Book Image

Scratch 1.4: Beginner's Guide

Book Image

Scratch 1.4: Beginner's Guide

Overview of this book

If you have the imaginative power to design complex multimedia projects but can't adapt to programming languages, then Scratch 1.4: Beginner's Guide is the book for you. Imagine how good you'll feel when you drag-and-drop your way to interactive games, stories, graphic artwork, computer animations, and much more using Scratch even if you have never programmed before. This book provides teachers, parents, and new programmers with a guided tour of Scratch's features by creating projects that can be shared, remixed, and improved upon in your own lesson plans. Soon you will be creating games, stories, and animations by snapping blocks of "code" together. When you program you solve problems. In order to solve problems, you think, take action, and reflect upon your efforts. Scratch teaches you to program using a fun, accessible environment that's as easy as dragging and dropping blocks from one part of the screen to another. In this book you will program games, stories, and animations using hands-on examples that get you thinking and tinkering. For each project, you start with a series of steps to build something. Then you pause to put our actions into context so that you can relate our code to the actions on Scratch's stage. Throughout each chapter, you'll encounter challenges that encourage you to experiment and learn. One of the things you're really going to love is that, as you begin working through the examples in the book, you won't be able to stop your imagination and the ideas will stream as fast as you can think of them. Write them down. You'll quickly realize there are a lot of young minds in your home, classroom, or community group that could benefit from Scratch's friendly face. Teach them, please.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
Scratch 1.4 Beginner's Guide
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
Preface
Scratch Resources
Index

Time for action – give me another "M"


When we last left our script, the Second M in Mom displayed on the screen. Now let's display the First M in Mom.

The second letter M broadcast the message next m, so that is where we begin this exercise:

  1. Add the Control block when I receive next m to the scripts area for the First M sprite.

  2. Add the show block.

  3. Let's rotate the M this time. From the Motion palette, add the turn clockwise 15 degrees block to the show block.

  4. Click the flag to set the script in motion. Note that the first m is tilted 15 degrees. Click the Stop button when you've seen enough.

  5. Wrap the turn clockwise 15 degrees block in a repeat 10 block.

  6. Change the input value on the repeat block to 25.

  7. Add a broadcast block and create a new message gimme an O. Click the flag to run the script and watch the M spin in place. Click Stop when you've seen enough.

Run the script multiple times. Note how the letter M has a different orientation each time the script runs.

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