Scratch Animation

Creating a short animation in Scratch is a fun way to introduce students to programming. Instead of starting with complicated code, students can immediately see their instructions come to life by making a character move, talk, and react on screen.

By the end of the lesson, each student will have created a simple animated Scratch project using events, motion, looks, and timing blocks. The project can be personalized with a character, background, dialogue, and movement.

Image not foundFinished Scratch animation/images/day3/scratch-animation/finished-animation.png

Examples of completed student Scratch animations. Even with a small number of blocks, students can create projects that feel interactive and personal.

Materials

For each student

• Computer with internet access
• Access to the Scratch project editor
• A way to play project sounds (headphones preferred)

For the instructor

• A way to project your screen (projector, classroom TV, etc.)
• One prepared example animation
• One intentionally incomplete or incorrectly ordered example

Before You Begin

Use Scratch Without Student Accounts

Creating student Scratch accounts may require parent or guardian permission, depending on your school’s policies and the age of your students. Account setup can also take valuable time at the beginning of a short camp activity.

We found it best not to have students create accounts before the session. Open the Scratch project editor directly on every computer, or select Create on the Scratch homepage. Let students complete the lesson without signing in; they can build and run the entire project in the editor.

During parent pickup, a parent or guardian can help the student create a Scratch account and save the project online. If the family does not want to create an account at pickup, have the student select File → Save to your computer and email the downloaded .sb3 file to themselves or their parent or guardian.

The instructor does not need to collect every project file.

Students can select Create on the Scratch homepage to begin a project without signing in or creating an account.

Prepare the Computers and Demonstration

Before camp, confirm that the Scratch editor loads on every computer and practice downloading and reopening an .sb3 file so you can help families use the account-free option.

Prepare one short animation to demonstrate. Keep it simple enough that students can understand how each block creates part of the animation.

Also prepare an example with blocks in the wrong order. This gives students an easy way to see that computers follow instructions in the order they are given.

Teaching the Lesson

Do not assume students already know how to use a computer, mouse, or keyboard.

Begin by showing everyone how to open a web browser and select Create on the Scratch homepage. You can also give students the direct Scratch project editor link. Wait until everyone reaches the editor before beginning the coding demonstration.

Explain that programming is a way of giving a computer instructions. In Scratch, those instructions are represented by blocks that snap together.

Demonstrating the Tools

Keep your screen projected throughout the lesson.

Demonstrate only a few blocks before letting students begin working.

1. Choose a sprite.
2. Choose or create a backdrop.
3. Add a when green flag clicked event block.
4. Add a move block.
5. Add a say block.
6. Add a wait block.
7. Add another movement or looks block.
8. Click the green flag to test the animation.

After demonstrating each new idea, pause and give students a minute or two to try it themselves before moving on.

This “show, then do” rhythm keeps the class together and gives volunteers time to help anyone who falls behind.

Image not foundInstructor demonstrating Scratch/images/day3/scratch-animation/instructor-demo.jpg

Project each step of the demonstration so students can follow along before trying the blocks themselves.

Building the Animation

Start with a very small animation before allowing students to personalize it.

For example, have the sprite begin when the green flag is clicked, move across the stage, say something, wait, and then move again.

Explain that the order of the blocks matters. The computer follows the instructions from top to bottom, so changing the order can change what the audience sees.

Scratch blocks connect together to form a sequence of instructions. Students can test the sequence immediately by clicking the green flag.

Once everyone has the basic animation working, encourage students to experiment.

Students can:

• Change the character.
• Change the backdrop.
• Write their own dialogue.
• Add more movement.
• Make the sprite change costumes.
• Add sounds.
• Add another character.
• Create a beginning, middle, and ending.

Walk around the room answering questions instead of taking over the mouse. If a student gets stuck, ask what they want the character to do next and help them find the block that matches their goal.

Image not foundStudents creating Scratch animations/images/day3/scratch-animation/students-coding.jpg

Once the basic animation works, students can personalize their projects while volunteers circulate and help.

Understanding Events and Sequences

Pause during the lesson to introduce two important programming ideas: events and sequences.

An event tells the program when something should happen. For this project, the when green flag clicked block starts the animation.

A sequence is the order in which instructions happen. Scratch follows the connected blocks in order, so students can control the timing and movement of their animation by rearranging blocks.

Use the intentionally incorrect example to demonstrate what happens when instructions are placed in an unexpected order.

For example, if a character is supposed to move and then speak, but the speech block comes first, the animation will speak before moving.

You do not need to introduce variables, conditionals, or complicated logic during this lesson. The important idea is that programs are built from instructions that happen in a specific order.

Students should test their animation often. Running the project helps them see whether the computer is following their instructions in the order they expected.

Testing and Saving Projects

Before moving on to the next activity, have every student test their animation from the beginning.

Ask students to check:

• Does the animation start when the green flag is clicked?
• Does the character move?
• Does the dialogue appear in the correct order?
• Does the animation have a clear beginning and ending?
• Are all the blocks connected?
• Does the project do what the student intended?

Give students a few minutes to make final changes, then demonstrate how to save a project without an account.

Have every student give their project a recognizable name before parent pickup.

To download a project, open the File menu and select Save to your computer. Scratch will save the project as an .sb3 file that can be reopened in the Scratch editor later.

Open the File menu and select Save to your computer to download the project as an .sb3 file.

During pickup, give each family two choices:

1. A parent or guardian helps the student create a Scratch account and save the project online.
2. The student selects File → Save to your computer, confirms that the .sb3 file downloaded, and emails the file to themselves or their parent or guardian.

Cleanup

• Make sure students have named their projects.
• Confirm that each family has either saved the project to a Scratch account or downloaded and emailed the .sb3 file.
• Close Scratch or the web browser on every computer.
• Return headphones and other classroom materials.
• Leave computers ready for the next activity.
• Make a note of any projects that need help before the next session.