In today’s Scratch Jr. lesson, your students will embark on a space adventure by programming a spaceman to float through the cosmos. This lesson is designed to introduce the concept of repeating actions using the repeat block, a powerful tool in coding that allows for continuous movement without having to manually input each step.

Students will start by removing the default cat sprite and adding a spaceman character with a space-themed background. After discussing how astronauts move in space, they’ll program their spaceman to float using a series of movement blocks.

The repeat block will then be added to create an endless floating motion, simulating the weightlessness of space. This lesson not only teaches basic movement commands but also introduces the important concept of loops in coding.

Start by introducing the idea of space exploration and how astronauts move differently in space compared to on Earth. Discuss with the students how they think a spaceman would move in space—floating up, down, left, and right, with slow, smooth motions.

Click on the picture as a discussion stimulus.

Instruct the students to open a new project in Scratch Jr. and remove the default Scratch the Cat sprite by holding down on it and selecting the "X" to delete it.

Guide the students to add the spaceman/astronaut sprite from the library.

Next, have them set a space-themed background by selecting one from the background options.

Click on the picture to show the students what their screen should look like.

Discuss with the students how the spaceman should float in space. Encourage them to think about using up, down, left, and right movements to simulate floating.

Demonstrate how to add the movement blocks in Scratch Jr. for the spaceman. For example, use an "up" block, followed by a "down" block, and then a "left" and "right" block to create a floating pattern.

Click on the video to preview this movement.

Show the students how to add the repeat block to their sequence of movement blocks. Explain that the repeat block will make the spaceman continuously perform the same movements, simulating an endless floating effect.

Have the students place the repeat block at the end of their sequence of movement blocks.

Instruct the students to click the green flag to start their project and watch as the spaceman floats continuously in space.

Click on the video to preview this movement.