Learners would benefit from completing “ScratchJr Cat Says... Part 1” (30 minute unplugged lesson).
(5 minutes) With learners, complete a ‘Scratch Cat Says…’ warm up.
Hold blocks up and have learners complete the actions.
Possible Script:
Do: Hold 'move right' block up.
Say: “Scratch Cat says move 5 steps right”
(2 minutes) Before passing out devices, have learners practice sitting in the EEKK (elbow to elbow, knee to knee) position. The educator should model this! Have one partner pretend to be the driver and the other partner be the navigator. Have learners also practice turning off their car by pretending to carefully turn their device screen down.
(10 minutes) Pass out devices and launch the ScratchJr app. Set a timer and let each learner have 5 minutes to be the driver and freely explore ScratchJr.
(20-25 minutes). Tell learners you are going to play ‘Scratch Cat Says…’ again, but this time instead of moving their bodies to complete the actions, they are going to use the blocks on the app! The educator should display the blocks (either printed format or on screen). Devices should be ‘turned off’ when the educator is speaking.
Possible Blocks Suggestions (Educator Script):
Note: Have learners switch driver/navigator after every 3 blocks.
Say: Scratch Cat says find a…
I. green flag block. This means when you click the green flag your program will be ready to go. This is a yellow triggering block.
II. blue move right block. Change the block to 10 steps.
III. blue move up block. Change the block to 8 steps. Switch driver and navigator.
IV. blue move down block. Change the block to 6 steps.
V. blue turn right block. Change the block to 12 steps.
VI. blue turn left block. Change the block to 15 steps.
Say: Test out your blocks by clicking the green flag. What do you notice? Scratch Cat says find a…
VII. blue hop block. Change the block to 9 steps.
Say: Now we are going to use some purple look blocks to change how Scratch Cat looks. Scratch Cat says find a…
VIII. purple grow block. Change the block to 10.
IX. purple say block. This block says “Hi” and can make your Scratch Cat say whatever you want. Type your names after the “Hi” so Scratch Cat can say hi to you!
X. purple grow block. Change the block to 10 steps.
XI. purple grow block. Change the block to 10 steps.
Say: Now we are going to find a green sound block. This makes your Scratch Cat speak. Scratch Cat says...
XII. find the green block that has the word pop in it!
XIII. click on the green flag and see what happens. What is your cat doing?
XIV. find the green sound block with a microphone. This block lets you record your own sounds. Click record and make some cat meow sounds.
XV. find the red end block. The red end blocks end your program.
Say: Wow! You have created your own computer program using coding. This is called a sequence (write sequence on the board). Computer programmers create sequences, which are a series of steps to complete a task. Computers read and perform tasks in order from top to bottom.
If time permits, allow learners to continue exploring with ScratchJr.
Possible challenges:
Closure: Have learners put devices away and discuss what they found enjoyable about programming. What was challenging? Which blocks did they like the most? How could they use these blocks to create their own games?
Assess ability to work together and follow multi-step instructions.
Formatively assess or use a use a listening rubric such as Learn Alberta’s Div 1 Listening Rubric.
Scratch Getting Started Guide
https://resources.scratch.mit.edu/www/guides/en/Getting-Started-Guide-Scratch2.pdf
Scratch Jr. Learn Blocks (teacher guide):
https://www.scratchjr.org/learn/blocks
Scratch Printable Blocks:
https://www.scratchjr.org/pdfs/blocks.pdf
Learn Alberta Division I Listening Rubric
http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/ieptlibrary/documents/en/la/listening_rubric_div_1.pdf
Make Beliefs Comix
https://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/
Comics Pages (Printable Paper)
https://www.printablepaper.net/category/comics
Create Your Own Cartoons! | Interview with Rebecca Sugar | Cartoon Network
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74BxKXHgk1A&feature=youtu.be
Teach lessons that are tied to your existing curriculum! https://bit.ly/CLClessons
Although learning how to build digital projects is a key part of Computer Science education, students should also learn a wider set of skills and competencies that will help them to harness the power of digital technologies as both creators and consumers. A comprehensive approach to K-12 Computer Science education includes learning about the following five focus areas:
View Framework ➝By the end of high school, students should be able to create a simple computer program.
By the end of high school, students should understand and be able to use the tools and devices commonly used to build digital projects.
By the end of high school, students should be able to explain how we use computers to create, store, organize, and analyze data.
By the end of high school, students should be able to explore the ways in which technology and society have mutually shaped each other.
By the end of high school, students should be able to apply design principles to the digital projects they create.