Welcome to our exciting lesson on Scratch Jr.! In this lesson, we will guide our students through the fun world of coding by creating a dance party for Scratch the Cat. We will introduce them to the basics of coding, teach them how to control character movements, and let them create their own dance routines. They'll explore changing backgrounds, creating sequences, and understanding the concept of cause and effect. Let's get ready to move and groove with Scratch Jr.!

Welcome to Scratch Jr., an engaging platform designed specifically for young learners to explore the basics of coding. Scratch Jr. allows students to bring their creative ideas to life by creating stories, games, and animations. It’s a hands-on tool that helps them understand the fundamental concepts of coding in a way that’s intuitive and fun.

In Scratch Jr., students learn to code by using colorful blocks that snap together like puzzle pieces. Each block represents a different command, allowing students to control their characters’ movements, actions, and interactions on the screen. This visual approach to coding helps students grasp complex ideas like sequencing, loops, and events without needing to type any code.

We use Scratch Jr. to teach coding because it’s perfectly tailored for this age group. It encourages creative thinking, problem-solving, and logical reasoning—essential skills in both coding and in broader educational contexts. As students experiment with different blocks and sequences, they’re learning how to break down tasks, plan ahead, and understand cause and effect, all while having fun. Scratch Jr. makes coding accessible and exciting, setting a strong foundation for future learning.

Explain that every sequence of commands in Scratch Jr. should start with the green flag block.

The green flag block is like pressing the "go" button; it tells the character when to start following the instructions.

Once the blocks are in place, the students can test their code by clicking the green flag above the screen.

This will trigger the sequence, and they’ll see their character move according to the commands they've programmed.

This simple process helps students understand the basics of sequencing and how to control their characters' actions.

Time to introduce the basic movement blocks that the students will use to create their dance routines for Scratch the Cat. Explain to your students that each movement block represents a different action that Scratch can perform—moving forward, backward, left, or right.

Demonstrate how to drag and drop these blocks into the coding area to create a sequence of movements. Start by showing them how to use the green flag block, which acts as the start button for their dance routine. Place the green flag block at the beginning of the sequence.

Next, show them how to add different movement blocks after the green flag. For example, you might drag a "move forward" block, followed by a "turn left" block, and then a "jump" block. Emphasize that they can combine these blocks in any order to make Scratch perform different movements!