Teacher’s Activity Guide: PBS Kids Scratch Jr. Recommended Grade Level: K-3 Suggested Time: About 1 hour What is Scratch Jr.? PBS KIDS ScratchJr is a free mobile game developed in collaboration with MIT Media Lab and Tufts University. Available on Android and iOS tablets, this app helps children ages 5 – 8 learn core coding concepts as they create interactive stories and games using PBS KIDS characters such as PEG + CAT, WILD KRATTS, NATURE CAT, and WORDGIRL. Children snap together colorful programming blocks to make their favorite characters move, jump, dance, and sing. They learn to solve problems, design projects, and express themselves creatively.
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Coding to Learn: Coding, or computer programming, is a type of literacy. Just like writing, coding helps you organize thinking and express ideas. Coding is used to create software, apps, video games, and websites. Common apps such as Microsoft Word, iTunes, and Facebook run on code which is created by teams of programmers and designers. The act of coding means creating a sequence of instructions, that tell a computer (or other technology) what to do. There are various programming languages, such as C++ and Java for adults, and ScratchJr for children. In PBS KIDS ScratchJr, each block represents a different instruction or action that impacts a character on the screen. When the blocks are snapped together they create a sequence of actions that the character(s) will follow.
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Goals: Children will learn to communicate using technology: • Create programs to tell a story in sequential order from beginning to end • Think through each step of the design process • Persist through challenges and difficulties to become better problem solvers • Share ideas and work collaboratively in teams Teaching Strategies • Allow students to take the lead. Sometimes instruction will be needed, but allow the experience to be centered around students as they create and share their work. • Use questions and prompts rather than step-by-step instructions: ○○ Tell me about your project. What are you working on? ○○ What do you think this block does? ○○ What block do I need to use if I want my character to…? ○○ What will happen if I tap/press…? ○○ Which character/background should we choose? ○○ How do I…? • Provide open time for students to play and explore the app on their own • Encourage students to reach out to one another for support and trouble shooting • Call out and celebrate success in the process, not just the end result
In addition to the math and literacy strategies, children will also begin to form the following skills: • Critical thinking • Sequencing • Creative storytelling Copy the template on page 3 of this guide and use it to imagine and plan your program design.
Key Problem-Solving and Sequencing Strategies The primary problem-solving and sequencing strategies children will use to complete this activity are: • Identify beginning of actions • Identify order of actions • Use storytelling principles of beginning, middle, and end to tell an unique story
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Scratch Jr. User Interface
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Tips for Using Scratch Jr. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Press the square with the blue plus icon in the center to open a new scene. If you have any previous projects, tap to open them. Tap the home button in the top left hand corner to return to the main menu. Tap the image of the picture in the top middle to change the background. Tap the square with the blue plus icon on the left hand side of the screen to add a new character. 6. Drag the character around the space to position the character. 7. Action Tiles. Draging these into the workspace represent actions a character takes. 8. Starting with a yellow tile, form a line of tiles in the bottom third of the screen that represent actions the character will do. 9. Tap the square with the blue plus icon on the right hand side of the screen to add a new page to the current project. 10. Select a character on the left hand side to give them actions. Tap the Paint Brush to open the Paint Editor (See page 8). 11. Tap the Green Flag icon to trigger all events that start on Green Flag. 12. Tap the the ABC icon in the top middle to add a word or phrase to the scene. 13. Tap the white square inside the gray brackets next to the home button to go into full screen. 14. Tap the white square with a gray grid in it to bring up the grid. This allows for precise placement of characters. 15. Tap the blue icon next to the green flag to reset everything back to the way it was before any actions occurred. 16. Tap the arrows the right hand side of the tile bar to undo a chage or redo a change (‘a’ is undo, ‘b’ is redo). 17. Tap the yellow box in the top right hand corner to name your project and share it with friends via e-mail.
Lesson Aids and Extensions PBS KIDS ScratchJr learning resources are available online at http://pbskids.org/ learn/scratchjr. Choose from activities, educator workshops, videos, how-to cards, and certificates to make learning more fun! Links to free videos to assist in teaching with PBS KIDS Scratch Jr. are listed below: http://illinois.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/pbs-kids-scratch-jr-promo/pbs-kids-scratchjr-promo/ http://illinois.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/pbs-kids-scratch-jr-animation-activity/ pbs-kids-scratch-jr-animation-activity/ http://illinois.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/pbs-kids-scratch-jr-interactive-activity/ pbs-kids-scratch-jr-interactive-activity/ WSIU Public Broadcasting Scratch Jr.
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Icons and Their Meanings Start on Green Flag. Any actions following this tile will take place after the green flag is tapped.
Start on Tap. Any actions following this tile will take place after the character is tapped by the user.
Start on Bump. Any actions following this tile will take place after the character has contact with any other character.
Start on *color* Message. Any actions following this tile will take place after the character receives a message. These can be color coordinated by pressing the down arrow on the tile.
Send *color* Message. The character sends a message that can be color coordinated by pressing on the down arrow. Triggers the “Start on *color* Message” tile.
Move Forward. Moves the character forward when triggered.
Move Backward. Moves the character backward when triggered.
Move Up. Moves the character up in the image when triggered.
Move Down. Moves the character down in the image when triggered.
Rotate Clockwise. Rotates the character clockwise when triggered.
Rotate Counter Clockwise. Rotates the character counter clockwise when triggered.
Hop. Causes the character to hop in place when triggered.
Go Home. Causes the character to return to the starting location when triggered.
*Word*. Creates a speech bubble with the word in it when triggered. Can be customized by tapping on the word below the tile. By default it says ‘hi’.
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Grow. Causes the character to increase in size when triggered. The size can be changed by tapping the number below the tile. By default it is 2 times the size.
Shrink. Causes the character to decrease in size when triggered. The size can be changed by tapping the number below the tile. By default it is 2 times the size.
Reset Size. Resets the size of the character to it’s original size when triggered.
Hide. Causes the character to vanish from sight when triggered.
Show. Causes the character to reappear when triggered.
Pop. Plays the sound ‘pop’ when triggered.
Custom Sound. Allows for the user to record their own voice and play it when triggered.
Wait For. Tells the character to wait for a number of seconds when triggered. The time can be changed by tapping on the number below the tile.
Stop. Stops the character briefly when triggered.
Set Speed. Sets the character’s speed. There are three settings that can be changed by tapping the down arrow: slow, medium, and fast.
Repeat. Repeats the selected action(s) a set amount of times. The number of times can be changed by tapping the number below the tile. Repeat Forever. Continues the current strings of actions forever.
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End. Ends the current string of actions, allowing for a new starting trigger.
Go To Page #. Transfers the character to another page. Does not appear when there is only one page. Each page gets its own tile.
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Paint Editor Guide 1. Undo. Undo the most recent change. 2. Redo. Redo the most recent ‘undo’ action. 3. Shape tool. Allows you to draw the following shapes: line, circle/ellipse, rectangle, and triangle. 4. Character Name. Change the name of the character. 5. Cut. After selecting the Cut tool, you can tap a character or shape to remove it from the canvas. 6. Duplicate. After selecting the Duplicate tool, you can tap a character or shape to create a copy of it. 7. Rotate. After selecting the Rotate tool, you can rotate a character or shape around its center. 8. Drag. After selecting the Drag tool, you can drag a character or shape on the canvas. If you tap on a shape, you can then edit the shape by dragging the dots that appear. 9. Save. Save the changes and leave the Paint Editor. 10. Fill. After selecitng the Fill tool, you can tap any section of a character or shape to fill it with the currently selected color. 11. Camera. After selecting the Camera tool, you can tap any section of a character or shape, and then tap the camera button to fill the section with a new photo taken with the camera. 12. Color. Select a new color to use for drawing and filling shapes. 13. Line Width. Change the width of the lines in the shapes you are drawing. WSIU Public Broadcasting Scratch Jr.
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