MADISON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT Grade 8 Cycle Class Scratch Authored by: Caitlin Aery Reviewed by: Lee Nittel, Director of Curriculum and Instruction Adopted by the Board: January, 2013 Members of the Board of Education: Lisa Ellis, President Patrick Rowe, Vice-President David Arthur Kevin Blair Shade Grahling Linda Gilbert Thomas Haralampoudis James Novotny Superintendent: Dr. Michael Rossi Madison Public Schools 359 Woodland Road, Madison, NJ 07940 www.madisonpublicschools.org
I. OVERVIEW The Scratch cycle course meets for a semester and focuses on the fundamentals of programming using the Scratch program. Students will learn information and media literacy skills, thinking and problem-solving skills, interpersonal, and self-directional skills. Students will work throughout the course to design and program their own games and projects. Students will work collaboratively throughout the class to provide positive feedback and suggestions to their peers. Students will use technology to support and share their work. II. RATIONALE The Scratch course will provide students with the opportunity to work with various forms of technology. For students interested in computer programming, this introductory course offers students a highly engaging and supportive first experience with programming. Scratch is a computer programming language that makes it easy to create interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and allows students to share their creations on the web. Students in this course will learn important mathematical and computational skills, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively. III. STUDENT OUTCOMES (Link to New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards) STANDARD 8.1: Educational Technology All students will use digital tools to access, manage, evaluate, and synthesize information in order to solve problems individually and collaboratively and to create and communicate knowledge. STANDARD 8.2: Technology Education, Engineering and Design All students will develop an understanding of the nature and impact of technology, engineering, technological design, and the designed world, as they relate to the individual, global society, and the environment. Students will: Illustrate and communicate original ideas and stories using digital tools and media-rich resources. Design and create a product that addresses a real-world problem using the design process and working with specific criteria and constraints. Identify the design constraints and trade-offs involved in designing a prototype. Participate in an online learning community with learners from other countries. Create a multimedia presentation including sound and images. IV. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS AND CONTENT What is Scratch? How can I use technology to create my own programs and games? How do I use the Scratch interface to develop my own ideas? How do you upload and share ideas using technology? How can I work collaboratively with a group to improve my ideas and designs? What games and programs can I create with this program? V. STRATEGIES Teacher presentations/lectures
Class discussion and critiques. Independent programming Peer and self-critique of process and final products Examination and evaluation of various projects available online VI. EVALUATION Students will be evaluated on their projects throughout the semester. They will also be evaluated on their ability to work cooperatively with their classmates. There will be small benchmarks and tasks throughout the course that will serve as informal and formal assessments. VII. REQUIRED RESOURCES Access to computer lab for each class period Scratch program Internet access VIII. SCOPE AND SEQUENCE Week 1: Introduction to Scratch Language and Interface Distinguish between the scripting area, the stage and blocks palette. Identify the basic tools of the Scratch program. Introduce students to Scratch. Show students the website and allow them to examine various projects that have been uploaded from around the world. Explain to students that part of Scratch is sharing and they will be expected to share as they learn. Explain to students the function of each section of the screen. Explain what tools are available in each section. Introduce students to the language of Scratch, specifically including sprite which refers to the character or object animated on the screen. Introduce students to the idea of using building blocks to create movement and animation on the screen. Introduce students to the green flag and stop button in addition to the various blocks that can be use to start movement. Have students begin with basic movement of a sprite on their screen. Week 2: Blocking Basic Movements Create continuous movement of a sprite on the screen. Add sound to animation. Use different forms of starting an animation.
Building on the basic movements explored in the first week of instruction, explain to students the process of stacking movement to create multiple consecutive movements of a sprite. Introduce students to forever block. Have students use a forever block to create continuous movement of a sprite that is started by clicking the green flag and ends only when the stop button is pressed. Introduce students to the sound buttons and blocks available for blocking. Have students add sound to their animation. Week 3: Sprites Program their sprite to change color, costume, etc. during animation. Create or design costumes for sprites. Explain to students that there are multiple sprites available for use on the stage. Have students explore the various sprites available. Choose a sprite that has more than one costume. Explain to students that some sprites come with multiple costumes already created so students can simulate physical movement. Show students examples of these sprites and how changing costumes can give the illusion of actual movement. Explain to students that they may also create their own costumes for the sprites. Introduce students to the costume editing options available. Have students create at least one additional costume for a sprite of their choice. Model stacking the proper blocks together to have a sprite change costumes during animation. Have students practice costume changing for various sprites, using not only the computer generated costumes, but also costumes they have created for their sprites. Week 4: Stages Change the background of their stage. Move between stages during one animation. Introduce students to the stage screen. Show students the different ways to change the stage for their animation. Students may choose from a picture from the program, a self-made design, or they may upload their own picture. Students will experiment with the various stages available. Explain to students the process for changing a stage during a single animation using the costume element for stages. Have students create different costumes for the stage during their animation. Model the programming necessary to change the stage, in a similar manner to the sprite costume change. Have students work on an animation that uses more than one stage.
Week 5: Sprite Interaction Coordinate movement of two or more sprites on the stage. Use the hide, show, wait and sensing buttons to have sprites appear, disappear and work together to create fluid movement. Have students choose two sprites that they will coordinate movement for on their stages. Explain to students that part of having the two sprites interact with one another is all about timing. They will need experiment with the wait button in order to have certain events occur at the same time. Have students create an animation where one sprite appears when the other one comes close. Explain to students that they also have sensing buttons in the block palette that allow sprites to move or bounce, etc when they hit or sense a certain spot or color on the screen. Provide students with a Scratch Card that requires them to have two sprites on screen bouncing a basketball back and forth between them. (See Scratch Cards attached) Weeks 6 and 7: Scratch Cards Use different functions on the Scratch interface to complete various tasks. Provide students with Scratch Cards that ask them to complete different types of movement, sound and interaction between scratches. Students will need to work, using the skills covered during the first half of the course to complete each one of these tasks. Students should combine the tasks to create one animation. This animation should be saved to the network for the purpose of sharing with the class. Week 8: Sharing Programming Students will present their interpretations of the card activities to the class. The class will discuss and students may work on perfecting each other s animations. Week 9: Variables Use variables to control score. Use variables to control sprite speed. The teacher will introduce students to the variable section of the Scratch interface. Explain the process for setting up variables. These are determined by the specific needs of the program. For instance, if a game requires a ball to hit a certain point on a target to score a point, the variable will need to be set for the program to complete this action. The teacher will model this process for the students using multiple scenarios that might require variables.
Students will experiment with creating certain actions or reactions that are created by variables. Weeks 10-12: Creating Games Change variables to record scores. Program sprites to respond to variables. Program sprites to interact with the stage. Review basic elements of programming with students. Provide students with the steps necessary to create a basic car racing game. Students will need to program the basic game and add their own spin to the game. Students will use the remaining class time to work on their game programming. Weeks 13: Sharing Games Students will present their games to the class. The class will discuss the games and if there is time, students may work on perfecting each other s games. Weeks 14-16: Individual Programming Projects Create their own Scratch project using the tools and skills covered throughout the course. Upload their program to the Scratch website. Students will choose from a variety of project options. They will work individually to create a specific project that incorporates all of the Scratch elements covered in the class. Students may use their classmates as critics and testers throughout the process. Possible Projects: o Create a music video o Animate a poem or song o Create an interactive video game o Design a lesson on a topic of your choice Weeks 17-18: Presentation of Projects