The Scripts of Scratch Programming Basic 6 Basic Technology Lesson Note

Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

• Identify the different scripts of the scratch interface

Content

Review: What are Scripts? Scripts are programs made by connecting blocks of code in Scratch. They tell sprites what to do.

Block Categories in Scratch

Scratch organizes coding blocks into different categories, each with a specific color. Let’s explore each category:

1. MOTION BLOCKS (Blue) These blocks control sprite movement and position.

Common Motion Blocks:

• Move (10) steps – Moves sprite forward
• Turn right (15) degrees – Rotates sprite clockwise
• Turn left (15) degrees – Rotates sprite counter-clockwise
• Go to (x:0 y:0) – Moves sprite to specific coordinates
• Go to random position – Moves sprite to random spot
• Glide (1) secs to (x:0 y:0) – Smooth movement to position
• Point in direction (90) – Faces sprite in direction
• Point towards (mouse-pointer) – Faces sprite toward something
• Change x by (10) – Moves sprite horizontally
• Change y by (10) – Moves sprite vertically
• Set x to (0) – Sets horizontal position
• Set y to (0) – Sets vertical position

Uses: Making sprites walk, fly, drive, dance

2. LOOKS BLOCKS (Purple) These blocks control sprite appearance.

Common Looks Blocks:

• Say [Hello!] for (2) seconds – Speech bubble appears
• Say [Hello!] – Speech bubble stays
• Think [Hmm…] for (2) seconds – Thought bubble
• Switch costume to (costume1) – Changes sprite appearance
• Next costume – Changes to next look
• Change size by (10) – Makes bigger/smaller
• Set size to (100) % – Sets specific size
• Show – Makes sprite visible
• Hide – Makes sprite invisible
• Go to front/back layer – Changes which sprite is on top
• Change color effect by (25) – Changes colors

Uses: Animation, special effects, making sprites talk

3. SOUND BLOCKS (Pink) These blocks play sounds and music.

Common Sound Blocks:

• Play sound (meow) until done – Plays complete sound before continuing
• Start sound (meow) – Plays sound and continues immediately
• Stop all sounds – Stops all playing sounds
• Change volume by (-10) – Adjusts loudness
• Set volume to (100) % – Sets specific volume
• Change pitch effect by (10) – Makes sound higher/lower

Uses: Adding music, sound effects, voices to projects

4. EVENTS BLOCKS (Yellow) These blocks start scripts when something happens.

Common Events Blocks:

• When green flag clicked – Starts when you click green flag (most common start block)
• When [space] key pressed – Starts when key is pressed
• When this sprite clicked – Starts when you click the sprite
• When backdrop switches to (backdrop1) – Starts when background changes
• When I receive [message1] – Starts when message is broadcast

Uses: Starting programs, making interactive projects

5. CONTROL BLOCKS (Orange) These blocks control program flow.

Common Control Blocks:

• Wait (1) seconds – Pauses program
• Repeat (10) – Does actions multiple times (loop)
• Forever – Repeats actions continuously
• If <condition> then – Does something only if condition is true
• If <condition> then, else – Chooses between two options
• Wait until <condition> – Waits for something to happen
• Repeat until <condition> – Loops until condition is true
• Stop [all] – Stops scripts

Uses: Creating loops, making decisions, controlling timing

6. SENSING BLOCKS (Light Blue) These blocks detect things.

Common Sensing Blocks:

• Touching (mouse-pointer)? – Detects if touching something
• Touching color [color]? – Detects if touching specific color
• Distance to (mouse-pointer) – Measures distance
• Ask [What’s your name?] and wait – Gets input from user
• Answer – Stores user’s response
• Key (space) pressed? – Detects if key is pressed
• Mouse down? – Detects if mouse is clicked
• Mouse x/y – Shows mouse position

Uses: Making interactive games, getting user input

7. OPERATORS BLOCKS (Green) These blocks do math and logic operations.

Common Operators Blocks:

• ( ) + ( ) – Addition
• ( ) – ( ) – Subtraction
• ( ) * ( ) – Multiplication
• ( ) / ( ) – Division
• Pick random (1) to (10) – Random number
• ( ) > ( ) – Greater than
• ( ) < ( ) – Less than
• ( ) = ( ) – Equal to
• ( ) and ( ) – Both conditions must be true
• ( ) or ( ) – One condition must be true
• Not ( ) – Opposite of condition
• Join [apple] [banana] – Combines words
• Letter (1) of [world] – Gets specific letter

Uses: Calculations, comparisons, making decisions

8. VARIABLES BLOCKS (Orange/Red) These blocks store and use data.

Common Variables Blocks:

• Make a variable – Creates new variable
• Set [my variable] to (0) – Gives variable a value
• Change [my variable] by (1) – Increases/decreases value
• Show variable [my variable] – Displays on stage
• Hide variable [my variable] – Hides from stage

Uses: Keeping score, storing names, counting things

9. MY BLOCKS (Purple/Custom) Create your own custom blocks.

Uses: Making your own commands for repeated actions

Example Scripts Using Different Categories

Example 1: Simple Movement

When green flag clicked (Events)

Forever (Control)

  Move 10 steps (Motion)

  If on edge, bounce (Motion)

Result: Sprite moves continuously and bounces at edges

Example 2: Interactive Sprite

When this sprite clicked (Events)

Say “Hello!” for 2 seconds (Looks)

Play sound “meow” until done (Sound)

Change size by 20 (Looks)

Result: When clicked, sprite talks, makes sound, grows bigger

Example 3: User Input

When green flag clicked (Events)

Ask “What is your name?” and wait (Sensing)

Say join “Hello ” answer for 2 seconds (Looks + Operators)

Result: Sprite asks for name and greets user

Example 4: Simple Game

When green flag clicked (Events)

Set score to 0 (Variables)

Forever (Control)

  If touching mouse-pointer? then (Sensing + Control)

    Change score by 1 (Variables)

    Play sound “pop” (Sound)

  End if

End forever

Result: Score increases when sprite touches mouse

Tips for Writing Scripts

1. Always start with an Events block (usually green flag)
2. Test your script frequently
3. Use Control blocks to create loops
4. Combine different categories for complex actions
5. Keep scripts organized and easy to read
6. Add comments to explain what script does
7. Debug one block at a time if something goes wrong

Common Script Patterns

Pattern 1: Animation Loop

Forever

  Next costume

  Wait 0.2 seconds

Pattern 2: Random Movement

Forever

  Move 5 steps

  Turn right pick random 1 to 20 degrees

  If on edge, bounce

Pattern 3: User Control

Forever

  If key space pressed? then

    Move 10 steps

  End if

Activities

• Identify block categories by color
• Drag different blocks to Scripts Area
• Create a simple walking animation using Motion and Looks blocks
• Make a sprite respond to mouse clicks using Events and Looks
• Build a simple interactive project using 3+ block categories
• Experiment with different block combinations