Lesson Plans v10

This curriculum is based on, and in some parts sourced from

Creative Computing by Karen Brennan.
http://scratched.media.mit.edu/sites/default/files/CurriculumGuide-v20110923.pdf
Common Core State Standards (CA.) for Mathematical Practice: SMP 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8

What is creative computing?

Creative computing is about creativity. Computer science and computing-related fields have long
been perceived as being disconnected from young peoples interests and values. Creative computing
supports the development of personal connections to computing, by drawing upon creativity,
imagination, and interests.
Creative computing is about computing. Many young people with access to computers participate as
consumers, rather than designers or creators. Creative computing emphasizes the knowledge and
practices that young people need to create the types of dynamic and interactive computational
media that they enjoy in their daily lives.
Engaging in the creation of computational artifacts prepares young people for more than careers as
computer scientists or as programmers. It supports young peoples development as computational

thinkers individuals who can draw on computational concepts, practices, and perspectives in all
aspects of their lives, across disciplines and contexts.
The activities in this guide are designed to explore computational thinking concepts (sequence,
loops, parallelism, events, conditionals, operators, data), practices (working iteratively and
incrementally, testing and debugging, reusing and remixing, abstracting and modularizing), and

perspectives (expressing, connecting, questioning).

What is design-based learning?

Design-based learning is an approach that emphasizes designing (creating things, not just using or
interacting with things), personalizing (creating things that are personally meaningful and relevant),

collaborating (working with others on creations), and reflecting (reviewing and rethinking ones
creative practices). As such, a design-based approach to learning is particularly well suited to
creative computing, and forms the basis for the design of each session described in this guide.

Note
A major goal of this program is to establish a culture of fearlessness, exploration, and peer
collaboration. It is expected that students (and their teachers!) will not know everything ahead of
time and the environment becomes a space where everyone is learning together

Assessment

Our approach to assessment is process-oriented, with a focus on creating opportunities for students
to talk about their own (and others) creations and creative practices. There are many forms of
process-oriented data that could be collected and various strategies are suggested throughout the
guide, such as:

supporting conversations with and among students about their projects, recorded through
graphics and text in the Design Notebook.
examining portfolios (Studios in Scratch) of projects
gallery walks to view other students work in progress
presenting final project

We view assessment as something that is done with students, to support their understanding of
what they know and what they still want to know. Assessment can involve a variety of participants,
including the creators, their peers, teacher, parents, and others.
Objectives
Students will create a final project using one of three modalities; a work of art, a story, or a game
that demonstrates their command of the objectives.
Objective

Description

Introduction

Students are introduced to creative computing and

CCSS SMP 1,2,5

Arts
CCSS SMP 1,2,5

Scratch, through sample projects and hands-on

experiences.
Students explore the arts by creating projects that
include elements of music, design, drawing, and dance.
The computational concepts of sequence and loops, and
the computational practices of being iterative and
incremental are highlighted.

Stories
CCSS SMP 3, 5

Students explore storytelling by creating projects that

include characters, scenes, and narrative.
The computational concepts of parallelism and events
and the computational practices of reusing and
remixing are highlighted.

Games
CCSS SMP 1,2,5,7

Students explore games by creating projects that define

goals and rules.
The computational concepts of conditionals, operators,
and data, and the computational practices of testing and
debugging are highlighted.

Final project
CCSS SMP 1,2,5,8

Students develop independent projects by defining a

project to work on, collaborating with others to
improve the project, and presenting the project and its
development process.
The computational practices of abstracting and
modularizing are highlighted.

Session #1
Session description
In this session, students are introduced to computational creation with the Scratch programming
environment by viewing sample projects and engaging in an exploratory, hands-on experience.
Objectives
The students will:

understand the concept of computational creation, in the context of Scratch

be able to imagine possibilities for their own Scratch-based computational creation
become familiar with resources that support their computational creation
explore resources to use in answering questions and solving problems

Resources
Practice Programs #1-2
Scratch.mit.edu videos Getting Started with Scratch, Make Your Sprite Move Forward
~ Minutes

20

30

10

Activities

Introduce instructors
Assign numbers to students (used to access and track students work)
Answer Design Notebook questions #1 and #2
Opening Video Welcome to Scratch watch as a group
Direct students to http://www.LearningTech/Scratch to see the goals for this session.
Read the goals together.
Identify the Stage, Blocks Palette, and Programming Area, and Sprite list
Create a program
Make a sprite move using the MOVE, TURN, and REPEAT blocks.
Learning to use the Scratch interface
View video Make Your Sprite Move Forward
Create a version of the Practice Programs #1-2 and share them in your studio.
Students pair and share to respond to question #3 and share out with class.

Session #2
Session description
In this session students learn to initiate multiple actions simultaneously, display text, and change the
sprite costume. They explore use of these actions by creating a program to tell something about
themselves.
Objectives
The students will:

Write a program that describes themselves.

Initiate simultaneous programs across multiple sprites
Explore changing costumes and reflect on how to use this in their final project

Resources
Practice Programs #3-4
Scratch.mit.edu videos , All About Me , Make Your Sprite Spin

~ Minutes
5
15

Activities
Respond to question #4 to prepare for creating All About Me program
Show the video All About Me and watch as a group
Direct students to http://www.LearningTech/Scratch to see the goals for this session.
Read the goals together.
Goals:
Create a program that tells someone about you.
Use the START block to make more than one sprite doing something at the
same time
Use the WHEN SPRITE CLICKED block to initiate some action
Use the SWITCH COSTUME and CHANGE COLOR blocks and make your
sprites exciting

55

View video Make Your Sprite Spin

View All About Me project
Students create an interactive program that represents aspects of themselves through
clickable sprites. Create a version of the Practice Programs #3-4 and share them in
your studio.

15

Students pair and share to respond to question #5 and share out with class.

Session #3
Session description
In this session students will explore the use of programmed events that allow sprites to interact and
take action when a command is sent.
Objectives
The students will:

Complete All About Me

Initiate and sequence events
Coordinate events between sprites to control actions
Begin planning their Final Project

Resources
Practice Programs #5-6
Scratch.mit.edu Project Say-Think
~ Minutes
5
5

40

10

Activities
Respond to question #6 Begin planning the Final Project
Direct students to http://www.LearningTech/Scratch to see the goals for this session.
Read the goals together.
Goals:
Complete All About Me program
Use a Broadcast to cause an action
Use a Broadcast to cause a change in costume
Use a Broadcast to cause a change in background
Students individually view project Say-Think

Create a version of the Practice Programs #5-6 that is a remix and share them in your
studio.
Students pair and share to respond to question #7 and share out with class.

Session #4
Session description
In this session students will examine the use of a coordinate system to locate and move sprites.
Objectives
The students will:

Locate the coordinates on the stage using the cursor.

Move sprites from one set of coordinates to another using the GLIDE block
Place sprites on the stage using the coordinate system.
Reflect and share out their programs.

Resources
Practice Programs #7-8
Scratch.mit.edu videos
Make Your Sprite Dance , Make Your Sprite Glide
~ Minutes
5
5

40
10

Activities
Respond to question #8
Direct students to http://www.LearningTech/Scratch to see the goals for this session.
Read the goals together.
Goals:
Find the coordinates of any location on the stage using the cursor.
Place 4 sprites at these coordinates (100,100) (-100, -100) (100, -100) (-100,
100).
Use GLIDE to move all 4 sprites around the stage.
Students individually view video Make Your Sprite Dance and Make Your Sprite Glide
Create a version of the Practice Programs #7-8 and share them in your studio.
Students pair and share to respond to question #9 and share out with class.

Session #5
Session description
In this session students investigate conditional programming combined with sensing action or
location.
Objectives
The students will:

Apply conditional blocks to create alternative outcomes

Combine conditional and location blocks to initiate action
Combine conditional and event blocks to initiate action

Resources
Practice Programs #9-10
Scratch.mit.edu videos Make a Simple Game , Change the Cat
~ Minutes
5
5

40
10

Activities
Respond to question #10
Direct students to http://www.LearningTech/Scratch to see the goals for this session.
Read the goals together.
Goals:
Combine the IF-THEN block with the WHEN KEY PRESSED block
Combine the IF-THEN block with the IF ON EDGE block
Combine the IF-THEN block with the TOUCHING block
Students individually view video Make a Simple Game and Change the Cat
Create a version of the Practice Programs #9-10 and share them in your studio.
Students pair and share to respond to question #11 and share out with class.

Session #6
Session description
In this session students will use variables to keep track of lives, scores, and other parameters in their
programs.
Objectives
The students will:

Create multiple variables

Store initial and incremental or random values in the variables
Use a variable as a counter
Display variable values

Resources
Practice Programs #11-12
Scratch.mit.edu videos Fish of Eratosthenes
~ Minutes
5
5

Activities
Respond to question #12
Direct students to http://www.LearningTech/Scratch to see the goals for this session.
Read the goals together.
Goals:
Create and name a variable
Set the initial value for the variable
Use the variable to keep score, count lives, or to control your program.
Reset the value of the variable to its initial value

40

Students individually view Fish of Eratosthenes

10

Create a version of the Practice Programs #11-12 and share them in your studio.
Students pair and share to respond to question #13 and share out with class.

Session #7
Session description
In this session students will learn to create sounds, including musical notes.
Objectives
The students will:

Use a sound and music

Make a short song using different notes and instruments

Combine song and movement to make a sprite sing and dance

Resources
Practice Programs #13-14
Video How To Make a Sound
~ Minutes
5
5

40

10

Activities
Respond to question #14
Direct students to http://www.LearningTech/Scratch to see the goals for this session.
Read the goals together.
Goals:
Use a sound in your program
Make a short song using different notes and instruments
Combine song and movement to make a sprite sing and dance
Students individually view How To Make a Sound
Create a version of the Practice Programs #13-14 or an original program of your own
choice and share them in your studio.
Students pair and share to respond to question #15 and share out with class.

Session #8
Session description
In this session students will combine sensing and conditional blocks to implement logic algorithms.
Objectives
The students will:

Draw using the Pen Up and Pen Down blocks

Combine sensing blocks with conditional blocks to control sprite behavior

Resources
Practice Programs #15-17
Scratch.mit.edu Project Ask Elsa Questions
~ Minutes
5
5

40
10

Activities
Respond to question #16
Direct students to http://www.LearningTech/Scratch to see the goals for this session.
Read the goals together.
Goals:
Draw something using PEN UP and PEN DOWN
Change the behavior of your sprite when it touches another object, like a wall
Students individually view Ask Elsa Questions Create a version of the Practice
Programs #15-16 or an original program of their choice and share them in your studio.
Students pair and share to respond to question #17 and share out with class.

Session #9 and #10

Students work on Final Project. Final Project presentations to class in Session #10.