Introduction to Scratch!

Michelle Venable-Foster Barb Ericson Dec 2007

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What is Scratch?
Scratch is a free programmable toolkit that enables kids to create their own games, animated stories, and interactive art and share their creations with one another over the Internet.

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What is Scratch?
Scratch builds on the long tradition of Logo and LEGO/Logo, but takes advantage of new computational ideas and capabilities to make it easier for kids to get started with programming (lowering the floor) and to extend the range of what kids can create and learn (raising the ceiling).
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What is Scratch?
The ultimate goal is to help kids become fluent with digital media, empowering them to express themselves creatively and make connections to powerful ideas.

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What is Scratch?
Scratch is built on top of the Squeak environment developed by Alan Kay and colleagues.

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What is Scratch?
Scratch is being developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten research group at the MIT Media Lab, in collaboration with KIDS research group at the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies.

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Lets Get Started!

To Open Scratch, double-click on the Scratch (cat) icon or click on Scratch.exe

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Getting Started With Scratch

Once youve opened Scratch, you should see this default screen:

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Watch a Quick Introduction to Scratch!

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Lets Look At Some Scratch Examples

Go to Open > Projects and choose the category Animation Look through them and see what you will be able to do in Scratch! (Some of these have sound. Please be considerate of your neighbors and turn the sound down on your computers! Ask your teacher to help you if you dont know how.)

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Choose Your Sprite!

You will notice that the default sprite is an orange cat. (A sprite is a small graphic that can be moved independently around the screen, producing animated effects.) You can choose a different sprite to program from a library in Scratch, or you can draw your own! You will create your own sprite later.

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Choose Your Sprite!

To choose a sprite from the Scratch library, click on the Folder with a Star icon. When you hover your mouse over it, it will say Choose new sprite from file.

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Choose Your Sprite!

Open the folders of the different categories of sprites. Choose one that youd like to experiment with by double clicking on it. You can have more than one sprite in your animation!

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Choose Your Sprite!

Once you have a sprite that youd like to program, you can delete the orange cat sprite by clicking the scissor icon and clicking on the cat! Make sure that you click on the arrow icon before you do anything else otherwise, youll delete something that you really wanted! You can also right click on the icon to delete that sprite

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Resize Your Sprite!

You can make your sprite larger or smaller by using the grow sprite or shrink sprite icons. You click on one of these icons, then click on your sprite until it is the size youd like.

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Choose Your Background!

Right now, you have a plain, white background boring! You can also change your background by choosing one from the Scratch library or creating your own!

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Choose Your Background!

Click on the Stage:

Now, select the Backgrounds tab!

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Change Your Background!

You can experiment with creating or importing your own background later, but, for right now choose one from the library by selecting Import.

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Change The Background!

From this screen, you can choose one of the category folders, and select a background that you like by double clicking on it!

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Now, Were Ready to Program!

Now, you should have a sprite and a background that youd like to work with!

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Programming In Scratch!
The first thing you need to do is to click on the sprite you want to program, and select the Scripts tab. Since your sprite is the only thing that can be animated, make sure you have it selected. The Scripts area is where you build your program by using the programming blocks.

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Programming In Scratch!
In the upper, left-hand corner of your Scratch window, you will see 8 buttons . Each of these buttons have programming blocks in those particular areas. We will first experiment with the Motion blocks.

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Motion!
When you click on the motion button, you will see the programming blocks that can be used with your sprite. Lets all program our sprites with the same code first, and then youll be allowed to experiment on your own!

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Motion!
Drag out the move 10 steps block.

Change the 10 to 50 by clicking in the block and typing in 50. To see your sprite move 50 pixels to the right, double click on the block in the Script area. Cool, isnt it?!
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Motion
You can also set the motion block to move a negative number of pixels by typing a negative number in the block. This will move your sprite that number of pixels in the opposite direction.

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What Is A Pixel?
Weve been talking about pixels what is a pixel? A pixel is one of the small units that make up an image on a computer or television screen. It is derived from the words picture and element to make pixel!

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The Scratch Stage

The Scratch stage is 480 pixels wide and 180 360 pixels high.

-240

240

-180
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More Motion!
Now, add the turn 15 degrees block to the other block of code. When you see the white bar between the 2 blocks of code, you can release your mouse. That white bar means that the 2 blocks will snap onto the other block.
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More Motion!
Again, you can change the number of degrees by double clicking in that area and typing in the number of degrees youd like your sprite to rotate. Double click on the blocks to see your sprite move and rotate!
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Experiment With Motion!

Weve only used 2 of the blocks in the Motion category. For the next few minutes, I want you to experiment with all of the other blocks in the Motion category. If youd like to see what a block does, right click on the block and then click on help. You can delete code easily by just dragging it from the Script area! Have fun!

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Control!
The next category of programming buttons we will experiment with is the Control category. This is a very important category because it controls how many times an event happens, how long an event happens, or when an event happens.
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Control!
The first block Id like us to use is the when flag clicked block:

Drag this block out, and snap it on top of the blocks you already have in your script.

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Control!
Now, instead of having to double click on your block of code, you can just click on the flag icon to play your animation!

Click here to start

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 When you click on the presentation mode button, your animation will fill the whole screen!

Presentation Mode

To exit presentation mode, click the arrow in the top left of the screen, or just press the Esc key.
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Back to Control!
Other powerful blocks in the Control category are the blocks that handle conditional statements. Conditional statements are commonly called if statements or if-else statements.

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Conditional Statements

This code means that if the user presses the Space key on the keyboard, the sprite will move 10 steps.

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Sensing!
The conditional statements must be used along with the sensing blocks. (Notice the shape of some of the sensing blocks. They are the ones that will fit inside the condition since they have 6 sides)

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Back to Control!
For the next few minutes, experiment with the blocks in Motion, Control, and Sensing. Right click on a block and select help to get information about a block. When you get something cool, Id like to see it!

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Sound!
Now, lets add some sound to our animation! There are many different ways to get sound in your animation. The first way were going to experiment with is by importing a sound from the Scratch sound library.

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Importing Sound From The Scratch Sound Library

Click on the sprite you want to have sound. Click on the Sounds tab and select Import.

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Scratch Sound Library

You will see different categories of sounds that you can use in your animation that are available for you in the Scratch library.

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Inserting Sound
Once you find a sound that you like, select it and click on OK. You will see the sound you just selected show up under New Sound.

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Play Your Sound

If you click on the Play button, you can preview your sound.

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Adding The Sound To Your Animation

Now, youre ready to add the sound to your animation! Click on the Script tab. Select the sprite you want to have sound. Now select the Sound button.

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Adding Sound
Now, select one of the blocks that says, play sound

Select your sound from the drop-down menu by clicking on the triangle next to pop.

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Recording a Sound
Click on the record button to record a sound Click on the red button to start recording Click on the square to stop You can rename the sound by typing over the name

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Incorporate Sound Into Your Animation!

When I click the flag, my bee will move and buzz.

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Time To Play!
For the next few minutes, experiment with Motion, Control, Sensing, and Sound! When you get something cool, let me see it!

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Using The Pen!

When using the Pen tools, your sprite actually becomes your writing instrument! You can change the Pens color, its shade, and its size.
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Using the Pen!

Your first Pen challenge is to write your initials using the Pen tools. It may sound easy, but, you have to remember to lift your pen when necessary and also to put it back down!

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Pen Challenge #2
Great job with Pen Challenge #1! Your second Pen Challenge is to use the tools to create an interesting design. Remember that you can change Pen color and shade!

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Numbers!
There are many animation effects you can create using Numbers in Scratch. One effect is random movement of a sprite!

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Random Movement
Remember that the Scratch animation area is 480 pixels wide and 360 pixels high. That means that the range on the horizontal axis is from -240 to 240. The range on the vertical axis is -180 to 180.

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Random Movement
This is the block of code I would use if I wanted my sprite to randomly glide the entire horizontal and vertical distance of my Scratch animation area:

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Numbers!
For the next few minutes, experiment with the tools in Motion, Control, Sensing, Sound, and Numbers. Click right on a block and select help to see what it does. When you get something cool, let me see it!

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Variables!
Variables are used mainly in the development of games. Open some of the examples in Projects > Games to see how variables are used to keep score in a game.

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Time To Have Fun!

Now its time for you to create your own original animations or games! Each table has a set of 12 laminated cards with different projects that you can try, to give you ideas for your own animation.

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Learn How To:

While youre creating your own Scratch animation, I want you to discover how to:
Create your own sprite; Create your own background;

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Last Slide!
Remember to:
Be appropriate; Be creative; Have fun!

You will also be given a Scratch Help Guide, complete with screenshots to help you get started.

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