Lesson 3.1: Meet Scratch Jr. - Our Programming Playground
Welcome, creators! Today, we’re opening the doors to our digital playground, Scratch Jr. Let’s explore all the cool things you can do and build your very first program.
What You’ll Learn
By the end of our first day in the playground, you’ll be able to:
- Find your way around all the main areas of Scratch Jr. with confidence.
- Know the names of the basic programming blocks.
- Create a simple program that makes a character (a “sprite”) perform 3-4 actions in a row.
- Explain that a “sprite” is the character you get to bring to life with code!
Our Mission for Today
Getting Your Gear (10 minutes)
- Time to get your tablet or computer.
- Let’s practice how we handle our tech tools with care.
- We’ll open up Scratch Jr. and get ready to create a brand new project.
A Tour of the Playground (15 minutes)
- Your teacher will give you a tour on the big screen, showing you all the fun areas.
- You’ll follow along on your own device.
- We’ll discover the main zones: the Stage (where the action happens), the Sprites (your characters), the Block Palette (your box of commands), and the Script Area (where you build your program).
- Let’s practice the most important move: dragging and snapping blocks together!
Your First Creation! (20 minutes)
- Your first challenge: Can you make your sprite move all the way across the stage?
- You’ll get to experiment with the blue “motion” blocks.
- Don’t be afraid to try things out! Trial and error is how programmers learn.
- Your teacher will be around to help you if you get stuck.
Show and Tell (5 minutes)
- Let’s take a quick walk around the room to see what everyone created.
- You can share one cool thing you discovered or one tricky part you figured out.
- Make sure to save your project—we’ll need it for our next adventure!
Your Playground Equipment
- Tablets or computers with Scratch Jr. installed
- A big screen or projector for our tour
- Cool stickers or high-fives to celebrate your first program!
How to Become a Playground Pro
- We’ll see how you explore the different parts of the app.
- Quick Check: Can you show us how to make your sprite move and tell us which block you used? That’s the sign of a programmer!
Playground Tips for Everyone
- Want a bigger challenge? Try using a few different motion blocks to make a more complex movement.
- Need a little help? Team up with a classmate who feels comfortable, or use one of our picture guides to help you.
New Tech Words to Master
- Sprite: The character or object on the screen that you get to program.
- Block: A colorful puzzle piece that is a command for your sprite.
- Script: A stack of blocks that you connect to create a program.
- Stage: The background of your project where your sprites live and act.
- Programming: The art of creating instructions (a script) to tell a computer (or a sprite) what to do.