Excellent resource for teaching logic and problem solving.

Submitted 11 years ago
My Rating
Pedagogy
Supports

My Take

Scratch is an excellent platform for students to create and code, allowing students to move seamlessly between basic movement and highly advanced computer programing concepts (such as if then statements, variables, operations, and more). Though I initially shied away from introducing scratch to my classes, after seeing their excitement participating in the Hour of Code I knew this was a "must add" curricular piece. With abundant tutorials, excellent teaching resources, and limitless potential, Scratch is a program that can reach multiple levels of learners and allow each to experience success. Don't be overwhelmed, start small and learn alongside your students!

How I Use It

My favorite part is the ability to take a project created by others and "look inside" - see what works, see what you could change, or use it as a starter to tweak and build upon. I have used Scratch successfully with grades 3-6. Third grade students have created geometric shapes, designed geometric pictures, created shape spirals, and taught the sprite to write words. Fifth grade students designed a race - working from a template, students customized their project in ingenious ways: from teachers racing to Starbucks, to horses racing around a track, to bowling balls racing down the lane, to mountain climbers racing up a mountain.