Language & Coding
in Scratch
Embedded Files
Open coding environments provide many opportunities for students to engage in storytelling and to develop reading and writing skills. Coding requires close attention to the blocks chosen and their order. Students immediately see the consequences if their blocks are out of order. Writing about code is a meaningful strategy to engage in procedural writing, again with immediate consequences if steps are missing or in an incorrect order.
Story Telling (Scratch - from Creative Computing)
Animating stories in Scratch engages many students with its low floors, high ceilings and wide walls. With many characters (sprites) to choose from and the ability to create their own, students can create attractive stories - often with interactivity!
Students can use a Story Starter and remix it to make their own unique story. Or they can begin with a new file.
Teachers can use the guided inquiry lessons from Creative Coding to scaffold new coding skills. In creating the code, students are building intuitive understandings of mathematical concepts like proportional reasoning, transformations and coordinates
Coding Concepts: Sequential and concurrent events. Often repetition, nesting, conditionals and control structures.
Procedural writing (Scratch)
Writing about code is a meaningful strategy to engage in procedural writing, again with immediate consequences if steps are missing or in an incorrect order. Anyone who has tried to follow directions to assemble something understands the value of clear technical writing.
Instructions:
Students play with new code
Students write a description of what a block does, how to use it and sample uses.
Students exchange procedural writing, attempt to follow the directions, asking questions if necessary and pointing out confusions.
Students are engaged in the coding- can see the value of clear technical writing when they exchange information on blocks. Blocks provide immediate context for learning to write clear instructions.
Adapted from Jim Pedrech, Holy Cross Catholic District Secondary School, Strathroy Ontario
Coding Concepts: Any
Multilingual Story-Telling
Students can change the language of the blocks to support and value home languages. Click on the globe at the top left to access a long list of languages.
Students can also create bilingual stories to support language learning. Research has shown that creating and integrating bilingual books can build home-school connections, support positive identity development, and of course literacy: https://www.ouinolanguages.com/tips/using-bilingual-books/
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