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Scratch Basics

This Scratch Basics curriculum was developed under the Elementary Computing for All (ECforALL) Project.  The aim is to help teachers teach elementary and middle school teachers across the curriculum to teach their students to use Scratch for projects and presentations. This curriculum does not scaffold and practice computational thinking concepts and skills as in ACT 1 and ACT 2.

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Scratch Basics

These six lessons will support the instruction of how to program simple projects in Scratch. For each lesson, a lesson plan, slide deck, student workbook pages and lesson resources are provided.

Lesson 1 Setting Up Scratch Accounts

This lesson walks students through the process of logging into Scratch for the first time and joining the teacher's Scratch class. There is a "Tinkering with Scratch" activity for students to work on as classmates are getting set up. 

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Duration: 50 minutes

Lesson 2: Introduction to Scratch

This lesson introduces the Scratch environment to students and teaches them to import sprites (characters) and how to edit them. 

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Duration: 50 minutes

Lesson 3: Scratch Charades

Students will play a Scratch version of charades and determine the script that is performed by the actor. They will learn how block-based programming works without the complexity of the Scratch platform.

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Duration: 50 minutes

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Lesson 4: Coding Concepts 1 - Sequence, Algorithm, Program

Students will review the concepts of sequence, algorithm, and program to give them language to talk about the process of creating projects. Students will debug code to better understand the importance of initialization. They will work on a project called "Making Things Move and Talk".

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Duration: 50 minutes

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Lesson 5: Coding Concepts 2 - Events, Loops, Animation

This lesson introduces the concepts of events, loops, and animation. They will debug code to discover the importance of "wait" blocks in animation. Students will make a flip book to help students development their conception of animation. 

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Duration: 50 minutes

Lesson 6: Broadcasting and Receiving

This lesson introduces students to the concept of broadcasting and receiving. This is an important concept that enables sprites (characters) to interact.

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Duration: 50 minutes

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Scratch Projects and Lessons

This section provides example lessons of how Scratch can be used in the classroom across the curriculum. These projects support students in developing their computational thinking and language abilities. 

Name Poem Project

Students will plan, build, and reflect on a project where they animate each letter of their name.

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Duration: 3 hours

About Me Project

Students will plan, build, and reflect on a project where they will choose their own background, sprites (characters), animation, and script  to share about themselves.

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Duration: 3 hours

Dance Party Project

Students will plan, build, and reflect on a project where they program sprites to change costumes to create a movement effect.

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Duration: 3 hours

Role Model Lessons

Here are seven lessons about people from underrepresented groups in the computing field who have made or are making contributions to the computing field. Students are introduced to various occupations in the computing field. 

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Duration: 7 x 15 minutes

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Environmental Literacy Systems Project- coming soon!

These lessons teach students that a system is two or more parts that interact to form a whole. Students learn about how trees affect people and how people affect trees. The concept of cause and effect is taught explicitly. For the Scratch project, students narrate the relationships and animate sprites in a tree connection circle. 

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Duration: 6 x  50 minutes

Growth Mindset and the Brain

This quick project guides students to make a digital Thanksgiving greeting card. Students animate the sprites in the project and record a message. The project can be emailed to friends and family simply by copying and pasting the URL.

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Duration: Three Hours

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Lesson Plans

Change-Maker Project

Students research people who have made an impact in the world. Students create a project that teaches others about the change maker of their choice and the impact they made.

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Duration: 10 hours

What is a Change-Maker?

Students define what a change-maker is and choose a change-maker to research and report on.

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Duration: 1 hour

Researching Your Change-Maker

Students will generate questions for their research. They will take notes systematically.

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Duration: 2 hours

Planning Your Project

Students will create their storyboard while referring to the rubric to ensure meeting project requirements.

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Duration: 2 hours

Building Your Project

Students will animate and narrate the change-maker's story in the Scratch environment.

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Duration: 3 hours

Reflection and Sharing

Students will reflection the creation process and will share their project with others.

Video of Sample Project #1

Change-Maker Unit Overview

Video of Sample Project #2

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