Scratch jr

What is Scratch Jr?

ScratchJr is an introductory programming language that enables young children (ages 5-7) to create their own interactive stories and games. Children snap together graphical programming blocks to make characters move, jump, dance, and sing. Children can modify characters in the paint editor, add their own voices and sounds, even insert photos of themselves -- then use the programming blocks to make their characters come to life.

ScratchJr was inspired by the popular Scratch programming language (scratch.mit.edu), used by millions of young people (ages 8 and up) around the world. In creating ScratchJr, we redesigned the interface and programming language to make them developmentally appropriate for younger children, carefully designing features to match young children's cognitive, personal, social, and emotional development.

ScratchJr is available as a free app for both iPad and Android tablets. For more information about ScratchJr, see scratchjr.org.

INSTALLING SCRATCH JR - THE EASY VERSION

Currently, Scratch Jr is only available on tablets. It is a completely free app available on:

We have tested Scratch Jr on a variety of Android tablets and iPads. We have not had a chance to test it on a Chromebook yet, if you have done so successfully, please comment below and let us know. Please note it has been discontinued for the Amazon Fire

INSTALLING SCRATCH JR - THE SLIGHTLY MORE TRICKY VERSION

We have also successfully installed an Android emulator on full Microsoft Windows PCs and installed Scratch Jr from the regular Google Play Store. We prefer AndyRoid.

PRINTABLE BLOCK IMAGES

Print high quality images of the ScratchJr blocks, laminate them and use them in class. We've included them at the bottom in the Downloadable resources

THE INTERFACE

(you can download this bit as a PDF in the downloadable resources at the bottom)

Save - Save the current project and exit to the Home page.
Stage - This is where the action takes place in the project. To delete a character, press and hold it.
Presentation Mode - Expand the stage to the full screen.
Grid - Toggle on (and off) the x-y coordinate grid.
Change Background - Select or create a background image for the stage.
Add Text - Write titles and labels on the stage.
Reset Characters - Reset all characters to their starting positions on the stage. (Drag characters to set up new starting positions.)
Green Flag - Start all programming scripts that begin with a "Start on Green Flag" block by tapping here.
Pages - Select among the pages in your project — or tap the plus sign to add a new page. Each page has its own set of characters and a background. To delete a page, press and hold it. To reorder pages, drag them to new positions.
Project Information - Change the title of the project, see when the project was created, and share the project (if supported by your device).
Undo and Redo - If you make a mistake, tap Undo to go back in time, reversing the last action. Tap Redo to reverse the last Undo.
Programming Script - Snap blocks together to make a programming script, telling the character what to do. Tap anywhere on a script to make it run. To delete a block or script, drag it outside the programming area. To copy a block or script from one character to another, drag it onto the character's thumbnail.
Programming Area - This is where you connect programming blocks to create scripts, telling the character what to do.
Blocks Palette - This is the menu of programming blocks. Drag a block into the programming area, then tap on it to see what it does.
Block Categories - This is where you can select a category of programming blocks: Triggering Blocks (Yellow), Motion (Blue), Looks (Purple), Sounds (Green), Control (Orange), End Blocks (Red).
Characters - Select among the characters in your project — or tap the plus sign to add a new one. Once a character is selected, you can edit its scripts, tap its name to rename it, or tap the paintbrush to edit its image. To delete a character, press and hold it. To copy a character to another page, drag it to the page thumbnail.

Picking up Rubbish

Using Scratch Jr and the in-built camera function, we will make a simple picking up rubbish game and model good kaitiakitanga (guardianship, specifically of land). The object of this game is to make your character pick up some rubbish (using the camera function to take a photo of real rubbish). You will be showing your students how to create code to manipulate the main character and also to create some non-playing characters (the rubbish).

See the lesson plan below for details.

Running a Race

We will familiarise our students with Scratch Jr and introduce the concept of algorithmic thinking with several characters. The object of this game is to make three characters ‘run’ across the screen. You are showing the students how to set different programs for each character and to play it all across a suitable background.

See the lesson plan below for details.

Downloads

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