Scratch Programming Course

Lesson 1 • What Is Scratch and Why Use It

Scratch is a visual block-based programming language designed for beginners. This section establishes context for why Scratch is a powerful entry point into coding.

Lesson 2 • Creating and Saving Projects

Teaches account setup, project creation, and saving workflows. Students leave with a saved starter project and understand cloud vs. local storage.

Lesson 3 • Understanding Sprites and Backdrops

Introduces sprites as programmable objects and backdrops as scene settings. Students add, rename, and delete sprites to build project-management habits.

Lesson 1 • Changing Sprite Appearance with Looks Blocks

Covers costume switching, size changes, and visibility toggles. Students animate characters by cycling costumes and layering visual effects.

Lesson 2 • Combining Motion and Looks for Animation

Integrates motion and looks blocks to create fluid character animation. Students build a walking sprite that moves across the stage with costume cycling.

Lesson 3 • Understanding the Stage Coordinate System

Explains the x/y grid underlying the Scratch stage. Students place sprites precisely and predict movement outcomes using coordinate reasoning.

Lesson 1 • Building Sequential Scripts

Sequences are the foundation of all programs; blocks execute top to bottom. Students arrange blocks deliberately and predict execution order.

Lesson 2 • Broadcasting Messages Between Sprites

Broadcasts coordinate actions across multiple sprites without direct coupling. Students design multi-sprite interactions using send and receive patterns.

Lesson 3 • Conditional Logic with If Blocks

If and if-else blocks let scripts make decisions based on conditions. Students write branching logic that changes sprite behavior dynamically.

Lesson 4 • Loops: Repeat and Forever Blocks

Loops eliminate redundant code by repeating a set of blocks automatically. Students replace duplicated sequences with repeat and forever loops.

Lesson 1 • Comparison and Boolean Operators

Comparison operators produce true/false values used inside conditionals and loops. Students write precise conditions that control program flow.

Lesson 2 • Building a Score and Timer System

Applies variables and operators to create a functional game score and countdown timer. Students integrate data blocks into a complete interactive project.

Lesson 3 • Creating and Using Variables

Variables store changing values such as scores, lives, or player names. Students create, set, change, and display variables on the stage.

Lesson 1 • Synchronizing Sound with Animation

Timing sound playback with visual events creates cohesive multimedia experiences. Students align footstep sounds, music loops, and effect cues with sprite actions.

Lesson 2 • Editing Sounds in the Sound Editor

The built-in sound editor trims, reverses, and applies effects to audio clips. Students refine imported sounds to fit project timing and mood.

Lesson 3 • Playing Sounds with Sound Blocks

Sound blocks control playback timing, volume, and pitch within scripts. Students distinguish between play-until-done and start-sound behaviors.

Lesson 1 • Using the Ask and Answer Blocks

Ask blocks prompt users for text input stored in the Answer variable. Students create interactive quizzes and personalized greetings using this mechanism.

Lesson 2 • Reading Mouse and Keyboard Input

Sensing blocks expose mouse coordinates and key-press states in real time. Students build keyboard-controlled sprites and mouse-following behaviors.

Lesson 3 • Timer and Loudness Sensing

The built-in timer and microphone loudness sensor add time-based and audio-reactive features. Students reset the timer and use loudness to trigger sprite reactions.

Lesson 1 • Creating and Manipulating Lists

Lists store ordered collections of values, enabling dynamic data management. Students add, delete, and retrieve list items to build inventories and question banks.

Lesson 2 • Defining Custom Blocks

Custom blocks encapsulate reusable logic under a named block, reducing duplication. Students define blocks with parameters to generalize repeated script patterns.

Lesson 3 • Iterating Through Lists

Loops combined with list index variables process every item in a list. Students build a quiz that cycles through a stored question bank automatically.

Lesson 1 • Systematic Debugging Techniques

Debugging identifies and fixes logic, timing, and data errors in scripts. Students apply step-by-step isolation strategies to locate bugs efficiently.

Lesson 2 • Polishing and Publishing Projects

Polishing improves user experience through visual consistency, sound balance, and instructions. Students publish a project to the Scratch community with proper metadata.

Lesson 3 • Planning a Project with Design Documents

Design documents outline sprites, scenes, variables, and logic before coding begins. Students create a project plan that guides development and reduces rework.

Lesson 4 • Peer Review and Iterative Improvement

Peer feedback reveals usability issues invisible to the original developer. Students give structured feedback and revise their projects based on received critiques.