ALEX Lesson Plan

Students will use the free online coding program Scratch to learn the basics of coding and how to use blocks and animations to create a game. Students will create a game to find multiples of a given factor by making a character fly into the correct multiple of the given factor. The student will go through a series of coding steps to create a background, make a character fly, and create the factor and multiple game.

This lesson plan was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science, GEMS Project.

Chromebook or another device with Internet access for each student or group of students

Access to the Scratch website

Journal and pencil for each student for any note taking

Each group of students will need access to a device with an Internet connection. It is ideal for every student to have his or her individual device. 

The students and the teacher will need some basic knowledge of coding and the program Scratch. Scratch is a free online coding program that uses blocks to create animations and games. If the students are not familiar with this online coding program, they can use the "Getting Started" tutorial under the "Tips" tab that Scratch offers. Students do not require a login username and password, however, it is free if the students would like to save their projects.

Before

Ask students to share what they know about code, input, output, and data. (Code: What people use to describe the steps a computer program should take; Input: The information and instructions that you give to the computer; Output: How a computer behaves based on a combination of your input and the code of the program; Data: The information that you put into a computer to get it to perform a task or make a calculation.)

Explain to the students that they will be using the online coding program Scratch to create a background, make a character fly, and design a factor and multiple game.

During

Students will work collaboratively in groups to go through the "Make It Fly" tutorial on Scratch. This tutorial gives step by step instructions on how to choose a character, create a background, make the character fly, and add a scoring element to create a game. 

After

After the students have watched and used the steps in practice on the tutorial, they will create a factor and multiple game using the same steps from the tutorial. The students will need to add clouds with multiples of a given factor and clouds that have numbers that are not multiples of a given factor. The students can choose any one-digit factor to use. Example: If a student wants to work on finding the multiples of 7, then the student game will need clouds with some multiples of 7 and some numbers that are not multiples of 7. This will allow the students to add the data element to the game where the character collects a point for flying into the clouds with the multiples of the given factor. 

If the students have trouble with getting their game to work correctly, they should identify any errors in their coding algorithm or revisit the "Make It Fly" tutorial for tips.

The teacher should assess the students' progress throughout the lesson by observing the creation of the games and asking/answering questions as they arise.  

Each student or group of students should present a working factor and multiple game where a character tries to fly into multiples of a given factor. The students will present these games to the class and give the class an opportunity to play the game. This will determine if students understand multiples of various numbers and test the program for bugs.

There are several tasks on the Scratch website that can be used to expand the understanding of code and how to build projects. Students can click on the "tips" tab on the Scratch page and find a list of several other tasks to complete.

Students might need extra vocabulary support in a small group with the terms code, input, output, and data. Students needing extra support should be paired with a peer helper to walk through the coding steps of the lesson.