Scratch Jr
Beginner
30 mins
Teacher led
What you need:
iPad/Tablet

Dance Party: Make Your Characters Groove

In this interactive lesson, you'll revisit the basics of Scratch the Cat, learn to change backgrounds in Scratch Junior, and create a unique dance routine for Scratch. If you finish early, you're encouraged to explore the app and experiment with new routines and backgrounds.
Learning Goals Learning Outcomes

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    1 - Scratch The Cat Recap

    Read through the Scratch the Cat slideshow to recap lesson 1 and set up this lesson.

    2 - Changing Backgrounds

    Tell the students that today, they’ll learn something new and exciting—Scratch the Cat can visit lots of cool places! Explain that in Scratch Junior, they can change the background of their project to take Scratch on different adventures.

    By clicking the picture above the stage, we can find lots of great places for Scratch the Cat to visit!

    Have the students follow along on their own devices, guiding them step-by-step as they change the background to the stage in their projects.


    3 - Today's Challenge

    Tell the students that their challenge today is to make Scratch the Cat perform a dance on the stage background.

    Remind them that they will use the motion blocks they learned about in the first lesson to create a fun dance routine for Scratch.

    Show our example of a simple dance using motion blocks like "move forward," "turn," and "jump."

    Emphasize that they can use as many motion blocks as they like to create a unique dance for Scratch.

    Give the students time to create their own dance routines for Scratch on the stage background. Encourage them to experiment with different motions and sequences to see what kind of dance they can create.

    Additional challenge is to make the character dance while moving left and right across the stage (Hint: Use two parallel lines of blocks!)

    4 - Free Play

    If students complete the task early, encourage them to explore and experiment with the app in free play. They can try out different backgrounds, create new dance routines, or even see what other fun activities they can make Scratch the Cat do. This will give them a chance to deepen their understanding and creativity in a more open-ended way

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    Copyright Notice
    This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.
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