a sprite.

❑Make it interactive.

❑Repeat!

ABOUT ME

Experiment with sprites, costumes, backdrops,

looks, and sounds to create an interactive

Scratch project -- a project that helps other

people learn more about YOU and the ideas,

activities, and people that you care about.

UNIT 2

ANIMATIONS

PERFORMING SCRIPTS 42

BUILD-A-BAND 44

ORANGE SQUARE, PURPLE CIRCLE 46

IT’S ALIVE! 48

DEBUG IT! 50

MUSIC VIDEO 52

0 1 3 4 5 6

WHAT’S INCLUDEDYOU ARE HERE

THE “BIG IDEA”

It’s really great to express

yourself creatively. You

could do anything with it.

You can make video games,

music, art, videos, anything.

The possibilities are

endless, no limitations,

really. Lindsey, 12 years old

It’s just that there’s

endless possibilities. It’s

not like you can just

make this project or this

project and that’s all that

you can make.

Nevin, 9 years old

It’s a program that lets you explore your

imagination. You can do whatever you want in it.

You can create anything. There really is no limit

to what you can make. You design your own stuff,

and once you start you just don’t want to stop

because as you learn more, you can see there’s

more possibilities, and the more possibilities

there are, the more you want to expand on what

you just learned.

Bradley, 12 years old

UNIT 2

OVERVIEW

Kids have shared more than six million projects in the

Scratch online community – animations, stories, games,

and beyond – and one of our goals with the guide is to

reﬂect this enormous diversity of creations. Within

activities, we support opportunities to personalize and

avoid presenting challenges that have only one “right”

answer; across activities, we engage learners in a

variety of genres. In this unit, we start to explore this

creative diversity with a deep dive into animation, art,

and music.

Creative diversity in Scratch has often been highlighted

by learners. Here are a few quotes from learners who

were asked, “If you had to explain what Scratch is to one

of your friends, how would you describe it?”

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will:

+ be introduced to the computational thinking concepts of

loops, events, and parallelism

+ become more familiar with the concepts of sequence

+ experiment with new blocks in the Events, Control, Sound,

and Looks categories

+ explore various arts-themed Scratch programs

+ create an animated music video project

+ Many activities in this unit include elements of sound and

music. We recommend having headphones readily

available for students.

NOTES

+ loops

+ events

+ parallelism

+ control

+ broadcast

KEY WORDS, CONCEPTS, & PRACTICES

Well, I like that you can sort

of do anything on it. It’s like

you can do whatever you

want, really. You can be as

creative as you want to be.

Aaron, 10 years old

+ scripts

+ presentation mode

+ bitmap

+ vector

+ animation

+ gallery walk

Programming in Scratch is like directing theatre. In theatre,

just as in Scratch, there are characters (sprites, in Scratch

parlance), costumes, backdrops, scripts, and a stage. Scratch

programming utilizes cues called “events”, which signal

when things should occur in a project, such as: activating a

project (when green ﬂag clicked), triggering sprites’ actions

(when this sprite clicked), or even sending a silent cue

across sprites or backdrops (broadcast).

Inspired by the theatre metaphor, this unit’s arts-themed

activities are designed to help students explore the

computational concepts of loops, events, and parallelism,

culminating in the design of personalized music videos.

Play the part of a

sprite by acting out

different Scratch

blocks and scripts.

PERFORMING

SCRIPTS

Create your own

musical group by

making interactive

instruments.

BUILD-A-BAND

What project can you

create that includes

an orange square

and a purple circle?

ORANGE

SQUARE,

PURPLE

CIRCLE

Help!

Can you debug these

ﬁve Scratch

programs?

DEBUG IT!

IT’S ALIVE!

Can you animate it?

Experiment with

multiple costumes to

bring an image to life.

How can you combine

animation with music

to create your own

Scratch-inspired music

video?

MUSIC VIDEO

SESSION 4SESSION 1 SESSION 2 SESSION 3 SESSION 4 & SESSION 5

POSSIBLE PATH

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

❑Optionally, have a projector connected to a computer

with Scratch open to display which blocks and scripts

will be performed.

❑Ask for two volunteers.

❑Prompt the two volunteers to act out a series of

instructions (either by “programming” the volunteers

through the Scratch interface or through printed-out

physical versions of the Scratch blocks).

- Have one person do one thing (like walk across the

room).

- Have that person “reset”.

- Have that person do two things simultaneously (like

walk across the room and talk).

- Add the second person, by having the second person

simultaneously (but independently) do a task, like

talking.

- Have the second person do a dependent task, like

responding to the ﬁrst person instead of talking over.

❑Reﬂect on the experience as a group to discuss the

concepts of events and parallelism using the reﬂection

prompts to the right.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

❑projector (optional)

❑physical Scratch blocks (optional)

RESOURCES

+ What are the different ways that actions were

triggered?

+ What are the mechanisms for events in Scratch?

+ What were the different ways in which things were

happening at the same time?

+ What are the mechanisms that enable parallelism in

Scratch?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Can students explain what events and parallelism

are and how they work in Scratch?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ This activity highlights the notion of “reset”, which is

something Scratchers often struggle with as they get

started. If they want things to start in a particular

location, with a particular look, etc., students need to

understand that they are completely responsible for

programming those setup steps.

+ This activity can be useful for demonstrating the

broadcast and when I receive block pair.

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ be introduced to the concepts of events (one thing

causing another thing to happen) and parallelism

(things happening at the same time) through

performance

+ be able to explain what events are and how they

work in Scratch

+ be able to explain what parallelism is and how it

works in Scratch

PERFORMING

SCRIPTS

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

UNIT 2 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

❑Optionally, show example projects from the

Build-a-Band studio and have the Build-a-Band

handout available to guide students.

❑Give students time to create interactive instruments by

pairing sprites with sounds. Encourage them to

experiment with different ways to express sounds in

Scratch by exploring other blocks in the Sounds

category or using the editing tools within the Sounds

tab.

❑Allow students to demonstrate their bands to one

another or let students walk around to interact with

classmates’ instruments. We recommend a gallery walk:

have students put their projects in presentation mode

and then invite them to walk around and explore each

other’s projects. Optionally, have students add their

projects to the Build-a-Band studio or a class studio.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

❑Build-a-Band handout

❑Build-a-Band studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475523

RESOURCES

+ What did you do ﬁrst?

+ What did you do next?

+ What did you do last?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Do projects make creative use of sounds?

+ Are the sprites in the projects interactive?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ To share as a whole group, have students perform their

Scratch instruments together to form a class band!

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ create a program that combines interactive sprites

with interesting sounds

+ develop greater ﬂuency with sequence, loops,

events, and parallelism

+ practice experimenting and iterating in building

up project creations

BUILD-A-BAND

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

UNIT 2 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

❑Use repeat blocks to make a sound play more than once.

❑Import or record your own sounds or experiment with the

Sounds editor.

❑Try playing with the tempo blocks to speed up or slow down

the rhythm.

+ Add your project to the Build-A-Band

Studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475523

+ Challenge yourself to do more! Invent a

new instrument or record your own

sounds.

+ Help a neighbor!

HOW CAN YOU UTILIZE SCRATCH TO

CREATE SOUNDS, INSTRUMENTS,

BANDS, OR STYLES OF MUSIC THAT

REPRESENT THE MUSIC YOU LOVE

MOST?

In this activity, you will build your own

music-inspired Scratch project by pairing

sprites with sounds to design interactive

instruments.

❑Create a sprite.

❑Add sound blocks.

❑Experiment with ways to make your instruments

interactive.

START HERE

THINGS TO TRY FINISHED?

BUILD-A-BAND

Choose instruments from the sprite library or create your

own.

❑Optionally, show example projects from the Orange

Square, Purple Circle studio and have the Orange

Square, Purple Circle handout available to guide

students.

❑Give students time to create a project that includes an

orange square and a purple circle. Invite students to

experiment with Looks blocks and the paint editor to

explore their artistic abilities.

❑Encourage students to share their creative work with

others. We recommend gallery walk: have students put

their projects in presentation mode and then invite

them to walk around and explore each other’s projects.

Optionally, have students add their projects to the

Orange Square, Purple Circle studio or a class studio.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

❑Orange Square, Purple Circle handout

❑Orange Square, Purple Circle studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475527

RESOURCES

+ How did you incorporate an orange square and a

purple circle into your project? Where did this idea

come from?

+ What was challenging about this activity?

+ What was surprising about this activity?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Do projects include an orange square and a purple

circle?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ If students have questions, remind them that they can

open the Tips Window to learn more about speciﬁc

blocks or different parts of the Scratch editor.

+ Scratch supports both bitmap and vector graphics.

Help students navigate to the vector mode or bitmap

mode button in the paint editor to design and

manipulate different types of images and text.

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ express their creativity by completing an

arts-themed challenge

+ gain more ﬂuency with Looks blocks and the paint

editor

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

ORANGE SQUARE,

PURPLE CIRCLE

UNIT 2 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

WHAT PROJECT CAN YOU CREATE

THAT INCLUDES AN ORANGE

SQUARE AND A PURPLE CIRCLE?

In this challenge, you’ll create a project

that includes an orange square and a

purple circle. What will you create?

❑Draw your sprites using the Paint Editor.

❑Add different Looks and Motion blocks to bring

your sprites to life.

❑Repeat!

START HERE

FEELING

STUCK?

THAT’S OKAY! TRY THESE THINGS…

FINISHED?

+ Add your project to the Orange Square, Purple Circle Studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475527

+ Explore the difference between bitmap mode and vector

mode, located at the bottom of the paint editor.

+ Challenge yourself to do more! Add another shape or color.

+ Swap projects with a partner and remix each other’s

creations.

+ Help a neighbor!

❑Try brainstorming with a neighbor!

❑Create a list of things you would like to try before you

start building your project in Scratch!

❑Explore other projects to see what others are doing in

Scratch – this can be a great way to ﬁnd inspiration!

ORANGE SQUARE,

PURPLE CIRCLE

❑Optionally, show example projects from the It’s Alive!

studio and have the It’s Alive! handout available to

guide students.

❑Introduce the concept of an animation as looping

through a series of incrementally different pictures,

such as in a ﬂipbook or a claymation ﬁlm. Encourage

students to explore loops by changing costumes or

backdrops to create an animation.

❑Invite students to share their work with others by

hosting a gallery walk: have students put their projects

in presentation mode and then invite them to walk

around and explore each other’s projects. Optionally,

have students add their projects to the It’s Alive studio

or a class studio.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

❑It’s Alive! handout

❑It’s Alive! studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475529

RESOURCES

+ What is the difference between a sprite and a

costume?

+ What is an animation?

+ List three ways you experience loops in real life

(e.g., going to sleep every night).

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Can students distinguish sprites and costumes?

+ Some Scratchers are particularly interested in

developing animation projects and prefer to spend

their time drawing and designing sprites, costumes,

or backdrops. How might you engage students in

both the aesthetic and technical aspects of projects?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ The difference between sprites and costumes is often a

source of confusion for Scratchers. The metaphor of

actors wearing multiple costumes can help clarify the

difference.

+ Students can animate their own image by taking

pictures of themselves using a camera or webcam.

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ become more familiar with the computational

concepts of sequence and loops by experimenting

with Control blocks

+ be able to explain the difference between sprites

and costumes

+ practice experimenting and iterating through

developing an animation project

IT’S ALIVE!

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

UNIT 2 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

HOW CAN YOU TAKE AN IMAGE OR A

PHOTO AND MAKE IT COME ALIVE?

In this activity, you will explore ways of

bringing sprites, images, and ideas to life

as an animation by programming a series

of costume changes.

❑Choose a sprite.

❑Add a different costume.

❑Add blocks to make the image come alive.

❑Repeat!

❑Try sketching your animation ideas on paper

ﬁrst – like a ﬂipbook.

❑Experiment with different blocks and

costumes until you ﬁnd something you enjoy.

❑Need some inspiration? Find projects in the

Animation section of the Explore page.

THINGS TO TRY FINISHED?

+ Add your project to the It’s Alive studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475529

+ Challenge yourself to do more! Add more features to your project to

make your animations look even more lifelike.

+ Help a neighbor!

+ Share your project with a partner and walk them through your

design process.

+ Find an animated project you’re inspired by and remix it!

START HERE

IT’S ALIVE!

❑Unit 2 Debug It! handout

❑Unit 2 Debug It! studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475539

RESOURCES

❑Optionally, have the Unit 2 Debug It! handout

available to guide students during the activity.

❑Help students open the Debug It! programs from the

Unit 2 Debug It! studio or by following the project

links listed on the Unit 2 Debug It! handout. Encourage

students to click on the “Look Inside” button to

investigate the buggy program, tinker with problematic

code, and test possible solutions.

❑Give students time to test and debug each Debug It!

challenge. Optionally, have students use the remix

function in Scratch to ﬁx the bugs and save corrected

programs.

❑Ask students to reﬂect back on their testing and

debugging experiences by responding to the reﬂection

prompts in their design journals or in a group

discussion.

❑Create a class list of debugging strategies by collecting

students’ problem ﬁnding and problem solving

approaches.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

+ What was the problem?

+ How did you identify the problem?

+ How did you ﬁx the problem?

+ Did others have alternative approaches to ﬁxing the

problem?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Were students able to solve all ﬁve bugs? If not, how

might you clarify the concepts expressed in the

unsolved programs?

+ What different testing and debugging strategies did

students employ?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

❑_______________________

+ Facilitate this activity in a whole group by having

students act out the Debug It! programs in a similar

way to the Performing Scripts activity, or introduce

performing scripts as a new strategy for testing and

debugging projects.

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ investigate the problem and ﬁnd a solution to ﬁve

debugging challenges

+ explore a range of concepts (including sequence

and loops) through the practices of testing and

debugging

+ develop a list of strategies for debugging projects

DEBUG IT!

SUGGESTED TIME

15–30 MINUTES

UNIT 2 ACTIVITY

HELP! CAN YOU DEBUG THESE FIVE

SCRATCH PROGRAMS?

In this activity, you will investigate what

is going awry and ﬁnd a solution for each

of the ﬁve Debug It! challenges.

❑Make a list of possible bugs in the program.

❑Keep track of your work! This can be a useful reminder

of what you have already tried and point you toward

what to try next.

❑Share and compare your problem ﬁnding and problem

solving approaches with a neighbor until you ﬁnd

something that works for you!

+ Add code commentary by right clicking on blocks in your

scripts. This can help others understand different parts

of your program!

+ Discuss your testing and debugging practices with a

partner – make notes of the similarities and differences

in your strategies.

+ Help a neighbor!

❑DEBUG IT! 2.1 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/23266426

In this project, Scratch Cat wants to show you a dance. When you

click on him, he should do a dance while a drum beat plays along

with him. However, as soon as he starts to dance he stops but the

drumming continues without him! How do we ﬁx this program?

❑DEBUG IT! 2.2 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24268476

In this project, when the green ﬂag is clicked Pico should move

towards Nano. When Pico reaches Nano, Pico should say “Tag,

you’re it!” and Nano says “My turn!” But something is wrong! Pico

doesn’t say anything to Nano. How do we ﬁx the program?

❑DEBUG IT! 2.3 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24268506

This project is programmed to draw a happy face but something is

not quite right! The pen continues to draw from one of the eyes to

the smile when it should not be doing so. How do we ﬁx the

program?

❑DEBUG IT! 2.4 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/23267140

In this project, when the green ﬂag is clicked an animation of a

ﬂower growing begins and stops once it has fully bloomed. But

something is not quite right! Instead of stopping when all the

petals have bloomed, the animation starts all over. How do we ﬁx

this program?

❑DEBUG IT! 2.5 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/23267245

In this project, the Happy Birthday song starts playing when the

green ﬂag is clicked. Once the song ﬁnishes, instructions should

appear telling us to "click on me to blow out the candles!" But

something is not working! The instructions to blow out the candles

are shown while the birthday song is playing rather than after it

ﬁnishes. How do we ﬁx this program?

❑Go to the Unit 2 Debug It! Studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475539

❑Test and debug each of the ﬁve debugging

challenges in the studio.

❑Write down your solution or remix the buggy

program with your solution.

START HERE

DEBUG IT!

FEELING

STUCK?

THAT’S OKAY! TRY THESE THINGS…

FINISHED?

❑Music Video handout

❑Music Video studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475517

RESOURCES

+ What was a challenge you overcame? How did you

overcome it?

+ What is something you still want to ﬁgure out?

+ How did you give credit for ideas, music, or code that

you borrowed to use in your project?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Did the projects combine sprites and sound?

+ What parts of the projects did students choose to

animate?

+ Are there certain blocks or concepts introduced up

until now that students might still be struggling

with? How might you help?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

MUSIC VIDEO OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ be able to create a project that combines

animation and music by working on a self-directed

music video project

+ gain more familiarity with sprites, costumes, and

sounds

SUGGESTED TIME

45–60 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ To further personalize projects, help students include a

favorite song or record themselves singing or playing

an instrument, using features under the Sounds tab.

+ Questions about remixing and plagiarism may arise

during this activity. Take this opportunity to facilitate a

discussion about giving credit and attribution using

the Scratch FAQ about remixing:

https://scratch.mit.edu/info/faq#remix/

❑Introduce students to the idea of creating a music

video in Scratch that combines music with animation.

Optionally, show a few project examples from the

Music Video studio.

❑Give students open-ended time to work on their

projects, with the Music Video handout available to

provide guidance and inspiration. Encourage students

to give credit on the project page for using others’

ideas, music, or code.

❑Help students give and receive feedback while

developing their projects. We suggest checking in with

a neighbor: have students stop midway and share their

works-in-progress with one other person or in their

critique groups (see the Unit 0 Critique Group activity)

to ask for feedback. Optionally, invite students to add

their projects to the Music Video studio or a class

studio.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

UNIT 2 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

FINISHED?

TIPS & TRICKS FINISHED?

BLOCKS TO PLAY WITH FINISHED?

❑Use costumes to help bring your animations to life!

❑Make your sprite interactive by adding scripts that have the

sprite respond to clicks, key presses, and more.

❑Add instructions on the project page to explain how people

can interact with your program.

THINGS TO TRY

+ Add your project to the Music Video

studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475517

+ Be sure to give credit to any music, code,

or other work used in your project.

+ Challenge yourself to do more! Create

your own sprites, sounds, or costumes!

HOW CAN YOU COMBINE ANIMATION

WITH MUSIC TO CREATE YOUR OWN

SCRATCH-INSPIRED MUSIC VIDEO?

In this project, you will explore ideas

related to theatre, song, dance, music,

drawing, illustration, photography, and

animation to create a personalized music

video!

START HERE

❑Add sound.

❑Create and animate a sprite.

❑Make them interact together!

MUSIC VIDEO

upload sounds from a ﬁle

record your own sounds

choose sounds from library

receive a surprise sound

take a photo

receive a surprise sprite

paint your own sprite

upload sprite from ﬁle

choose sprite from library

CHARACTERS 58

CONVERSATIONS 60

SCENES 62

DEBUG IT! 64

CREATURE CONSTRUCTION 66

PASS IT ON 68

0 1 24 5 6

UNIT 3

STORIES

WHAT’S INCLUDEDYOU ARE HERE

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will:

+ gain familiarity in and build understandings of the beneﬁts

of reusing and remixing while designing

+ develop greater ﬂuency with computational concepts

(events and parallelism) and practices (experimenting and

iterating, testing and debugging, reusing and remixing)

+ explore computational creation within the genre of stories

by designing collaborative narratives + Reusing and remixing support the development of critical

code-reading capacities and provoke important questions

about ownership and authorship. Consider different

strategies for how you might facilitate, discuss, and assess

cooperative and collaborative work.

NOTES

+ reusing and remixing

+ make a block

+ backpack

+ stage

KEY WORDS, CONCEPTS, & PRACTICES

THE “BIG IDEA”

UNIT 3

OVERVIEW

In the introduction to his doctoral dissertation

exploring remix culture, Andres Monroy-Hernandez

(the lead designer of the initial version of the

Scratch online community) included three quotes:

Building on other people’s work has been a

longstanding practice in programming, and has only

been ampliﬁed by network technologies that

provide access to a wide range of other people’s

work. An important goal of creative computing is to

support connections between learners through

reusing and remixing. The Scratch authoring

environment and online community can support

young designers in this key computational practice

by helping them ﬁnd ideas and code to build upon,

enabling them to create more complex projects

than they could have created on their own.

The activities in this unit offer initial ideas and

strategies for cultivating a culture that supports

reusing and remixing. How can you further support

sharing and connecting?

THE “BIG IDEA”

We are like dwarfs standing upon

the shoulders of giants, and so

able to see more and see farther

than the ancients.

– Bernard of Chartres, circa 1130

A dwarf on a giant’s

shoulders sees farther

of the two.

– George Herbert, 1651

If I have seen further it is

by standing on the

shoulders of giants.

– Isaac Newton, 1676

+ pass-it-on story

+ pair programming

+ scratch screening

+ design demo

This unit focuses on helping students develop their

storytelling and remixing abilities through a variety of

hands-on and off-computer design activities, providing

opportunities for students to work collaboratively and

build on the creative work of others. Building on initial

experiences from Unit 2, the activities in this unit are

designed to help students develop deeper ﬂuency in the

computational concepts of events and parallelism and the

computational practices of experimenting and iterating

and reusing and remixing. Each capacity-building activity is

designed to help students build up storytelling projects by

discovering new blocks and methods for programming

interactions between sprites and backdrops, culminating in

a Pass It On project.

Create your own

Scratch blocks

using Make a

Block.

CHARACTERS

How do you coordinate

interactions between

sprites using timing and

broadcasting?

CONVERSATIONS

What's the difference

between the Stage

and sprites?

SCENES

What can we

create by building

on others’ work?

CREATURE

CONSTRUCTION

DEBUG IT!

Help!

Can you debug these

ﬁve Scratch

programs?

What can we

create by building

on others’ work?

PASS IT ON

SESSION 2 SESSION 3 SESSION 4SESSION 1 SESSION 5

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

POSSIBLE PATH

❑Optionally, show example projects from the Characters

studio and have the Characters handout available to

guide students.

❑Give students time to create their own Scratch blocks

using the Make a Block feature found in the More

Blocks category. Help them design two sprites or

“characters” that each have two behaviors. Optionally,

conduct a walkthrough of the Make a Block feature

together as a class.

❑Allow students to share their characters and behaviors

with one another. We suggest the design demo

activity: invite a few students to present their work to

the class and demonstrate how they implemented the

Make a Block feature. Optionally, have students add

their projects to the Characters studio or a separate

class studio.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ experiment with deﬁning behaviors for characters

using Scratch’s Make a Block feature

+ gain more familiarity with the computational

concepts of events and parallelism and the

practice of experimenting and iterating

CHARACTERS

❑Characters handout

❑Characters studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475545

RESOURCES

+ How would you explain Make a Block to someone

else?

+ When might you use Make a Block?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Do projects include two sprites that each have two

behaviors using the Make a Block feature?

+ Can students explain how to use the Make a Block

feature to each other and to you?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ If students are struggling with ﬁguring out how to use

the Make a Block feature, invite them to explore how

others implemented the feature by investigating the

code of projects in the Characters studio.

+ Learn more about the Make a Block feature in this

video tutorial: http://bit.ly/makeablock

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

UNIT 3 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

❑Feeling stuck? That’s okay! Check out this video to get started with

the Make a Block feature: http://bit.ly/makeablock

❑Explore other projects in the Characters Studio to see what new

blocks others have created.

❑Sometimes there can be more than one way of deﬁning the same

behavior. Experiment with different block combinations to try out

multiple options and outcomes.

+ Add your project to the Characters Studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475545

+ Challenge yourself to do more! Experiment

with adding different characters and

behaviors using the Make a Block feature.

+ Help a neighbor!

DO YOU WANT TO CREATE YOUR

OWN SCRATCH BLOCKS?

Experiment with the Make a Block feature in

Scratch! In this project, you will create your

own blocks that deﬁne two behaviors for two

different characters.

❑Choose from the library, paint, or upload two

sprite characters.

❑Click on the Make a Block button in the My

Blocks category to create and name your block.

❑Add blocks under the Deﬁne block to control

what your custom block will do.

❑Experiment with using your block to program

your characters’ behaviors.

❑Repeat!

START HERE

THINGS TO TRY FINISHED?

CHARACTERS

❑Optionally, explore the Penguin Joke starter project as

a group and have the Conversations handout available

to guide students.

❑Invite students to see inside the Penguin Joke starter

project to observe how the conversation is animated

using wait blocks. Have students use the remix

function and redesign the Penguin Joke project to

coordinate the conversation using the broadcast,

broadcast and wait, and when I receive blocks.

❑Encourage students to share their joke projects with

one another. We suggest the design demo activity:

invite a few students to present their work to the class

and demonstrate how they implemented broadcast.

Optionally, have students add their projects to the

Conversations studio or a class studio.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ explore two different strategies for synchronizing

interactions between sprites (timing and

broadcasting) by remixing a joke project

+ develop greater familiarity with the computational

concept of events and parallelism and the practice

of reusing and remixing

CONVERSATIONS

❑Conversations handout

❑Penguin Joke starter project

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10015800

❑Conversations studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475547

RESOURCES

+ How would you describe broadcast to someone else?

+ When would you use timing in a project? When

would you use broadcasting?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Do projects use the broadcast and when I receive

blocks?

+ Can students explain how to use the broadcast,

broadcast and wait, and when I receive blocks?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ If students are having trouble understanding how to

use the broadcast and when I receive block pair, invite

them to explore the code of example projects in the

Broadcast Examples studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/202853

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

❑_______________________

UNIT 3 ACTIVITY

WHAT ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO COORDINATE

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SPRITES?

In this activity, you'll explore different ways

to program sprites to have conversations!

Experiment with timing and explore using

broadcast by remixing a joke project.

❑Look inside the Penguin Jokes project:

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10015800

❑Investigate the code to see how the wait and

say blocks are used to coordinate the

conversation.

❑Remix the project to use the broadcast and

when I receive blocks instead of wait blocks.

START HERE

FINISHED?

FEELING

STUCK?

THAT’S OKAY! TRY THESE

THINGS…

+ Add your project to the Conversations studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475547

+ Challenge yourself to do more! Add other characters and

conversations.

+ Share your project with a neighbor and walk them

through your process of exploration and design.

+ Help a neighbor!

❑Brainstorm ideas with a neighbor! Generate a list of

possible solutions and test them out together.

❑Try using the broadcast and when I receive blocks in

different parts of your project.

❑Explore projects in the Conversations studio to get

inspiration for different ways to coordinate

conversations between sprites.

CONVERSATIONS

❑Optionally, show example projects from the Scenes

studio and have the Scenes handout available to guide

students.

❑Give students time to develop a project that includes

multiple scene changes using different backdrops, such

as in a slideshow. Challenge students to explore and

manipulate scripts in the Stage to initiate backdrop

changes.

❑Allow students to share their projects with one

another. We suggest the design demo activity: invite a

few students to present their work to the class and

demonstrate how they implemented switching

backdrops. Optionally, have students add their projects

to the Scenes studio or a class studio.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ be able to create a project that experiments with

changing backdrops, like a story with multiple

scenes or a slideshow

+ gain more familiarity with the computational

concepts of events and parallelism and the

practice of experimenting and iterating

❑Scenes handout

❑Scenes studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475550

RESOURCES

+ What does the Stage have in common with sprites?

+ How is the Stage different from sprites?

+ How do you initiate a sprite’s actions in a scene?

+ What other types of projects (beyond animations)

use scene changes?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Do projects successfully coordinate multiple scenes

using changing backdrops?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

SCENES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ If students are having trouble ﬁguring out how to

switch backdrops, encourage them to tinker with

blocks under the Looks category, especially the switch

backdrop to, switch backdrop to and wait, and next

backdrop blocks.

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

❑_______________________

UNIT 3 ACTIVITY

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

THE STAGE AND SPRITES?

In this activity, you will create a project that

experiments with backdrops, like a story

with multiple scenes or a slideshow.

❑Choose from the library, paint, or upload

multiple backdrops into your project.

❑Experiment with blocks from the Looks and

Events categories to initiate switching

backdrops.

❑Add scripts to the stage and sprites to

coordinate what happens when the backdrop

changes in your project!

❑Look for blocks under the sprites and

the stage related to backdrop and test

them out to see what they do!

❑Need more inspiration? Explore the

Scratch online community to discover

projects that use multiple backdrops.

THINGS TO TRY FINISHED?

+ Add your project to the Scenes Studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475550

+ Challenge yourself to do more! Add more backdrop changes to your

project.

+ Help a neighbor!

+ Return to one of your previous projects or ﬁnd a project you are

inspired by and remix it by adding switching backdrops.

START HERE

SCENES

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ investigate the problem and ﬁnd a solution to ﬁve

debugging challenges

+ explore a range of concepts (including events and

parallelism) through the practices of testing and

debugging

DEBUG IT!

❑Unit 3 Debug It! handout

❑Unit 3 Debug It! studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475554

RESOURCES

❑Optionally, have the Unit 3 Debug It! handout

available to guide students during the activity.

❑Help students open the Debug It! programs from the

Unit 3 Debug It! studio or by following the project

links listed on the Unit 3 Debug It! handout. Encourage

students to click on the “Look Inside” button to

investigate the buggy program, tinker with problematic

code, and test possible solutions.

❑Give students time to test and debug each Debug It!

challenge. Optionally, have students use the remix

function in Scratch to ﬁx the bugs and save corrected

programs.

❑Ask students to reﬂect back on their testing and

debugging experiences by responding to the reﬂection

prompts in their design journals or in a group

discussion.

❑Create a class list of debugging strategies by collecting

students’ problem ﬁnding and problem solving

approaches.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

+ What was the problem?

+ How did you identify the problem?

+ How did you ﬁx the problem?

+ Did others have alternative approaches to ﬁxing the

problem?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Were students able to solve all ﬁve bugs? If not, how

might you clarify the concepts expressed in the

unsolved programs?

+ What different testing and debugging strategies did

students employ?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Being able to read others’ code is a valuable skill and

is critical for being able to engage in the practices of

reusing and remixing.

+ This activity is a great opportunity for pair

programming. Divide students into pairs to work on the

debugging challenges.

+ Students can explain their code revisions by

right-clicking on Scratch blocks to insert code

comments

SUGGESTED TIME

15–30 MINUTES

UNIT3

ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

UNIT 3 ACTIVITY

HELP! CAN YOU DEBUG THESE FIVE SCRATCH

PROGRAMS?

In this activity, you will investigate what is going

awry and ﬁnd a solution for each of the ﬁve

Debug It! challenges.

❑Make a list of possible bugs in the program.

❑Keep track of your work! This can be a useful reminder

of what you have already tried and point you toward

what to try next.

❑Share and compare your problem ﬁnding and problem

solving approaches with a neighbor until you ﬁnd

something that works for you!

+ Add code commentary by right clicking on blocks in your

scripts. This can help others understand different parts

of your program!

+ Discuss your testing and debugging practices with a

partner, and make note of the similarities and

differences in your strategies.

+ Help a neighbor!

❑DEBUG IT! 3.1 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24269007

In this project, the Scratch Cat teaches Gobo to meow. But when it's

Gobo's turn to try -- Gobo stays silent. How do we ﬁx the program?

❑DEBUG IT! 3.2 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24269046

In this project, the Scratch Cat is supposed to count from 1 to the

number the user provides. But the Scratch Cat always counts to 10.

How do we ﬁx the program?

❑DEBUG IT! 3.3 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24269070

In this project, the Scratch Cat is doing roll call with Gobo's friends:

Giga, Nano, Pico, and Tera. But everything is happening all at once!

How do we ﬁx the program?

❑DEBUG IT! 3.4 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24269097

In this project, the Scratch Cat and Gobo are practicing their

jumping routine. When Scratch Cat says "Jump!", Gobo should jump

up and down. But Gobo isn't jumping. How do we ﬁx the program?

❑DEBUG IT! 3.5 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24269131

In this project, the scene changes when you press the right arrow

key. The star of the project -- a dinosaur -- should be hidden in

every scene except when the scene transitions to the auditorium

backdrop. In the auditorium, the dinosaur should appear and do a

dance. But the dinosaur is always present and is not dancing at the

right time. How do we ﬁx the program?

❑Go to the Unit 3 Debug It! Studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475554

❑Test and debug each of the ﬁve debugging

challenges in the studio.

❑Write down your solution or remix the buggy

program with your solution.

START HERE

DEBUG IT!

FINISHED?

FEELING

STUCK?

THAT’S OKAY! TRY THESE THINGS…

❑In this activity, students will draw a “creature” in three

parts.

❑Give each student a tri-folded sheet of blank paper and

one minute to draw a “head” for their creature. Next,

have them fold the paper over so that the head is

hidden, with little prompts for where to continue the

drawing. After the head is hidden, students will pass

the creature to another student. Then, give students

one minute to draw a “middle” for their creature, using

the guides from the head, but without peeking! After

the middles are hidden (and prompts drawn), pass the

creatures. Finally, give students one minute to draw a

“bottom” for their creature. When ﬁnished, unfold the

papers to reveal the collaboratively constructed

creatures!

❑Post drawings on a wall or board and let students

explore the outcome of their creative contributions.

❑Facilitate a group discussion about co-authorship,

collaboration, and reusing and remixing work.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ be introduced to the computational practice of

reusing and remixing by contributing to a

collaborative drawing

CREATURE

CONSTRUCTION

❑blank paper (approximately 8.5” by 11”), folded into

thirds

❑things to sketch with (pencils, pens, markers, etc.)

RESOURCES

+ What is your deﬁnition of remixing?

+ Think about the creature you started (drew the

“head” for). How did your ideas become extended or

enhanced by others’ contributions?

+ Considering the creatures you extended (drew the

“middle” or “bottom” sections for), how did your

contributions extend or enhance others’ ideas?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Can students explain remixing and its beneﬁts?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ This activity is a perfect warm-up activity for the Pass

It On project! We recommend facilitating Creature

Construction directly before Pass It On.

+ Optionally, have students sign their names at the

bottom of each creature drawing they worked on to

identify the contributing artists.

SUGGESTED TIME

15–30 MINUTES

❑_______________________

UNIT 3 ACTIVITY

PASS IT ON OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ be able to create a Scratch project that tells a

story by reusing and remixing the work of others

+ experience pair programming by working in pairs

to develop a collaborative storytelling project

❑Pass It On handout

❑Pass It On studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475543

❑Projector and screen to present student work (optional)

RESOURCES

+ How did it feel to remix and build on others’ work? How

did it feel to be remixed?

+ Where else in your life have you seen or experienced

reusing and remixing? Share two examples.

+ How was working with someone else different from your

prior experiences of designing your Scratch projects?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ What parts of projects did students contribute to?

+ Do students seem comfortable with the concepts of

events and parallelism and practices of reusing and

remixing?

If not, in what ways can these be further clariﬁed?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Consider organizing your Scratch screening as an

event! Invite students from other classes to the

viewing, offer snacks and drinks, or host the event in

an auditorium or room with a large wall or screen for

displaying projects.

+ Introduce students to the backpack (located at the

bottom of the Scratch project editor) as another way to

remix projects. Learn more about this tool in the

Backpack video tutorial: http://bit.ly/scratchbackpack

SUGGESTED TIME

45–60 MINUTES

❑Divide the group into pairs. Introduce students to the

concept of a pass-it-on-story, a Scratch project that is

started by a pair of people, and then passed on to two

other pairs to extend and reimagine. Optionally, print

out the Pass It On handout.

❑Encourage students to start in whatever way they want

– focusing on characters, scene, plot, or whatever

element excites them. Give each pair 10 minutes to

work on their collaborative story before having them

rotate to extend another story by remixing the project.

Encourage students to give credit for reusing or

remixing content.

❑After two rotations, allow students to revisit story

projects with their contributions. We suggest hosting a

Scratch screening: with projector and screen, present

the story projects with students gathered around to

watch. Optionally, invite students to add their projects

to the Pass It On studio or a class studio.

❑Ask students to respond to the reﬂection prompts in

their design journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

❑_______________________

UNIT 3 ACTIVITY

FINISHED?

BLOCKS TO PLAY WITH FINISHED?

+ Add your project to the Pass It

On studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/4

75543

+ Help a neighbor!

+ Return to all the projects you

contributed to and check out

how the stories evolved!

WHAT CAN WE CREATE BY BUILDING

ON OTHERS’ WORK?

In this project, you will start developing

an animated story project, and then you

will pass the story on to others to remix,

extend, or reimagine!

START HERE

❑Work on a story project that focuses on

characters, scene, plot, or whatever element

excites you.

❑After 10 minutes, save and share your project

online.

❑Rotate & extend another story project by

remixing it.

❑Repeat!

❑Brainstorm different possibilities for

remixing, extending, or reimagining a story.

Do you want to add a new scene to the end?

Could you imagine what happens before the

story begins? What if a new character was

added? How about inserting a plot twist?

What else?

THINGS TO TRY

❑Adding comments in your code can help others understand

different parts of your program. To attach a comment to a script,

right click on a block and add a description.

PASS IT ON

UNIT 4

GAMES

DREAM GAME LIST 74

STARTER GAMES 76

SCORE 80

EXTENSIONS 82

INTERACTIONS 84

DEBUG IT! 86

0 1 2 3 5 6

WHAT’S INCLUDEDYOU ARE HERE

Personalization is an important guiding principle in the design of the creative computing experience. By “personalization”, we

mean both connecting to personal interests and acknowledging that personal interests can vary considerably. There are many

ways of knowing and doing – and exploring these multiple ways can help support interest, motivation, and persistence among

young learners. In this unit, learners explore some of the advanced concepts and challenging problems associated with game

design. An advanced concept or challenging problem can be made more accessible if rooted in activities that are personally

meaningful. As an example of the power of context, we turn to a story shared by Mitch Resnick – the director of the Scratch

project at MIT.

THE “BIG IDEA”

UNIT 4

OVERVIEW

A few years ago I was at one of our Computer Clubhouse after

school centers and I saw a 13-year-old boy working on creating his

own game. He was able to control a character, in this case, a ﬁsh. He

wanted the game to keep track of the score, so you could see how

many little ﬁsh had been eaten by the big ﬁsh, but he didn’t know

how.

I saw this as an opportunity to introduce the idea of variables. I

showed this to him and he immediately saw how he could use this

block to keep track of how many ﬁsh had been eaten in his game. He

took the block and put it in the script right where the big ﬁsh eats

the little ﬁsh. He quickly tried it. Sure enough, every time the big

ﬁsh ate a little ﬁsh, the score goes up by 1.

I think that he really got a deep understanding of variables because

he really wanted to make use of it. That's one of our overall goals of

Scratch. It's not just about variables, but for all types of concepts. We

see that kids get a much deeper understanding of the concepts they

learn when they are making use of the concepts in a meaningful

and motivating way.

+ Many new concepts are explored in this unit, so we’ve

included added support in the form of example project

studios, new programming puzzles for extra practice, and

starter game projects that we encourage you to remix

and reuse as needed.

NOTES

+ abstracting and modularizing

+ conditionals

+ operators

+ data

+ variables and lists

KEY WORDS, CONCEPTS, & PRACTICES

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will:

+ be introduced to the computational concepts of

conditionals, operators, and data (variables and lists)

+ become more familiar with the computational practices of

experimenting and iterating, testing and debugging, reusing

and remixing, and abstracting and modularizing by building

and extending a self-directed maze, pong, or scrolling game

project

+ identify and understand common game mechanics

THE “BIG IDEA”

+ sensing

+ feedback fair

+ arcade day

+ puzzle jar

+ brain dump

SESSIONS 1 - 5

How can you use

Scratch to build an

interactive game?

STARTER

GAMES

SESSION 5

Help!

Can you debug

these ﬁve Scratch

programs?

DEBUG IT!

SESSION 1 SESSION 4

What do all games

have in common?

DREAM GAME

LIST

How can you add

score to a game

using variables?

SCORE

Tackle nine Scratch

programming

puzzles.

INTERACTIONS

EXTENSIONS

What are different

ways of extending

and increasing

difﬁculty in a game?

SESSION 2 SESSION 3

In this unit, learners will become game designers and

experience creating their own game project. Guided by the

activities in this unit, students will be introduced to game

mechanics and game development while building

understandings of computational concepts (conditionals,

operators, data) and computational practices (abstracting

and modularizing).

You could get students started on their game projects with

the Starter Games activity and then support further

development through other activities. From learning

common game mechanics such as keeping score and

side-scrolling, to the creation of multiplayer games

(e.g., Pong), Unit 4 activities offer students multiple

opportunities to practice game development.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

POSSIBLE PATH

❑Divide students into small groups of 2-3 people.

❑In their small groups, ask students to generate a list of

games that they enjoy playing. They can compose the

list using their design journals or a sheet of paper. We

suggest facilitating the brain dump brainstorming

activity: give students a short time period (1-2

minutes) to write down as many games as they can.

Then, have students narrow down their favorites from

the brain dump list.

❑After a few minutes, ask groups about their list of

games:

What do the games have in common?

What features of their design make them a game?

❑Facilitate a class discussion about what characteristics

make up a game and generate a class list of common

game mechanics. Next, ask students to imagine their

dream game and write a list of design elements for

that game.

❑Invite students to share their dream game lists in their

small groups or critique groups (see Unit 0 Critique

Group activity) to get feedback and suggestions.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ identify common design elements of games

DREAM GAME

LIST

❑paper to write down game design elements

❑things to sketch with (pencils, pens, markers, etc.)

RESOURCES

+ Make a list of your favorite games.

+ What do the games have in common?

+ What features of their design make them a game?

+ Create a list of design elements for your dream

game.

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Do the dream game lists include features of games?

+ What design elements are similar or different from

the class group list?

+ What do the lists tell you about the kinds of games

and the types of play your students enjoy?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Invite students to refer back to this dream game list

while programming games in other Unit 4 activities.

SUGGESTED TIME

15–30 MINUTES

❑_______________________

UNIT 4 ACTIVITY

❑In this activity, students will create a starter game

project that can be revisited and extended during the

Score, Extensions, and Interactions activities.

Optionally, show the Maze, Pong, and Scrolling

example starter projects, and have the Maze, Pong, and

Scrolling handouts available to guide students.

❑Choose one game project to facilitate as a class or let

students choose which game they want to create:

maze, pong, or scrolling. Give students time to start

building their games or let them remix one of the

starter projects.

❑Encourage students to get feedback on their

games-in-progress. We suggest the feedback fair

activity: half of the students stay in their seats with

their projects open while the other half walks around

exploring projects, asking questions, and giving

feedback, then switch sides. Optionally, have students

add their ﬁnal game projects to the Games studio or a

class studio.

❑Ask students to respond to the reﬂection prompts in

their design journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ develop greater ﬂuency with computational

concepts (conditionals, operators, data) and

practices (experimenting and iterating, testing and

debugging, reusing and remixing, abstracting and

modularizing) by working on a self-directed game

project

❑Maze handout

❑Maze example starter project

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/11414041

❑Pong handout

❑Pong example starter project

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10128515

❑Scrolling handout

❑Scrolling example starter project

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/22162012

❑Games studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/487504

RESOURCES

+ What was challenging about designing your game?

+ What are you proud of?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Do games include conditionals, operators, and data?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ To celebrate and share ﬁnal game creations, we

recommend hosting an Arcade Day. Final game projects

are placed in presentation mode; students walk around

and play each other’s games.

+ The Scrolling game option introduces cloning. Help

students learn more about the cloning blocks with the

Cloning handout from Unit 5 Advanced Features.

SUGGESTED TIME

45–60 MINUTES

STARTER GAMES

❑_______________________

UNIT 4 ACTIVITY

FINISHED?

HOW CAN YOU USE SCRATCH TO BUILD

AN INTERACTIVE GAME?

In this project, you will create a game. This

game includes interactions between sprites,

score, and levels. You move a sprite from the

start of a maze to the end without touching

the walls.

MAZE

START HERE

❑Draw a maze-like background and use different

colors for the walls and end-of-maze marker.

❑Add a sprite.

❑Make your game interactive!

BLOCKS TO PLAY WITH FINISHED?

❑Add multiple levels to your game! This can

be done through the use of different

backdrops and using broadcast blocks to

trigger the next level.

❑Use the make a variable block to keep score!

❑Experiment with timer blocks to add new

challenges to your maze!

THINGS TO TRY

+ Add your project to the

Games Studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios

/487504

+ Swap games with a partner

and walk each other through

your creations.

These scripts give the player control over sprite movement in the

maze.

This will cause your sprite to bounce off

the blue walls of the maze.

This tells your sprite where to begin

and marks the start of the maze.

This tells the end-of-maze sprite

that players win when the ball

touches this sprite.

BLOCKS TO PLAY WITH FINISHED?

HOW CAN YOU USE SCRATCH TO BUILD

AN INTERACTIVE GAME?

In this project, you will create a game. This

game includes interactions between

sprites, score, and levels. The game is

similar to the classic game of pong, where

the goal is to keep the sprite from getting

past you.

PONG

FINISHED?

+ Add your project to the

Games Studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios

/487504

+ Swap games with a partner

and walk each other

through your creations.

START HERE

❑Create two sprites: a paddle for the user to

control and a ball the user will be playing with.

❑Make your paddle sprite interactive.

❑Bring your game to life!

These control the ball - if touching the paddle or a wall, it continues moving. If

touching red (meaning the ball moved past the paddle) the game ends.

❑How do you add difﬁculty to your game?

Creating different levels, using a timer, or

keeping score are a few examples of things

you could do.

❑Experiment with changing the look of your

game by editing the backdrops!

❑Explore using different key presses to control

your sprites!

THINGS TO TRY

Interacts with the walls

Interacts with the paddle

BLOCKS TO PLAY WITH FINISHED?

SCROLLING

HOW CAN YOU USE SCRATCH TO BUILD AN

INTERACTIVE GAME?

In this project, you will create a game. This game

includes interactions between sprites, score, and

levels. The game is similar to Flappy Bird, where

the goal is to keep an object from falling to the

ground or touching certain objects.

FINISHED?

START HERE

❑Create two sprites: one for the player to control

(helicopter) and one to avoid (gliding bars).

❑Make the helicopter interactive.

❑Bring your game to life by adding scripts to

make the gliding bars scroll across the stage!

❑How do you add difﬁculty to your game?

Creating different levels, using a timer, or

keeping score are a few examples of things

you could do.

❑Experiment with changing the look of your

game by editing the backdrops!

❑Explore using different key presses to control

your sprites!

THINGS TO TRY

+ Add your project to the

Games Studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios

/487504

+ Swap games with a partner

and walk each other

through your creations.

Controls sprite movement

Speciﬁes when the game ends

Causes sprite to constantly fall downward

This creates clones, which are used in the

script below to make the bars scroll across

the screen:

BLOCKS TO PLAY WITH FINISHED?

❑Optionally, explore the Fish Chomp starter project as a

group and have the Score handout available to guide

students.

❑Help students open the Fish Chomp starter project.

Give students time to explore variables by remixing

the Fish Chomp Starter Project to add score to the

game. Optionally, give students time to incorporate

score into their previously started maze, pong, or

scrolling game projects.

❑Allow students to share their Fish Chomp remixes or

game projects with added score. We suggest the

Design Demo activity: invite a few students to present

their projects to the group and demonstrate how they

implemented score using variables. Optionally, have

students add their remixes to the Fish Chomp Remix

studio or a class studio.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ be able to describe what a variable is and why

variables are useful

+ be introduced to the computational concept of

data

+ experience remixing and reusing a project or part

of a project

SCORE

❑Score handout

❑Score examples studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/218313

❑Fish Chomp starter project

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10859244

❑Fish Chomp remix studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475615

RESOURCES

+ How would you explain variables to someone else?

+ What are variables good for?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Can students explain what a variable is and what

variables are good for?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Encourage students to clarify their understanding of

variables by exploring code from sample projects in

the Score examples studio.

+ Variables are an important mathematical and

computational concept. Students are taught about

variables in their math and science classes, but many

students have a difﬁcult time learning them. Games

are one way to make the usefulness of variables more

concrete.

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

❑_______________________

UNIT 4 ACTIVITY

HOW CAN YOU KEEP SCORE IN A

SCRATCH PROJECT?

Fish Chomp is a game where players try

to catch as many ﬁsh as they can by

guiding a sprite with the mouse. In this

activity, you will remix Fish Chomp by

adding a score with variables.

❑Go to the Fish Chomp project page:

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/10859244

❑Click on the Make a Variable button in the Data

category to create and name a variable for

score.

❑Experiment with your new variable blocks to

incorporate score into your project!

❑Not sure how to work with variables? Check out this project for

more information: http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/2042755

❑Or take a look at this video: http://youtu.be/uXq379XkhVw

❑Explore and study code in games that use score to learn more

about creating variables and incorporating score into a project.

+ Add your project to the Fish Chomp

Remix studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475615

+ Challenge yourself to do more! How can

you use score to add difﬁculty to your

game design?

+ Find a game you are inspired by and

remix it!

START HERE

SCORE

FINISHED?

FEELING

STUCK?

THAT’S OKAY! TRY THESE THINGS…

❑Optionally, show example projects from the Extensions

studio and have the Extensions handout available to

guide students.

❑Give students time to explore the code of programs in

the Extensions studio to investigate different ways

games can be increased in difﬁculty or extended. Ask

students to select one or more extensions to add to

their previously started maze, pong, or scrolling game

projects. Give students time to experiment and

incorporate the extension(s) into their games.

❑Allow students to share their extended game projects

with one another. We suggest facilitating the

pair-share or design demo activity to let students

share their games and demonstrate what they learned.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ become more familiar with the concepts of

conditionals, operators, and data by exploring

programs that illustrate common game mechanics

EXTENSIONS

❑Extensions handout

❑Extensions studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475619

RESOURCES

+ What are different ways of increasing difﬁculty in a

game?

+ Which extensions did you add to your game project?

+ Describe your process for including the extension(s)

in your game?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Were students able to incorporate extensions into

their original game projects?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ To provide more scaffolding for students needing extra

support, we suggest walking through one extension

sample program (e.g., levels) as a class and helping

students add the extension to their game projects.

+ The backpack tool is one way students can incorporate

parts of the extension projects into their starter

games. Learn more about backpack at

http://bit.ly/scratchbackpack

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

❑_______________________

UNIT 4 ACTIVITY

+ MULTIPLAYER http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/25192711

Demonstrates how to add another player to the game. Player 1

uses the arrow keys to navigate Pico through the maze, and player

2 uses the W, A, S, D keys to navigate Nano through the maze.

THINGS TO TRY FINISHED?

HOW CAN YOU EXTEND AND

REIMAGINE GAMES IN SCRATCH?

Get into game design by adding extended

features within your Scratch project!

Choose at least one (or more!) of the

following extensions and add it to your

previously started maze, pong, or

scrolling games.

+ Add another extension to your maze, pong, or scrolling

game.

+ Challenge yourself to do more! Continue going through

each of the extensions and add them to your games.

+ Help a neighbor!

+ Share your project with a neighbor and give each other

feedback on your games.

+ SCORE http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1940443

Demonstrates how to set and change a score. Receive 10 points

every time the Scratch cat is clicked.

+ TIMER http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1940445

Demonstrates how to use a timer. Use the mouse to navigate the

Scratch cat to Gobo.

+ MOUSE http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/25192659

Demonstrates how to program the mouse to control game play.

Move the mouse to move the paddle.

+ RESTART http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/25192935

Demonstrates how to make a button to restart the game. Click on

the RESTART button to restart.

+ REWARDS http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1940456

Demonstrates how to collect items. Use the arrow keys to move

the Scratch cat around to collect quest items.

+ MENU http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/25192991

Demonstrates how to display a menu screen at the beginning of

the game. Click START or DIRECTIONS on the menu screen.

+ LEVELS http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1940453

Demonstrates how to change levels. Score increases by 1 every time

the space bar is pressed. Level increases by 1 for every 10 points.

+ ENEMIES http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1940450

Demonstrates how to add an enemy. Avoid the tennis ball by using

the up and down arrow keys.

❑Go to the Extensions studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475619

❑Choose one (or more) of the extensions to

explore.

❑Incorporate your choice into your previously

started game projects!

START HERE

+ The backpack can be an extremely useful tool while

programming in Scratch. It can store everything from

lines of code, to music ﬁles, to sprites, and more. Try using

it to incorporate extensions into your game projects.

+ Alternatively, sketching out ideas and bits of code in your

design journal is another great method for planning how

to incorporate your extensions.

EXTENSIONS

❑On their own or in small groups of 2-3 people,

challenge students to further explore Scratch by

creating Scratch programs that solve each of the nine

Interactions programming puzzles. These Interactions

puzzles explore Sensing blocks, engaging some of the

more advanced concepts in Scratch related to

interactivity. Optionally, have the Interactions handout

available to guide students during the activity.

❑Each puzzle can have several possible solutions. Invite

students or groups to share different solutions and

strategies. We suggest the Pair-Share or Design Demo

activity to allow students to share their work and

describe their process. Optionally, have students add

their projects to the Interactions studio or a class

studio.

❑Ask students to think back on the challenge by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ explore different approaches to making projects

interactive by solving a series of nine

programming puzzles

+ gain more ﬂuency in the concepts of conditionals,

operators, and data, and the practice of testing and

debugging

INTERACTIONS

❑Interactions handout

❑Interactions studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/487213

RESOURCES

+ Which puzzles did you work on?

+ What was your strategy for solving the puzzles?

+ Which puzzles helped you think about your game

project?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Are the puzzles solved?

+ Did students explore other approaches for solving

the puzzles?

+ Are there certain blocks or concepts students are

still struggling with? How might you help?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Choose particular challenges that highlight new blocks

or concepts that you would like students to explore. Or

let students invent their own interaction puzzle

prompts.

+ Repurpose these puzzles as an unstructured activity for

students who ﬁnish other activities early or as a

warm-up challenge. Create a puzzle jar: print out, cut,

fold, and place copies of each puzzle description in a

jar. Then, let students pick puzzles from the jar to

solve.

❑_______________________

UNIT 4 ACTIVITY

❑Before getting started in Scratch, write down ideas in

your design journal for possible ways of programming

each of the interactivity puzzles.

❑Work with a neighbor. Collaborating with a partner can

be a great way to solve problems and gain new

perspectives on ways of programming in Scratch!

+ Add each of the projects you create to the Interaction

Studio: http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/487213

+ Help a neighbor!

+ Discuss your strategies for approaching each puzzle with

a partner. Take notes about the similarities and

differences in your methods.

❑PUZZLE 1: Whenever you press the B key, the sprite gets a little

bigger. Whenever you press the S key, the sprite gets a little smaller.

❑PUZZLE 2: Whenever the sprite hears a loud sound, it changes color.

❑PUZZLE 3: Whenever the sprite is in the top 25% of the screen, it

says "I like it up here."

❑PUZZLE 4: When the sprite touches something blue, it plays a high

note. When it touches something red, it plays a low note.

❑PUZZLE 5: Whenever two sprites collide, one of them says: "Excuse

me.”

❑PUZZLE 6: Whenever the cat sprite gets near the dog sprite, the dog

turns and runs from the cat.

❑PUZZLE 7: Whenever you click on the background, a ﬂower appears

at that spot.

❑PUZZLE 8: Whenever you click on a sprite, all other sprites do a

dance.

❑PUZZLE 9: Whenever you move the mouse-pointer, the sprite follows

but doesn't touch the mouse-pointer.

FINISHED?

FEELING

STUCK?

THAT’S OKAY! TRY THESE THINGS…

WHAT DIFFERENTIATES A SCRATCH

PROJECT FROM A STILL IMAGE OR A VIDEO?

Tackle these nine puzzles that engage some of

the more advanced concepts in Scratch related to

interactivity. Each of these challenges has several

possible solutions.

❑Create a Scratch program for each of the nine

interactivity puzzles.

START HERE

INTERACTIONS

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ investigate the problem and ﬁnd a solution to ﬁve

debugging challenges

+ explore a range of concepts (conditionals,

operators, and data) through the practices of

testing and debugging

DEBUG IT!

❑Unit 4 Debug It! handout

❑Unit 4 Debug It! studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475634

RESOURCES

❑Optionally, have the Unit 4 Debug It! handout

available to guide students during the activity.

❑Help students open the Debug It! programs from the

Unit 4 Debug It! studio or by following the project

links listed on the Unit 4 Debug It! handout. Encourage

students to click on the “Look Inside” button to

investigate the buggy program, tinker with problematic

code, and test possible solutions.

❑Give students time to test and debug each Debug It!

challenge. Optionally, have students use the remix

function in Scratch to ﬁx the bugs and save corrected

programs.

❑Ask students to reﬂect back on their testing and

debugging experiences by responding to the reﬂection

prompts in their design journals or in a group

discussion.

❑Create a class list of debugging strategies by collecting

students’ problem ﬁnding and problem solving

approaches.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

+ What was the problem?

+ How did you identify the problem?

+ How did you ﬁx the problem?

+ Did others have alternative approaches to ﬁxing the

problem?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Were students able to solve all ﬁve bugs? If not, how

might you clarify the concepts expressed in the

unsolved programs?

+ What different testing and debugging strategies did

students employ?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ This activity provides an opportunity to check in with

students who might need some additional attention or

support, particularly around the concepts of

conditionals (e.g., if), operators (e.g., arithmetic,

logical), and data (e.g., variables, lists).

SUGGESTED TIME

15–30 MINUTES

UNIT 4 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

HELP! CAN YOU DEBUG THESE FIVE SCRATCH

PROGRAMS?

In this activity, you will investigate what is going

awry and ﬁnd a solution for each of the ﬁve

Debug It! challenges.

❑Make a list of possible bugs in the program.

❑Keep track of your work! This can be a useful reminder of

what you have already tried and point you toward what to

try next.

❑Share and compare your problem ﬁnding and problem

solving approaches with a neighbor until you ﬁnd

something that works for you!

+ Add code commentary by right clicking on blocks in your

scripts. This can help others understand different parts of

your program!

+ Discuss your testing and debugging practices with a partner.

Make note of the similarities and differences in your

strategies.

+ Help a neighbor!

❑DEBUG IT! 4.1 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24271192

In this project, the "Inventory" list should be updated every time

Scratch Cat picks up a new item. But Scratch Cat can only pick up

the laptop. How do we ﬁx the program?

❑DEBUG IT! 4.2 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24271303

In this project, Scratch Cat gets 10 points for collecting Yellow

Gobos and loses 10 points for colliding with Pink Gobos. But

something isn't working. How do we ﬁx the program?

❑DEBUG IT! 4.3 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24271446

In this project, Scratch Cat is thinking of a number between 1 and

10. But something is wrong with the guess checking -- it doesn't

work consistently. How do we ﬁx the program?

❑DEBUG IT! 4.4 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24271475

In this project, the "# of hits" display should increase by 1 every

time the Scratch Cat is hit by a tennis ball. But the "# of hits"

increases by more than 1 when Scratch Cat is hit. How do we ﬁx

the program?

❑DEBUG IT! 4.5 http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/24271560

In this project, Scratch Cat is navigating a maze to get to the

yellow rectangle. But Scratch Cat can walk through walls. How do

we ﬁx the program?

❑Go to the Unit 4 Debug It! Studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475634/

❑Test and debug each of the ﬁve debugging

challenges in the studio.

❑Write down your solution or remix the buggy

program with your solution.

START HERE

DEBUG IT!

FINISHED?

FEELING

STUCK?

THAT’S OKAY! TRY THESE THINGS…

KNOW WANT LEARN 92

ROUND TWO 94

ADVANCED CONCEPTS 96

HARDWARE & EXTENSIONS 100

ACTIVITY DESIGN 102

MY DEBUG IT! 106

0 1 2 3 4 6

UNIT 5

DIVING DEEPER

WHAT’S INCLUDEDYOU ARE HERE

THE “BIG IDEA”

UNIT 5

OVERVIEW

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Learners will:

+ reﬂect on past experiences to self-assess current learning

goals and needs

+ create a self-remix by extending a previously started project

+ be introduced to various hardware extensions that connect

Scratch to the physical world

+ gain more ﬂuency in computational concepts and practices

by exploring the newest Scratch features (video sensing,

cloning)

+ experiment with designing learning experiences for others

+ Not ﬁnding what you’re looking for? Feel free to remix,

reuse, and reimagine any of the activities in this guide to

make it work best for you and your learners.

+ Search for lesson plans, activities, and resources designed

for a speciﬁc curricular area on the ScratchEd website:

http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu

NOTES

+ video sensing

+ cloning

+ peer interviews

KEY WORDS, CONCEPTS, & PRACTICES

THE “BIG IDEA”

After the release of the previous version of the

guide, a common piece of feedback that we received

from teachers was that they (and the learners they

support) wanted more “catch-up” time, time to

linger, revisit, and extend the ideas and projects

they had created in previous units. In response, we

added this “Diving Deeper” unit.

Whether pushing ahead with advanced concepts

and practices or revisiting previous experiences, this

is an opportunity for learners to engage in a

moment of contemplation and reﬂection. What isn’t

as clear as it could be? What do they still want to

know about Scratch? How might others help them –

and how might they help others?

This is also an opportunity for you, as educator, to

engage in similar acts of contemplation and

reﬂection. What has surprised you? What has made

you uncomfortable? What would you want to do

differently next time? Why?

+ hardware

+ extensions

Rather than focusing on a particular theme or genre like

the three previous units, this unit is intended to create a

space for reviewing and reﬂecting on prior work. This unit’s

activities are especially ﬂexible, diving deeper into creative

computing by revisiting challenges, extending skills, or

reﬁning practices.

Begin by inviting students to review their past work and

engage in self-assessment of their learning goals in the

Know Want Learn activity.

Then, encourage students to dive deeper into Scratch by

choosing which follow-up activities to pursue.

What do you know?

What do you

want to know?

What have you

learned?

KNOW

WANT LEARN

Remix a past project,

go back to a missed

activity, or challenge

yourself to learn

something new.

ROUND TWO

Creating with Scratch

can go beyond what

happens on the

screen.

HARDWARE &

EXTENSIONS

Design a learning

experience for

others to try.

ACTIVITY

DESIGN

ADVANCED

CONCEPTS

Create a project

that explores

video sensing

or cloning.

Create your own

Debug It! program

and see if others can

solve it.

MY DEBUG IT!

SESSION 2

SESSION 1 SESSION 3 SESSION 5SESSION 4

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

POSSIBLE PATH

❑In this self-directed learning activity, students will

reﬂect on current understandings and build new

knowledge based on their interests. Optionally, have

the Know Want Learn worksheet available to guide

students.

❑Ask students to reﬂect on what they know already and

what they want to know next about Scratch and

creative computing. Guide students in answering the

ﬁrst two reﬂection prompts in their design journals or

using the Know Want Learn self-assessment

worksheet. Next, give students time to pursue learning

interests from their “What do you want to know?”

responses. Finally, have students respond to the third

and fourth reﬂection prompts in their design journals

or using the Know Want Learn worksheet.

❑Help students share their reﬂections and learning

interests with one another. We recommend peer

interviews: divide students into pairs and have them

take turns interviewing one another about their

processes of reﬂection, self-assessment, and research.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ reﬂect on past projects and experiences

+ self-assess current knowledge and learning goals

+ pursue personal learning interests in a

self-directed research activity

❑Know Want Learn worksheet

❑Scratch Wiki

http://wiki.scratch.mit.edu

❑Scratch Discussion Forums

http://scratch.mit.edu/discuss

❑Scratch FAQ

http://scratch.mit.edu/info/faq

RESOURCES

+ What do you know?

+ What do you want to know?

+ What did you learn?

+ What were your strategies for investigating what you

wanted to know?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Were students able to learn what they wanted to know?

+ What strategies and resources did they employ?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

KNOW WANT

LEARN

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Help students ﬁnd and use other resources during

their research such as leveraging knowledgeable

peers, posing questions to family members and friends,

or posting a question in the Scratch discussion forums.

UNIT 5 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

NAME: ____________________________________________________

What do you know about creative computing & scratch? What do you want to know

next? This activity is an opportunity for you to consider which areas of Scratch you

feel comfortable navigating (What do I know?) and which areas you would like to

explore further (What do I want to know?). Use different resources around you to

investigate what you want to know, and then share your ﬁndings (What did I learn?).

TIPS & TRICKS

WHAT DO I KNOW?

Reﬂecting on your design experiences so far, write down what you know about Scratch and creative computing.

WHAT DO I WANT TO KNOW?

Based on your personal interests, generate a list of things you want to ﬁnd out more about or discover next.

Gather resources to investigate items from the list you created above, and then share what you learned from your research.

KNOW

WANT

LEARN

WHAT DID I LEARN?

ROUND TWO OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ have the opportunity to create a self-remix of past

work or spend time on a unit activity that was

previously skipped or not completed

❑Units 0-5 handouts

RESOURCES

+ Why did you choose that project or activity to work

on?

+ What would you do if you had more time?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Did students create self-remixes or work on activities?

+ What did you learn about your students’ interests?

+ What further support might your students need?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

SUGGESTED TIME

45–60 MINUTES

❑Optionally, have the activity handouts from Units 0-5

available to guide students.

❑Give students self-directed time to:

1. reimagine or extend a past project by creating a

self-remix: a remix of one’s own project.

2. revisit and work on a previous unit activity that was

either skipped or not completed.

❑Encourage students to share their self-remixes or

activity outcomes with one another. We suggest using

pair-share or design demo.

❑Invite students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Invite students to review their design journals and

Scratch proﬁles to reﬂect back on previous work and

activities.

+ Encourage students to review their Unit 1 My Studio

inspiration projects for ideas.

UNIT 5 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

❑Use the Advanced Concepts, Video Sensing examples,

and Cloning examples studios to show examples and

help students get familiar with blocks that control

video sensing and cloning. Optionally, have the

Advanced Concepts handout available to guide

students.

❑Give students time to explore the code of example

programs to create a project that experiments with

one or more of the advanced concepts (video sensing,

cloning).

❑Encourage students to share their explorations with

others. We suggest hosting design demo presentations.

Optionally, have students add their projects to the

Advanced Concepts studio or a class studio.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ gain more ﬂuency with computational concepts

(events, parallelism, data) and practices

(experimenting and iterating, testing and

debugging, reusing and remixing, abstracting and

modularizing) by creating a project exploring

video sensing or cloning

ADVANCED

CONCEPTS

❑Advanced Concepts studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/221311

❑Video Sensing handout

❑Video Sensing examples studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/201435

❑Cloning handout

❑Cloning examples studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/201437

RESOURCES

+ Which advanced concept(s) did you choose to explore?

+ What was your strategy for learning more about the

concept(s) you selected?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Do projects explore one or more of the advanced

concept(s)?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Students who want to explore the video sensing

feature will require a computer with a webcam.

+ Remind students that the backpack tool can be used to

borrow and remix code from example projects.

UNIT 5 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

VIDEO SENSING

HOW CAN YOU USE VIDEO SENSING

IN YOUR SCRATCH PROJECTS?

Did you know that you can make your

Scratch projects interactive through a

webcam? Explore this advanced Scratch

concept by creating a project that

incorporates the video sensing feature.

START HERE

❑Open an existing Scratch project or start a new

project to add video sensing.

❑Click on Extensions.

❑Click on Video Sensing.

❑Check out blocks for video sensing in the

Sensing category.

❑Experiment with video on, turn video, and set

video transparency to blocks to program your

project to sense video motion.

❑Make sure your webcam is connected! Test it out using the turn video on

block.

❑If you’re feeling a little stuck, that’s okay! Explore some of the other

projects in the Video Sensing studio to see how they use the video blocks or

use the Tips Window to learn more about video sensing.

THINGS TO TRY FINISHED?

+ Add your project to the Advanced Concepts

studio: http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/221311

+ Add video sensing to one of your past projects!

+ Help a neighbor!

+ Remix a project in the Video Sensing studio.

START HERE

❑Open an existing Scratch project or start a new

project to experiment with cloning.

❑Check out blocks for cloning in the Control

category.

❑Experiment with the blocks to create clones of

your sprite. Deﬁne behaviors for what your

cloned sprites will do.

❑If you can’t see your clone initially, check if the original sprite is in the same

location – it might be covering the clone! Program your original sprite or

the clone to move or go to different locations so you can see them.

❑Stuck? That’s okay! Explore some of the other projects in the Cloning

Studio to see how they use cloning or search in the Tips Window to learn

more about the Create Clone and When I start as a Clone blocks.

+ Add your project to the Cloning studio:

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/201437

+ Add cloning to one of your past projects!

+ Help a neighbor!

+ Remix a project in the Cloning studio.

CLONING

HOW CAN YOU USE CLONING IN

YOUR SCRATCH PROJECTS?

Cloning is an easy way to create

multiples of the same sprite. You can use

cloning to make many objects and create

cool effects in a project.

Explore this advanced Scratch concept by

creating a project that incorporates the

cloning

feature.

THINGS TO TRY FINISHED?

❑(IMPORTANT: This activity requires access to one or

more of these hardware products.) Introduce students

to ways Scratch can connect to other technologies and

hardware extensions including the LEGO WeDo, MaKey

MaKey, and PicoBoard. Optionally, show examples from

the How can I connect Scratch with other

technologies? video playlist.

❑Divide students into small groups of 2-4 people. Give

the groups time to explore creating a Scratch project

that incorporates a physical world component using

one or more available hardware extensions.

❑Allow each group to share their creations with others.

We suggest facilitating a gallery walk or feedback fair.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ be introduced to various hardware extensions that

connect the digital world of Scratch with the

physical world

HARDWARE &

EXTENSIONS

❑LEGO WeDo construction set

http://bit.ly/LEGOWeDo

❑MaKey MaKey

http://makeymakey.com

❑PicoBoard

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10311

❑How can I connect Scratch with other technologies?

videos: http://bit.ly/hardwareandextensions

RESOURCES

+ Which hardware or extension did you explore?

+ How did you incorporate the digital and the

physical?

+ What was difﬁcult?

+ What was surprising?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Does the work have a digital and a physical

component?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

SUGGESTED TIME

45–60 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Make this a group-wide activity! Using the LEGO WeDo and

Scratch, challenge students to connect their projects to

create a chain of reactions in the style of a Rube Goldberg

machine. See this video for an example:

http://bit.ly/ScratchChainReaction

+ Activate the Scratch blocks that control hardware

extensions by clicking on the Add an Extension button

located under the More Blocks category in the Scratch

project editor.

100

UNIT 5 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

❑Let students experience what it’s like to be in your

teaching shoes! Challenge students to create, remix, or

reimagine an activity or resource designed to support

others' explorations of creative computing. Optionally,

have the Activity Design handout available for

additional support.

❑Help students brainstorm and imagine different kinds

of creative learning experiences. Optionally, review

example project ideas and activities from this guide, or

encourage students to explore the Scratch Cards

resource and Scratch Design Studio list for inspiration.

Then, give students time to design their own learning

activity or resource.

❑Give students opportunities to test out their activity or

resource with learners. Encourage them to share their

activity or resource with family or friends, or invite

students to be peer mentors for other classes, clubs, or

events.

❑Ask students to think back on the design process by

responding to the reﬂection prompts in their design

journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ design an activity or resource for supporting

others in learning more about Scratch and

computational creativity

ACTIVITY

DESIGN

❑Activity Design handout

❑Scratch Cards

http://scratch.mit.edu/info/cards

❑Scratch Design Studio list

http://scratch.mit.edu/users/ScratchDesignStudio/

RESOURCES

+ Who do you envision using your activity or resource?

+ What do you hope people will learn from using your

activity or resource?

+ What challenges might learners experience in doing

the activity or using the resource? How might you

further support them in dealing with these

challenges?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Does the activity or resource facilitate an

introduction or exploration into creative computing?

What feedback can you offer the student?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Students particularly interested in supporting others’

learning can be great candidates for becoming peer

mentors during class or at an afterschool or lunchtime

Scratch Club.

102

UNIT 5 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

NAME: _________________________________________________

How can you help others learn more about Scratch and creative computing? Design an

activity that helps other people learn Scratch. It can be an off-computer activity (like

Creature Construction), project idea (like Build-a-Band), or challenge activity (like Debug

It!). You could even develop a new type of activity or handout! Brainstorm using the

questions below, and then use the activity and handout planners to give more detail.

TIPS & TRICKS

WHO IS THIS FOR?

Who is your audience? Who do you want to help learn more about Scratch and creative computing?

WHAT WILL THEY LEARN?

What are the learning goals? What new things do you hope people will learn from using your activity?

WHAT DO THEY NEED?

What supplies will people need? What other types of support will help people successfully engage in your activity?

ACTIVITY

DESIGN

(TIPS AND TRICKS)

❑What will learners create? How will they do this?

❑How will learners share their work with others?

❑How will learners reﬂect on their designs?

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

❑

RESOURCES

REFLECTION PROMPTS

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

(PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS) (2 PROJECT RESOURCES - studios, handouts, etc.)

(3 REFLECTION QUESTIONS)

(2 WAYS TO CHECK IF A LEARNER COMPLETED THE ACTIVITY)

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, learners will:

(TITLE)

SUGGESTED TIME

__–__ MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

(2 LEARNING GOALS)

MY ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

START HERE

(PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS)

❑

THINGS TO TRY FINISHED?

(TITLE)

(PROJECT PICTURE)

(3 THINGS TO DO IF THEY GET STUCK) (3 THINGS TO DO IF THEY HAVE EXTRA TIME)

(ILLUSTRATED PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS)

(PROJECT

OVERVIEW)

(PROJECT

DESCRIPTION)

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ become more ﬂuent with computational practices

(experimenting and iterating, testing and

debugging, reusing and remixing, abstracting and

modularizing) by designing a debugging challenge

❑My Debug It! handout

❑My Debug It! studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475637

RESOURCES

❑Optionally, have the My Debug It! handout available to

guide students during the activity.

❑Give students the opportunity to create their own

debugging challenge for others to solve. Bugs can

focus on a speciﬁc computational concept, Scratch

block, interaction, or some other programming

challenge. Encourage students to take inspiration from

their own experiences of getting stuck and unstuck

while developing Scratch projects.

❑Let students swap and try testing and debugging one

another’s buggy projects. Optionally, have students add

their debug-it program to the My Debug It! studio or a

class studio.

❑Ask students to reﬂect back on their problem-creating

approaches by responding to the reﬂection prompts in

their design journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

+ What was the problem?

+ Where did your inspiration come from?

+ How did you imagine others investigating and

solving the challenge?

+ Did others have alternative approaches to ﬁnding

and ﬁxing the problem than what you expected?

What were their strategies?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Do projects include a debugging challenge to solve?

+ What different testing and debugging strategies did

students employ?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

SUGGESTED TIME

15–30 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Remind students to include a challenge description in

the notes of the project page on the Scratch website.

+ Got extra time or need a warm-up activity?

Let students exercise their problem-seeking and

problem-solving skills on other contributed debug-it

programs in the My Debug It! studio.

MY DEBUG IT!

106

UNIT 5 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

IT’S TIME TO DESIGN YOUR OWN

DEBUG IT PROGRAM. WHAT WILL

YOU CREATE?

In this activity, you will create your own

Debug It! challenge for others to

investigate, solve, and remix.

❑Reﬂect back on the different kinds of bugs

you’ve encountered in creating and debugging

your own projects.

❑Generate a list of possible debugging

challenges you could create. A Debug It! can

focus on a speciﬁc concept, block, interaction, or

some other programming challenge.

❑Build your Debug It! program.

START HERE

+ Add your debugging challenge to the My Debug It!

studio: http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/475637

+ Swap Debug It! programs with a neighbor and try to

solve each other’s buggy programs.

+ Help a neighbor.

+ Try debugging other programs in the My Debug It!

studio.

FINISHED?

NOTES

TO SELF

❑

PLANS FOR MY DEBUG IT!

MY DEBUG IT!

108

109

12 3 4 50 6

UNIT 6

HACKATHON

PROJECT PITCH 114

PROJECT PLANNING 116

DESIGN SPRINT 120

PROJECT FEEDBACK 122

PROJECT CHECK-IN 124

UNFOCUS GROUP 126

SHOWCASE PREP 128

SHOWCASE 130

WHAT’S INCLUDEDYOU ARE HERE

UNIT 6

OVERVIEW

In this ﬁnal unit, students will build on their creative

computing experiences by engaging in the design of an

open-ended project of their choosing. To help you and

your students tackle this open-ended design experience,

we were inspired to frame this unit as a hackathon. With

its ethos of embracing just-in-time learning and problem

solving, encouraging iterative planning-making-sharing,

and celebrating a connected and collaborative

environment, the hackathon is an ideal creative computing

culminating experience.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students will:

+ be introduced to the format of a hackathon event

+ demonstrate knowledge of computational concepts

(sequence, loops, events, parallelism, conditionals,

operators, data) and practices (experimenting and iterating,

testing and debugging, reusing and remixing, abstracting

and modularizing) by deﬁning, developing, and presenting a

personally meaningful, self-directed project

+ have multiple opportunities for collaboration by working in

peer teams, sharing skills, and giving and receiving multiple

rounds of feedback

+ This unit can accommodate either independent or

collaborative group projects. Pick one option or allow

students to choose.

NOTES

+ hackathon

+ design sprint

+ project pitch

KEY WORDS, CONCEPTS, & PRACTICES

THE “BIG IDEA”

110

School is done but

some students do not

seem to notice.

Busy debugging

their #scratch game.

A team effort.

@Sheena1010

+ unfocus group

+ showcase

THE “BIG IDEA”

Throughout the duration of the

hackathon, students will engage in

iterative cycles in which they

PLAN, MAKE, and SHARE. This

iterative cycle encourages students

to engage in meaningful acts of

ideation, creation, and reﬂection.

MAKE

Design and develop project creations

with resources and help from others.

PLAN

What do you want to work on?

Brainstorm ideas and prepare a plan

of action!

Share your project with others and

gather feedback to guide your next

steps!

“Hack” has a negative connotation to some – but it has a long history of standing for playfulness, curiosity, persistence, and

creativity. One of our favorite deﬁnitions frames “hack” as “an appropriate application of ingenuity”. With this deﬁnition, what

better capacity for young learners than learning how to “hack”?

A hackathon takes the playful ingenuity of hacking – and situates it in an intensely focused and time-limited context. In this

unit, learners will brainstorm an idea, develop a project, and showcase a ﬁnal prototype using an iterative plan-make-share

cycle.

Hackathons provide excellent opportunities for learners to invent their own personally meaningful and relevant projects to

work on, which can be developed as independent ﬁnal projects or in collaborative teams. It is a chance for students to

demonstrate their knowledge in Scratch, expand upon current skills, and develop and test ideas within a collaborative, creative,

ﬂexible, and playful learning environment.

111

PLAN

SHARE MAKE

HOW DOES IT WORK?

WHAT IS A HACKATHON?

POSSIBLE PATH

The hackathon-inspired activities for this unit are designed to challenge students to build up a more complex project within an

open-ended and collaborative learning environment. All of the important culture-building we’ve been doing – encouraging

risk-taking and persistence, recognizing failures as learning opportunities, focusing on process over product, and cultivating a

culture of cooperation and fun – culminates in this unit.

To help you get started, we have included a suggested sequence of activities that follow the plan-make-share design cycle.

START

HERE

PROJECT

PITCH

Pitch your ideas,

interests, or skills to

form a project team!

PROJECT

FEEDBACK

What is going well

in your project and

what still needs

adjustment?

SHOWCASE

PREP

Use this time to make

last-minute project

edits and to prepare

for the hackathon

showcase.

DESIGN

SPRINT

Final round

of design!

PROJECT

CHECK-IN

Take a moment to

reﬂect on your project

feedback and regroup

before continuing.

DESIGN

SPRINT

Keep making

progress with your

project as you

move into the

second round of

design.

UNFOCUS

GROUP

Formulate and share

project feedback with

your critique group.

SHOWCASE

An event to celebrate

all of your hard work

and ﬁnished projects!

Dive into your project

creation with this

open-ended design

sprint.

DESIGN

SPRINT

PLANNING

PROMPTS

Before diving into

your project, take

some time to prepare

a plan of action.

PROJECT

CHECK-IN

Take a moment to

reﬂect on your

project feedback

and regroup before

continuing.

112

❑Introduce students to the concept of a pitch. With a pitch,

students can either announce a project idea in order to

recruit other team members, or they can promote their

interests, skills, or talents, in order to be recruited by other

teams.

❑Distribute the Pitch handout, giving students time to

brainstorm and to respond on the handout. Some students

already may have a project idea or have identiﬁed a speciﬁc

interest or skill they want to share or further explore. Let

students know that if they don’t have a speciﬁc project idea

or interest, they will have an opportunity to join another

team. Optionally, have students review inspiration projects

identiﬁed during the Unit 1 My Studio activity.

❑Give each student a chance to pitch to the rest of the group.

Ask people to line up if they want to pitch, and give them

thirty seconds each to describe their project, interest, or

skill.

❑Provide time for students to form project groups of 3 or 4

people. Optionally, have students write their names and

project interests on sticky notes that can be arranged and

sorted on a wall to facilitate team-building.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ brainstorm project ideas based on personal

interests

+ pitch ideas, interests, and skills to form project

teams

❑Pitch handout

❑sticky notes (optional)

RESOURCES

+ What has been your favorite project to work on so

far?

+ What kinds of projects are you interested in creating

next?

+ What knowledge, skills, or talents could you

contribute to a project?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Did each student get a chance to pitch their idea or

interests?

+ Did each student ﬁnd a project team to join?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

PROJECT

PITCH

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Students can be enormously valuable in providing

support and guidance to each other throughout all of

the Scratch sessions, and particularly during the

hackathon sessions. Encouraging young people to

share their knowledge and skills with others makes

things easier for the facilitator, but can also

signiﬁcantly deepen creators’ learning and

understanding.

114

❑_______________________

UNIT 6 ACTIVITY

PROJECT PITCH BY: __________________________________________________

What has been your favorite project to work on so far? What made this project stand out for you?

What kinds of projects are you interested in creating next?

SKILLS IN SCRATCH

What knowledge, skills, or talents would you like to contribute to a project?

Use the prompts below to brainstorm ideas for projects you’re interested in working on during

the hackathon. You will have 30 seconds to pitch your ideas, interests, and skills to the rest of

the group!

PROJECT

PITCH

MY FAVORITE PROJECT

MY HACKATHON PROJECT IDEA

MY SKILLS AND INTERESTS

❑Taking some time at the start of the ﬁnal project to

explore ideas, identify tasks involved in completing the

project, and list what is (and isn’t) already known can

be very beneﬁcial for successful project completion.

❑Divide the group into project teams. Optionally,

distribute the Project Planning and Project Sketches

handouts to each team or individual.

❑Review different elements for planning projects

(project sketches, outline of tasks, list of resources,

storyboards/wireframes). Give the teams 15 minutes to

brainstorm ideas, plans, and resources for their

projects. Students who already have a clear concept

and plan are welcome to start working on their project

design.

❑Optionally, collect the completed Project Planning and

Project Sketches handouts at the end of this activity to

return to students at the beginning of Design Sprint

sessions.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

PROJECT

PLANNING

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ identify an appropriately-scoped project to work

+ develop an outline of activities or tasks required

to complete the project

+ generate a preliminary list of resources required to

complete the project

❑Project Planning handout

❑Project Sketches handout

RESOURCES

+ What project do I want to create?

+ What steps will I take to develop my project?

+ What resources (e.g., people, sample projects) do I

already have to develop my project?

+ What resources (e.g., people, sample projects) might

I need to develop my project?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Is the project appropriately scoped for the amount of

time and resources available for this hackathon?

+ How can you make resources accessible to students

who need them?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Although planning is helpful, it shouldn’t be

all-consuming or the only way of doing things.

Different students will want and need to plan and

tinker to different extents – and different phases of

the project will require different approaches. Multiple

design and development styles should be encouraged

and accommodated.

116

❑_______________________

UNIT 6 ACTIVITY

Use the prompts below to start thinking about the elements needed to develop your project.

Describe the project you want to create.

List the steps needed in order to create your project.

What resources (e.g., people, sample projects) do you

already have?

What resources (e.g., people, sample projects) might

you need to develop your project?

PROJECT PLANS BY: _________________________________________________

PROJECT

PLANNING

MY PROJECT

MY RESOURCES

What’s happening? What are the important elements? What’s happening? What are the important elements?

PROJECT SKETCHES BY: _______________________________________________

Use the space below to draw sketches of what your project will look like!

PROJECT

SKETCHES

MY PROJECT SKETCHES

❑Introduce students to the concept of a design sprint, which

is a speciﬁed amount of time dedicated to working

intensely on developing projects.

❑Ask students to write down goals for this session using the

Project Check-In activity or by responding to the reﬂection

prompts in their design teams or in their design journals.

Give students their completed Project Planning, Project

Feedback, and Unfocus Group handouts to guide them in

reﬂecting on original project goals and to encourage them

to make plans for reﬁnement based on feedback.

❑Give students self-directed time to work on their projects.

Introduce and distribute additional support resources as

needed. In addition to peer support, having a collection of

readily-available support resources can help students

continue to make progress. Sample projects on the Scratch

website (http://scratch.mit.edu) can provide ideas, and

additional resources can be found on the ScratchEd website

(http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu).

❑Optionally, ask students to post their project drafts in a

class studio.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

DESIGN SPRINT OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ use computational concepts and practices to

further develop a Scratch project of their choosing

❑additional resources (e.g., sample projects, handouts,

Scratch Cards, craft material)

RESOURCES

+ What part of your project will you be working on

today?

+ What might you need help with in order to make

progress?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Are individuals or groups making reasonable

progress?

+ What feedback or suggestions do you have for the

projects?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

SUGGESTED TIME

45–60 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ All design activities are constrained – by time, by

resources, by our own abilities at a given moment –

and compromises may need to be made. The

open-ended designing sessions are a great opportunity

to have conversations with students about the

essential elements of their projects. What are the most

important aspects of the projects? What can

reasonably be accomplished in the remaining time?

120

❑_______________________

UNIT 6 ACTIVITY

❑Divide the group into feedback teams of 3-4 people, so that

their feedback team members are not also members of their

project team. Optionally, have students gather in their

critique groups from the Unit 0 Critique Group activity.

❑Distribute the Project Feedback handout to each person,

and review the different handout elements. Ask students to

ﬁll out the top portion of the handout with their name and

project title.

❑Ask students to spend 10 minutes reviewing each project in

their feedback team and critiquing the project draft using

the Red, Yellow, Green feedback questions. When the review

is complete, each student will have received feedback on

their project from the other members of their feedback

group.

❑After all the feedback rounds have ended, give students

time to meet with their project team members to review the

feedback and reﬂect on which suggestions they want to

incorporate into their project during the next Design Sprint

session. Optionally, collect the completed Project Feedback

handouts at the end of this activity to return to students at

the beginning of the Project Check-In activity or Design

Sprint sessions.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

PROJECT

FEEDBACK

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ will work together in small critique groups to give

each other preliminary feedback on their projects

+ test projects-in-progress

+ formulate and share feedback for others

❑Project Feedback handout

RESOURCES

+ What aspects of your project could someone give

you feedback about?

+ What feedback, if any, do you plan to incorporate

into your project next?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Did each student have opportunities to give and

receive feedback from various sources?

+ Did each student complete the Project Feedback

handout?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Different people will provide different perspectives on

the project-in-progress. Create opportunities for

learners to get feedback from a variety of sources,

including themselves!

122

UNIT 6 ACTIVITY

❑_______________________

FEEDBACK BY

[YELLOW]

What is something that is confusing or

could be done differently?

[RED]

What is something that doesn’t work or

could be improved?

[GREEN]

What is something that works well or you

really like about the project?

RED, YELLOW, GREEN

PARTS OF THE PROJECT THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO THINK ABOUT:

+ Clarity: Did you understand what the project is supposed to do?

+ Features: What features does the project have? Does the project work as expected?

+ Appeal: How engaging is the project? Is it interactive, original, sophisticated, funny, or interesting? How did you feel as you interacted

with it?

FEEDBACK FOR: ___________________________________________________

PROJECT TITLE: ___________________________________________________

PROJECT

FEEDBACK

❑In this activity, students will perform a project

check-in, where they will update fellow team members

about their design progress so far and outline a plan

for an upcoming design sprint based on feedback

received. Optionally, give students or groups a Project

Check-In handout to guide them during this activity.

❑Divide the group into project teams. Optionally,

redistribute to students their completed Project

Planning, Project Feedback, and Unfocus Group

handouts.

❑Give teams time to reﬂect back on original project

goals and acquired feedback. Invite students to outline

next steps and plans for project reﬁnement for an

upcoming design sprint.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

PROJECT

CHECK-IN

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ review project progress and feedback

+ develop an outline of activities or tasks required

to complete the project

+ generate a list of resources required to complete

the project

❑Project Check-In handout

RESOURCES

+ What has been your favorite part of the process so far?

+ What parts of your project still need to be worked on?

+ What parts of your project will you be working on

next?

+ What might you need help with in order to make

progress?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Are teams making reasonable progress and plans?

+ Are group members working cooperatively and

collaboratively while discussing and sharing project

responsibilities?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

SUGGESTED TIME

15–30 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ The Project Check-In is a short planning activity. We

recommend using it as a warm-up activity at the

beginning of each Design Sprint session.

124

❑_______________________

UNIT 6 ACTIVITY

Discuss your design progress with your team and outline a plan for next steps based

on feedback.

What parts of your project will each group member be

working on next?

What might you need help with in order to make progress?

CHECK-IN BY: _____________________________________________________

What has been your favorite part of the process so far? What parts of your project still need to be worked on?

PROJECT

CHECK-IN

PROJECT PROGRESS

NEXT STEPS

❑Hosting an unfocus group is an idea we borrow from

IDEO. Introduce the unfocus group concept, where

students will share their projects-in-progress and

request feedback from a diverse collection of people.

❑Optionally, distribute the Unfocus Group handout to

each person.

❑Help students brainstorm possible unfocus group

participants. Encourage them to consider their target

audience as well as unusual users or unexpected cases

who can offer a unique perspective or interesting

feedback (e.g., parents, teachers, siblings, other

students, community members).

❑Give students time to identify, interview, observe, and

record feedback from two unfocus group members.

❑Allow students time to meet with their project team

members to share feedback collected from different

unfocus group sources. Optionally, collect the

completed Unfocus Group handouts at the end of this

activity to return to students at the beginning of the

Project Check-In or Design Sprint sessions.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ interview, observe, and ask others for feedback on

projects-in-progress

❑Unfocus Group handout

RESOURCES

+ Describe your unfocus group participants and why

you chose them.

+ How might their ideas inﬂuence your project?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Did students identify and interview two unfocus

group participants?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

UNFOCUS GROUP

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Help students get creative in researching and

discovering feedback sources. Is there a local game

design company that might be interested in helping?

Could projects be shared with students from another

school?

+ If unfocus group members are not available to be

interviewed during the session (e.g., teachers, parents,

siblings, community members), you can organize this

activity for outside of class time or assign it as

homework.

126

❑_______________________

UNIT 6 ACTIVITY

PROJECT TITLE: ___________________________________________________

INTERVIEW BY: ___________________________________________________

IDENTIFY

SKILLS IN SCRATCH

In this activity, you will interview and observe others to get feedback on your

project-in-progress.

+ What kinds of people

might be able to

offer you a unique

perspective on your

project?

+ Who are two unfocus

group members you

plan to share your

project draft with?

Share your project with your

unfocus group and observe

their reactions.

+ What are they getting

stuck on?

+ Are they interacting with

your project the way you

imagined?

+ Are they doing anything

surprising?

After you observe, interview

your group about their

experience.

+ What feedback did you

receive from your

interview?

+ What suggestions, if any,

do you plan to

incorporate into your

project next?

UNFOCUS

GROUP

IDENTIFY

OBSERVE

INTERVIEW

❑Remind students that they will be sharing their

projects with each other (and possibly guests) as a way

of acknowledging the hard work that has taken place

and of reﬂecting on their experiences. Explain that this

session is an opportunity for ﬁnalizing their

works-in-progress and coming up with a strategy for

sharing their projects with others.

❑Give students time to work on their projects and

prepare for presenting ﬁnal drafts at the project

showcase. Optionally, collect ﬁnal works-in-progress

into a class studio for ease in presenting. Optionally,

invite students to add their projects to the Hackathon

studio.

❑Distribute the Project Reﬂections handout to students

and discuss the What?, So what?, Now what?

framework as a way for them to present their

experiences to others.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

SHOWCASE PREP OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ work on their ﬁnal project drafts and prepare for

the ﬁnal project showcase

❑Project Reﬂections handout

❑Hackathon studio

http://scratch.mit.edu/studios/488267

RESOURCES

+ What is your project?

+ What was your process for developing the project?

+ What do you want to create next?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Did each group or individual complete a Project

Reﬂections handout?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

SUGGESTED TIME

30–45 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Students may be feeling anxious or stressed about

completing their projects. This is an opportunity to

remind them that: (1) this experience is just a

waypoint on their paths as computational creators, and

(2) some types of stress can be good, helping us to

focus on our goals and get things done!

128

❑_______________________

UNIT 6 ACTIVITY

PROJECT

REFLECTIONS

FEEDBACK

FOR:

What is your project?

How does it work? How did you come up with the idea?

What was your process for developing the project?

What was interesting, challenging, and surprising? Why?

What did you learn?

What are you most proud of about your project?

What would you change?

NOW WHAT?

WHAT DO

YOU WANT

TO CREATE

NEXT?

PROJECT REFLECTIONS BY: ____________________________________________

Use the prompts below to reﬂect on your design process.

WHAT?

SO WHAT?

❑Create a celebratory mood in the space by inviting

guests, playing music, hanging decorations, and/or

providing snacks.

❑Optionally, use a projector and screen to display

projects.

❑Invite students to share their ﬁnal projects and discuss

their design processes with others. Optionally, make

student progress visible by having design notebooks

and prior projects available.

❑Give students time to reﬂect on all of their creative

computing experiences by reviewing their design

journals and responding to the reﬂection prompts in

their design journals or in a group discussion.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

SHOWCASE OBJECTIVES

By completing this activity, students will:

+ share their ﬁnal projects with others and reﬂect

on their overall design process and computational

creation experiences

❑projector and screen for presentations (optional)

RESOURCES

+ Look through your design notebook. What types of

notes did you take?

+ Which notes were most helpful?

+ What has been your favorite Scratch project to work

on so far? Why is it your favorite?

+ What do you want to create next?

REFLECTION PROMPTS

+ Did each team or individual have the opportunity to

share their work and be celebrated?

REVIEWING STUDENT WORK

SUGGESTED TIME

45–60 MINUTES

NOTES NOTES TO SELF

+ Sharing can take place in a variety of ways: individuals

presenting to the entire group, concurrent subsets of

students presenting, live demos, accessing projects

from the web, etc.

+ Project portfolios, design journals, ﬁnal project

feedback handouts, and ﬁnal project reﬂection

handouts are a few (of many different possible) types

of artifacts that may be collected for assessment

purposes. (See Appendix.)

130

❑_______________________

UNIT 6 ACTIVITY

132

APPENDIX

133

134

GLOSSARY

abstracting and modularizing: The computational practice of exploring connections between the whole and the parts.

animation: An illusion of continuous motion created by the rapid display of a sequence of still images with incremental

differences.

arcade day: A strategy for sharing student work and whole group activity. Students place their ﬁnished projects in Presentation

Mode and then walk around and engage with each other’s work.

backdrop: One out of possibly many frames, or backgrounds, of the Stage.

backpack: A Scratch feature that can be used to conveniently transfer media and/or scripts between projects.

bitmap: An image that is deﬁned by a two-dimensional array (grid) of discrete color values (a.k.a. “pixels”). Contrast with vector

graphics.

broadcast: A message that is sent through the Scratch program, activating receiving scripts.

cloning: A Scratch feature that allows a sprite to create duplicates of itself while the project is running.

computational concepts: The concepts designers engage with as they program, such as sequence, loops, conditionals, events,

parallelism, operators, and data.

computational perspectives: The broader perspectives that designers may form about world around them through computing

– such as expressing themselves, connecting with others, and posing questions about technology’s role in the world.

computational practices: The distinctive habits of mind that programmers develop as they work, such as experimenting and

iterating, testing and debugging, remixing and reusing work, and abstracting and modularizing.

conditionals: The computational concept of making decisions based on conditions (e.g., current variable values).

control: One of the ten categories of Scratch blocks. They are color-coded gold, and are used to control scripts.

costume: One out of possibly many “frames” or alternate appearances of a sprite. A sprite can change its look to any of its

costumes.

critique group: A group of designers who share ideas and test projects-in-progress with one another in order to get feedback

on how to further develop their projects.

data: The computational concept of storing, retrieving, and updating values.

design demo: An activity in which students are invited to present their work to the class and demonstrate how they

implemented a particular block, skill, or design strategy within their project.

design sprint: A speciﬁed amount of time dedicated to working intensely on developing projects.

events: The computational concept of one thing causing another thing to happen.

experimenting and iterating: The computational practice of developing a little bit, then trying it out, then developing some

more.

feedback fair: A sharing activity in which half of your students stay in their seats with their projects open while the other half

walks around exploring projects, asking questions, and giving feedback. Once complete, the students then switch sides and

start the process over.

A guide to the key words, concepts, and practices in the curriculum guide:

Visit the Scratch help pages at http://scratch.mit.edu/help or the community-generated Scratch Wiki at

http://wiki.scratch.mit.edu for additional, Scratch-speciﬁc terminology.

135

gallery walk: A sharing activity in which students put their projects in presentation mode and then walk around and explore

each other’s projects.

hardware and extensions: Supplemental materials that connect the digital world of Scratch with the physical world. Examples

of hardware extensions include: LEGO WeDo, PicoBoard, and MaKey MaKey.

interactive collage: A Scratch project that incorporates a variety of clickable sprites.

looks: One of the ten categories of Scratch blocks. They are color-coded purple, and are used to control a sprite's appearance.

loops: The computational concept of running the same sequence multiple times.

make a block: A feature found within the More Blocks category that allows students to create and deﬁne their own custom

block or procedure.

motion: One of the ten categories of Scratch blocks. They are color-coded medium-blue, and are used to control a sprite’s

movement.

operators: The computational concept of supporting mathematical and logical expressions.

paint editor: Scratch's built-in image editor. Many Scratchers create their own sprites, costumes, and backdrops using it.

pair programming: A programming methodology in which developers pair up and work side-by-side on a project.

parallelism: The computational concept of making things happen at the same time.

pass-it-on story: A Scratch project that is started by a pair of people, and then passed on to two other pairs to extend and

reimagine.

peer interviews: A sharing activity in which students take turns interviewing one another about their processes of reﬂection,

self-assessment, and research.

pitch: An activity in which students either announce a project idea in order to recruit other team members, or promote their

interests, skills, and talents in order to be recruited by other teams.

presentation mode: A display mode in Scratch that allows projects to be viewed at an enlarged size. It is accessed by pressing

the button on the top left of the Scratch program. This mode is also called full screen mode or enlarged screen.

proﬁle page: A page on the Scratch online community dedicated to displaying information about a Scratch user, such as

projects they have created or bookmarked (a.k.a. “favorited”).

project editor: A feature of the Scratch online community that allows projects to be modiﬁed. This includes the script area

(where scripts are assembled), the sprite area (where sprites can be manipulated), and the stage area (where sprites are

positioned and where backgrounds can be accessed).

red, yellow, green: A reﬂection and sharing activity in which individuals identify aspects of their projects as not going well or

still needing work (“red”), confusing or contentious (“yellow”), or working well (“green”).

remix: A creative work that is derived from an original work (or from another remix). A remix typically introduces new content

or stylistic elements, while retaining a degree of similarity to the original work.

reusing and remixing: The computational practice of making something by building on existing projects or ideas.

Scratch screening: A sharing activity in which students gather around to observe each other’s Scratch projects.

scripts: One or more Scratch blocks connected together to form a sequence. Scripts begin with an event block that responds to

input (e.g., mouse click, broadcast). When triggered, additional blocks connected to the event block are executed one at a

time.

sensing: One of the ten categories of Scratch blocks. They are color-coded light-blue, and are used to detect different forms of

input (e.g., mouse position) or program state (e.g., sprite position).

sequence: The computational concept of identifying a series of steps for a task.

136

showcase: A strategy for sharing in which students present their ﬁnal projects to others and reﬂect on their design processes

and computational creation experiences.

sound: An audio ﬁle that can be played in a Scratch project, available by importing from Scratch's built-in sound library, or

creating a new recording. Sounds are played by using sound blocks, which control a sound's volume, tempo, and more.

sprite: A media object that performs actions on the stage in a Scratch project.

stage: The background of a Scratch project. The stage can have scripts, backdrops (costumes), and sounds, similar to a sprite.

studio: A user-created gallery in the Scratch online community that can be used to highlight projects contributed by one or

many users.

testing and debugging: The computational practice of making sure things work – and ﬁnding and solving problems when they

arise.

theatre metaphor: A way of describing the design of Scratch that emphasizes its intentional similarity to theatre, with actors

(sprites), costumes, backdrops, scripts, and a stage.

tips window: Built directly into the Project Editor, the Tips Window is a form of getting help in Scratch.

unfocus group: An activity in which students share their projects-in-progress and request feedback from a diverse collection of

people.

variables and lists: A changeable value or collection of values recorded in Scratch’s memory. Variables can store one value at a

time, while lists can store multiple values.

vector graphic: An image that is deﬁned by a collection of geometric shapes (e.g., circles, rectangles) and colors. Contrast with

bitmap.

video sensing: A Scratch feature that makes use of video from a webcam to detect motion or display video input on the stage.

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138

STANDARDS

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics 2010

http://www.corestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/Math_Standards.pdf

+ Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them – Many guide activities engage students in solving debugging

challenges, which encourage students to discover different ways of ﬁnding and solving problems.

Example activity: Unit 1 -

4 Debug It!

+ Reason Abstractly and Quantitatively – Students can express abstract concepts and demonstrate their understandings of

quantitative relationships such as variables through visual representations designed in Scratch.

Example activity: Unit 4

Score

+ Model with Mathematics – Certain activities in the guide challenge students to represent previously learned equations,

data comparisons, or other mathematical relationships as Scratch programs.

Example activity: Unit 4 Interactions

+ Attend to precision – On- and off-screen activities help students recognize the importance of attending to detail when

specifying instructions or a sequence of code intended to elicit a particular outcome.

Example activity: Unit 1 Programmed

to Dance

+ Look for and Make Use of Structure – Looking through scripts during a debugging challenge, reading through someone

else’s project code while remixing a project, or reviewing work to build up more complex programs can engage students in

looking closely to discern repeated patterns or structure within their own or others’ Scratch programs.

Example activity:

Unit 3 Conversations

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts/Literacy 2010

http://www.corestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/ELA_Standards.pdf

+ They demonstrate independence. – Most activities and projects in the guide are designed to be self-directed or can be

easily adjusted to accommodate independent work, although collaborative projects and group work are encouraged.

Example activity: Unit 1 About Me

+ They respond to the varying demands of audience, task, purpose, and discipline. – Students are made aware of varying types

of audience, task, purpose, and discipline when sharing projects to the worldwide Scratch online community or designing

projects and activities for others.

Example activity: Unit 5 Activity Design

+ They comprehend as well as critique. – A variety of feedback exercises and collaborative projects engage students in

sharing works-in-progress, asking questions, and exchanging constructive critique.

Example activity: Unit 0 Critique Group

+ They use technology and digital media strategically and capably. – During self-directed activities, students learn to navigate

to different parts of the Scratch website to develop projects, search for inspiration, connect with others, and pursue

personal learning goals.

Example activity: Unit 5 Know Want Learn

+ They come to understand other perspectives and cultures. – In remixing others’ projects, students need to read, understand,

and interpret the code and intention of work that is not their own. When building up collaborative projects, students learn

to cooperate, compromise, and share work with others.

Example Activity: Unit 3 Pass It On

The activities in this guide make connections to several different K-12 curriculum standards, including the

Common Core State Standards, the CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards, and ISTE NETS. We have

included connections to Common Core Standards as an example.

For more connections, please visit the guide site at http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu/guide

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140

COMPUTATIONAL THINKING

CONCEPT DESCRIPTION

sequence identifying a series of steps for a task

loops running the same sequence multiple times

parallelism making things happen at the same time

events one thing causing another thing to happen

conditionals making decisions based on conditions

operators support for mathematical and logical expressions

data storing, retrieving, and updating values

COMPUTATIONAL CONCEPTS

PRACTICE DESCRIPTION

experimenting and iterating developing a little bit, then trying it out, then developing some more

testing and debugging making sure things work – and ﬁnding and solving problems when they arise

reusing and remixing making something by building on existing projects or ideas

abstracting and

modularizing

exploring connections between the whole and the parts

COMPUTATIONAL PRACTICES

PERSPECTIVE DESCRIPTION

expressing realizing that computation is a medium of creation

“I can create.”

connecting recognizing the power of creating with and for others

“I can do different things when I have access to others.”

questioning feeling empowered to ask questions about the world

“I can (use computation to) ask questions to make sense of (computational things in) the

world.”

COMPUTATIONAL PERSPECTIVES

Over the past several years, we have been captivated by “computational thinking” as a way to describe the learning and

development that take place with Scratch. In this section, we share: (1) our deﬁnition of computational thinking as a set of

concepts, practices, and perspectives, (2) an instrument for assessing student proﬁciency with computational practices, and (3) a

self-reﬂection instrument to help teachers assess how they support computational practices in the classroom.

These deﬁnitions and instruments were developed in collaboration with Wendy Martin, Francisco Cervantes, and Bill Tally from

Education Development Center’s Center for Children & Technology, and Mitch Resnick from MIT Media Lab. Additional

computational thinking resources are available at http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu/ct

141

The following instrument can be used to assess students’ development of ﬂuency with computational

thinking practices (experimenting and iterating, testing and debugging, reusing and remixing, abstracting

and modularizing). The ﬁrst column indicates a question for the student (as part of a design journal prompt

or interview, for example). The second, third, and fourth columns indicate how low, medium, and high levels

of proﬁciency might be manifested.

EXPERIMENTING AND ITERATING LOW MEDIUM HIGH

Describe how you built your project

step by step.

Student provides a basic

description of building a

project, but no details

about a speciﬁc project.

Student gives a general

example of building a

speciﬁc project in a certain

order.

Student provides details

about the different

components of a speciﬁc

project and how they were

developed in a certain

order.

What different things did you try out as

you went along with your project?

Student does not provide

speciﬁc examples of what

s/he tried.

Student gives a general

example of trying

something in the project.

Student provides speciﬁc

examples of different

things s/he tries in a

project.

What revisions did you make and why

did you make them?

Student says s/he made no

revisions, or only states

s/he made revisions but

gives no examples.

Student describes one

speciﬁc revision s/he made

to the project.

Student describes the

speciﬁc things s/he added

to the project and why.

Describe different ways you tried to do

things in your project, or when you tried

to do something new.

Student provides no

examples of trying

something new.

Student provides an

example of trying

something new in the

project.

Student describes speciﬁc

new things s/he tried in a

project.

TESTING AND DEBUGGING LOW MEDIUM HIGH

Describe what happened when you ran

your project that was different from

what you wanted.

Student does not describe

what was different when

s/he ran the project from

what s/he wanted.

Student describes what

went wrong in the project,

but not what s/he wanted

it to do.

Student gives a speciﬁc

example of what happened

and what s/he wanted to

have happen when s/he

ran the project.

Describe how you read through the

scripts to investigate the cause of the

problem.

Student does not describe

a problem.

Student describes reading

through the scripts but

does not provide a speciﬁc

example of ﬁnding a

problem in the code.

Student describes reading

through the scripts and

provides a speciﬁc example

of ﬁnding a problem in the

code.

Describe how you made changes and

tested to see what happened.

Student does not describe

what problems s/he had or

the solution.

Student provides a general

example of making a

change and testing it out

to see if it worked.

This student provides a

speciﬁc example of making

a change and testing it out

to see if it worked.

Describe how you considered other

ways to solve a problem.

Student does not provide

an example of a solution to

a problem.

Student provides a general

example of a solution to

the problem.

This student provides a

speciﬁc example of a

solution to the problem.

ASSESSING DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTATIONAL PRACTICES

142

REUSING AND REMIXING LOW MEDIUM HIGH

Describe if/how you found inspiration

by trying other projects and reading

their scripts.

Student does not describe

how s/he found ideas or

inspiration from other

projects.

Student provides a general

description of a project

that inspired him/her.

Student provides a speciﬁc

example of project that

inspired him/her and how.

How did you select a piece of another

project, and adapt it for your project?

Student does not describe

how s/he adapted scripts,

ideas or resources from

other projects.

Student identiﬁes scripts,

ideas or resources s/he

adapted from other

projects.

Student provides speciﬁc

examples of scripts, ideas

or resources s/he adapted

from other projects and

how.

How did you modify an existing project

to improve it, or enhance it?

Student does not describe

modifying another project.

Student provides a general

description of

modiﬁcations s/he made to

another project.

Student provides speciﬁc

examples of modiﬁcations

s/he made to other

projects and why.

How did you give credit to people

whose work you built on or are inspired

by?

Student does not give

credit to others.

Student names people

whose work inspired

him/her.

Student documents in

project and/or on the

Scratch website the people

whose work inspired

him/her.

ABSTRACTING AND MODULARIZING LOW MEDIUM HIGH

How did you decide what sprites are

needed for your project, and where they

should go?

Student provides no

description of how s/he

selected sprites.

Student provides a general

description of deciding to

choose certain sprites.

Student provides a speciﬁc

description of how s/he

made decisions about

sprites based on goals for

the project.

How did you decide what scripts are

needed for your project, and what they

should do?

Student provides no

description of how s/he

created scripts.

Student provides a general

description of deciding to

create certain scripts.

Student provides a speciﬁc

description of how s/he

made decisions about

scripts based on goals for

the project.

How did you organize the scripts in

ways that make sense to you and

others?

Student does not describe

how s/he organized scripts.

Student provides a general

description of how s/he

organized the script.

Student provides speciﬁc

examples of how s/he

organized the script and

why.

143

EXPERIMENTING AND ITERATING: developing a little bit, then trying it out, then developing

some more

The activity provided opportunities for students to… NONE SOME LOTS

build a project step by step

try things out as you go

make revisions based on what happens

try different ways to do things, or try new things

NOTES FOR NEXT TIME:

If none, how can I make room, or build time, for more?

If some, how can I deepen, or strengthen, those activities?

If lots, what have I noticed, or learned?

TESTING AND DEBUGGING: making sure things work – and ﬁnding and solving problems

when they arise

The activity provided opportunities for students to… NONE SOME LOTS

observe what happens when you run your project

describe what is different from what you want

read through the scripts to investigate the cause of the problem

make changes and test to see what happens

consider other ways to solve the problem

NOTES FOR NEXT TIME:

If none, how can I make room, or build time, for more?

If some, how can I deepen, or strengthen, those activities?

If lots, what have I noticed, or learned?

The following instrument can be used to help you reﬂect on how you are supporting computational practices

in your learning environment – which may be a classroom, a library, or another learning environment. The

purpose of the instrument is to help you notice the types of opportunities to learn that you are designing and

supporting.

SUPPORTING COMPUTATIONAL PRACTICES IN THE CLASSROOM

144

REUSING AND REMIXING: making something by building on existing projects or ideas

The activity provided opportunities for students to… NONE SOME LOTS

ﬁnd ideas and inspiration by trying other projects and reading the scripts

select a piece of another project, and adapt it for your project

modify an existing project to improve or enhance it

give credit to people whose work you build on or are inspired by

NOTES FOR NEXT TIME:

If none, how can I make room, or build time, for more?

If some, how can I deepen, or strengthen, those activities?

If lots, what have I noticed, or learned?

ABSTRACTING AND MODULARIZING: exploring connections between the whole and the parts

The activity provided opportunities for students to… NONE SOME LOTS

decide what sprites are needed for your project, and where they should go

decide what scripts are needed for your project, and what they should do

organize the scripts in ways that make sense to you and others

NOTES FOR NEXT TIME:

If none, how can I make room, or build time, for more?

If some, how can I deepen, or strengthen, those activities?

If lots, what have I noticed, or learned?

145

146

Books

+ Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. New York, NY: Basic Books.

+ Papert, S. (1993). The children’s machine: Rethinking school in the age of the computer. New York, NY: Basic Books.

+ Kafai, Y. B. (1995). Minds in play: Computer game design as a context for children’s learning. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Available at http://www.yasminkafai.com/minds-in-play/

+ Margolis, J., & Fisher, A. (2002). Unlocking the clubhouse: Women in computing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

+ Margolis, J., Estrella, R., Goode, J., Holme, J.J., & Nao, K. (2008). Stuck in the shallow end: Education, race, and computing.

Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

+ Kafai, Y. B., Peppler, K. A., & Chapman, R. N. (2009). The computer clubhouse: Constructionism and creativity in youth

communities. New York: Teachers College Press.

+ Rushkoff, D. (2010). Program or be programmed: Ten commands for a digital age. New York, NY: OR Books.

+ Kafai, Y. B., & Burke, Q. (2014). Connected code: Why children need to learn programming. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Dissertations

+ Monroy-Hernandez, A. (2012). Designing for remixing: Supporting an online community of amateur creators.

Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

+ Brennan, K. (2013). Best of both worlds: Issues of structure and agency in computational creation, in and out of schools.

Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Papers

+ Brennan, K., & Resnick, M. (2012). New frameworks for studying and assessing the development of computational thinking.

American Educational Research Association meeting, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

+ Brennan, K. (2013). Learning computing through creating and connecting. IEEE Computer, Special Issue: Computing in

Education.

doi:10.1109/MC.2013.229

A selection of readings to further support your explorations of creative computing:

FOR FURTHER READING

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148

LINKS

TYPE DESCRIPTION LINK

Website Scratch http://scratch.mit.edu

Website ScratchEd http://scratched.gse.harvard.edu

Resource Ofﬂine Version of Scratch http://scratch.mit.edu/scratch2download

Resource Scratch Cards http://scratch.mit.edu/info/cards

Resource Scratch Community Guidelines http://scratch.mit.edu/community_guidelines

Resource Scratch Remix FAQ https://scratch.mit.edu/info/faq#remix

Resource Scratch Wiki http://wiki.scratch.mit.edu

Resource Scratch Discussion Forums http://scratch.mit.edu/discuss

Resource Scratch FAQ http://scratch.mit.edu/info/faq

Resource LEGO WeDo Construction Set http://bit.ly/LEGOWeDo

Resource MaKey MaKey http://makeymakey.com

Resource PicoBoard https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10311

Resource Scratch Design Studio List http://scratch.mit.edu/users/ScratchDesignStudio

Video Scratch Overview Video http://vimeo.com/65583694

http://youtu.be/-SjuiawRMU4

Video Unit 1 Programmed to Dance Videos http://vimeo.com/28612347

http://vimeo.com/28612585

http://vimeo.com/28612800

http://vimeo.com/28612970

Video Backpack Video Tutorial http://bit.ly/scratchbackpack

Video Make a Block Video Tutorial http://bit.ly/makeablock

Video Variables Video Tutorial http://bit.ly/scratchvariables

Video How can I connect Scratch with other

technologies? Video Playlist

http://bit.ly/hardwareandextensions

Video Scratch Chain Reaction Video http://bit.ly/ScratchChainReaction

149

Links to helpful creative computing resources:

Developed by the ScratchEd team at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

and released under a Creative Commons license.

Creative Computing Curriculum Guide Scratch 3.0

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