3.2 Introduction to Scratch: Features, Interface, Blocks - Grade 9 Computer Science 2082 - Revised

 3.2 Introduction to Scratch: Features, Interface, Blocks

Introduction to Scratch

·       Scratch is a visual programming language that allows us to easily create and share interactive stories, games, and animations by snapping code blocks together.

·       Scratch is one of the most popular and widely used block programming languages.

·       It was developed by Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT Media Lab, and is an open-source platform, which means that the software is free and publicly available to everyone.

·       It has a large and supportive community of users, who share their projects and help each other on the Scratch website.

·       Scratch has different verisons such as scratch 1.0, scratch 2.0 and Scratch 3.0 which is the current version , introduced in 2019.

·       Scratch can be used offline or online.

·       Scratch a real software development tool with a colorful interface and presentation style.

·       With Scratch, you can also make your dream projects such as games and even controlling robots or devices a reality.

 

Features of Scratch

·       Block-based coding - Use colorful blocks that snap together to build programs, making it easy to understand coding logic without typing code.

·       Sprites & Backdrops - Create and animate characters (sprites) and design scenes (backdrops) for your stories or games.

·       Community Sharing - Share projects online, explore others’ projects, remix them, and get feedback.

·       Motion & Animation - Make sprites move, turn, glide, bounce, and animate them with costumes.

·       Variables & Lists - Store and use data to keep scores, timers, or any custom values.

 

 

Scratch Interface

·       Stage – The Stage is the main area in Scratch where the actions of the script are displayed; it shows the output of the program.

·       Sprite - A sprite in Scratch is the character or object that we program to act, move, or interact on the Stage.

·       Script Area - The Script Area is the workspace where we drag, drop, and connect code blocks to write scripts that control the behavior of sprites and the stage.

·       Blocks palette: The Block Palette is the area in Scratch that contains different categories of blocks like Motion, Looks, Sound, Events, Control, Sensing, Operators, Variables, and My Blocks, which we can drag and drop into the Script Area to build the code.

·       Sprite List - Shows all the sprites (characters or objects) used in the project.

 

Concept of Block

·       Block programming uses colorful blocks to show actions or commands.

·       We put them together by dragging and dropping to make a list of things to do.

·       It’s like playing with building blocks, but we’re building programs! This way of coding is easy for beginners, like you, to understand.

·       For example, to move a character or make it perform an action like jump, simply we can select and connect the corresponding blocks. It helps to be creative and figure out problem solving skills.

 

Category	Color	Purpose
Motion	🔵 Blue	Controls the movement of sprites (move, turn, go to, glide).
Looks	🟣 Purple	Changes how sprites look or appear (say, think, change costume, show, hide).
Sound	🔴 Pink	Adds or controls sounds and music (play sound, stop sound, change volume).
Events	🟡 Yellow	Detects events or triggers (when flag clicked, when sprite clicked, broadcast).
Control	🟠 Orange	Manages flow of the program (repeat, if-then, forever, wait).
Sensing	🔵 Light Blue	Detects conditions and inputs (touching, key pressed, mouse position).
Operators	🟢 Green	Performs math, logic, and string operations (add, subtract, join text, comparisons).
Variables	🟧 Dark Orange	Allows you to store and change values (create variables, set, change).
My Blocks	🔴 Red	Lets you create custom blocks for reusable code or to simplify complex scripts.