In Computing, Year Two have been learning all about programming, using Scratch Junior. They have used coloured blocks to program a character (sprite) to move, change and speak.
To begin, the children recapped their learning from Year One. Even though it has been a long time since they last used Scratch, we were so impressed by how much they had remembered, including the function of each coloured block and how to change the background.
Then, the children were set the challenge of creating their own program using only six blocks. The boys and girls had to make sure they used a start and an end block, otherwise their program wouldn’t run properly. They had great fun combining the blocks to make their sprite do different things. Some of the children added a background and linked their sprite’s actions to it (e.g. jumping on a bed). They also changed the number in the block to control how much their sprite moved. At the end of the lesson, the children had to identify why some programs wouldn’t run. They quickly realised that the blocks weren’t connected or that the start block was missing.
Next, the children learned that an outcome is the result of something. Similarly, in Scratch junior, when you run a program the sequence of commands is followed and this results in an outcome. The children looked at some programs and predicted what they thought the outcome would be. Did you know, some programs use different blocks but can produce the same outcome? The children quickly realised that it is better to use fewer blocks and change the numbers, as this simplifies the program but still produces the same result. Finally, the children explored how they could change the outcome of a program by using different blocks.
