Lesson 4.1: Choose Your Own Adventure - Introduction to Conditionals
Welcome, storytellers! Today, you get to build a story that your friends can actually play. You’ll learn the secret power of “if… then…” thinking, which lets you create choices and different paths in your very own interactive adventure.
What You’ll Learn
By the end of this adventure, you’ll be able to:
- Explain how “if… then…” sentences work in everyday life.
- Spot the “conditions” (the “if” part) and the “responses” (the “then” part) in a situation.
- Use “touch trigger” blocks to make your Scratch Jr. programs interactive.
- Create a simple story that has at least two different choices and endings.
Your Adventure Plan
The “If… Then…” Game (15 minutes)
- Let’s start with the real world. For example: “If it starts raining, then I will open my umbrella.”
- It’s your turn! Let’s brainstorm more “if… then…” examples from our daily lives. (If I’m hungry, then I get a snack!)
- We’ll even act out some of these scenarios to see how choices lead to different actions.
Story Planning Time (15 minutes)
- Let’s look at a simple “Choose Your Own Adventure” story together.
- We’ll map out the different choices and see how they lead to different endings.
- Now, it’s your turn to be the author! You’ll plan your own simple interactive story on paper. Think of a main character and two big choices they have to make.
Programming the Magic Words (15 minutes)
- Time to bring your story to life in Scratch Jr.!
- We’ll learn how to use the yellow “Trigger” blocks. The “Start on Tap” block is perfect for making choices!
- You’ll program your sprites so that if a user taps them, then something cool happens.
- Let’s experiment with different responses: maybe the sprite moves, says something, or even disappears!
Test Your Story! (5 minutes)
- Time to start building your story.
- Find a partner and become a “play-tester.” Try out each other’s interactive stories. Do the choices work? Is it fun?
- Based on the feedback, you can debug and improve your adventure.
Your Storyteller’s Toolkit
- A few fun “Choose Your Own Adventure” books for inspiration
- Story planning worksheets to map out your ideas
- Your device with Scratch Jr.
- Big paper to write down all our “if… then…” examples
How to Be a Master Storyteller
- We’ll see how you come up with creative “if… then…” scenarios.
- Did you successfully plan a story with clear choices?
- The Interactivity Test: Your project will be a success if you can use touch triggers to make different things happen.
New Tech Words to Master
- Conditional: A fancy word for an “if… then…” statement. It’s code that only runs if a certain condition is met.
- If… Then…: The basic logic that computers use to make decisions.
- Trigger: An event that causes a script to start. Tapping on a sprite is a trigger!
- Interactive: A program that the user can control and play with.
- Response: The action that happens as a result of a trigger or a choice.