My first hour of coding

Welcome to lesson 3 of the Programming Unit.

In this unit you are going to learn how to create a Scratch account, the main functionality, how to use conditions, loops, objects, and, of course, you are going to create your first program.

Activity 1. Introducing to Scratch. Watch the Scratch overview video. (5 min)

Did you know what a SPRITE is? Bring examples of sprites in videogames you play.

What other name did we use to refer SCRIPTS? Remember previous lesson.

What's the procedure to EXECUTE and STOP a Scratch program?

Share this ideas aloud with your peers.

Activity 2. Create your Scratch account. (3 min)

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.

- Go to https://scratch.mit.edu/

- Press the "SCRATCH ACCOUNT" button.

- Click on “Join Scratch” at the top on the right or in the blue circle.

- Complete the three steps to sign up for your very own Scratch account!

Activity 3. Exploring Scratch. (5 min)

Explore some sample Scratch projects from the following link: https://scratch.mit.edu/explore/projects/all

Answer the following question and share aloud with the class: What would you like to create?

Activity 4. Simple Scratch game. (40 min)

This activity shows you how to make a simple game in Scratch. In this game, you are in a dungeon. You are trying to get to the cake at the end of the dungeon. Monsters are protecting the cake. Don't let them touch you!

Start by clicking on this link which opens the basic project: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/305249630/editor/

***A completed copy of this game is available at https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/305250134/editor/ just for testing purposes. Please, do not copy from there :-)

Now, you should share by clicking the orange button SHARE and deliver your work to the teacher by sending the URL address by e-mail.

Activity 5. Optional homework: car game. (no time limit)

Try to code this more complicated game. This allows to evaluate yourself by trying to achieve the best result you can.

Please, be aware that every step includes a difficulty level (easy, medium, hard). This activity does not provide a step-by-step guide.

Start by clicking on this link which opens the basic project: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/305250441/editor/

Description: Drive around a track in your fast red car! The game uses an oval race track as the background.

There is one sprite in the program, a red car. If you click on the red car sprite, you will see that there is already code for turning the car to the right when you press the right arrow key on the keyboard. Try it out.

Click on the green flag to start the program, and then press the right arrow key. The car will turn.

More ideas: Can you draw your own race course? Remember that in your program, the green is for grass and makes your car go slowly. Can you keep track of the number of laps that you have raced? How about having cars with a limited amount of gas? What about making pit stops where cars can get more gas?...

***A completed copy of this game is available at https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/305250636/editor/ just for testing purposes. Please, do not copy from there :-)