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Hour of Code

The document describes an activity where students use the Scratch Jr app to program stars to twinkle to the song 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'. Students will add multiple star characters, program them to turn left and right using repeat blocks, and share their programs by projecting them on a large screen and singing together as a class.

Uploaded by

Margaret Darter
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
218 views

Hour of Code

The document describes an activity where students use the Scratch Jr app to program stars to twinkle to the song 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'. Students will add multiple star characters, program them to turn left and right using repeat blocks, and share their programs by projecting them on a large screen and singing together as a class.

Uploaded by

Margaret Darter
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Class Collaboration Activity

Overview:
Children will work to create a starry night scene in ScratchJr. There will be opportunities for
children to expand upon their work by adding additional elements. Children will be introduced
to ScratchJr features such as creating characters, using motion blocks, and using the repeat
block. At the conclusion of the activity, the class will sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” while
watching their programs together.

Goal:
This activity is meant for children in Kindergarten and above who have little or no experience
with Scratch Jr or programming. Later, students can use the skills they’ve learned in this activity
to create unique projects and push their creativity.

Materials
• Ipads running iOS 7 or greater or Android tablets running Android 4.4 or greater
o Enough for each student in class, or have students collaborate in small groups
• The ScratchJr App
o Free on the Apple App store or Google Play
• A large screen to project tablet projects onto for sharing, if available.
o You may need some kind of adapter or dongle to project your iPad or dongle.

Prep
• Download the free ScratchJr app onto each of your classroom iPads or Android tablets
• Become familiar with the ScratchJr app by exploring how-to videos and resources on
www.ScratchJr.org
• Explore the sample projects embedded in the app to learn the basics of what each block
can do

Intro (5 minutes)
With ScratchJr, your students can become storytellers, programmers, artists, and more. Spend
some time introducing the class to the concepts they will be learning about with this ScratchJr
activity. Here are a few discussion questions to pose to the class before getting started with
programming:
• Does anyone know what programming is?
• Make connections: Today we will all be computer scientists, but we will also be artists!

Getting Started (10 minutes)


Students should take about 10 minutes to explore the basic features of the app. If your
students have less experience with ScratchJr, you may want to spend more time exploring the
basic features. If you have a projector, this is a great time to show the students various
features and have them follow along on their own iPads.
• First, open up the ScratchJr app from the home screen on the tablets.

• Tap the home button on the left to start.


• To create a new project, tap the plus sign under “My Projects”

• Use the ScratchJr Kitten as an example character to explore what different blocks can do.

o Ask the class where they think the blocks should go? How do we use the blocks to make
the kitten do what we tell it to?

o
o Explore the blue movement blocks and make the kitten move.

o Review the concept of adding a new character using the blue plus sign on the far left.
• Look through the different background options. Practice changing the background.

Create (30 Minutes)


Each student can now use his or her own iPad or Android tablet (or work together in groups)
to create the activity “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

1. Choose the Space background to get started.

2. Delete the ScratchJr. Kitten character.

3. Add the Star character.


o Do this several times (we recommend 3-6) so that you have a night sky full of
stars.
o This is a great opportunity to make a math connection. Have students count the
number of stars they added to their night sky.

4. Have each student drag their stars and place them across the sky in a way they like. It
should look something like this:

5. Make a program with a beginning, middle and end.


o Start with the green flag block to indicate the start of the program.
o To have the star “twinkle” we will use a turn left then turn right block.
o If students are feeling wiggly, have them stand up and act out
what the star will do!
o We want our star to twinkle the whole time we sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little
Star.” Instead of ending the story right away, use a repeat forever end block.

o Now we are going to copy our program from the 1st star to all of the other stars
as well. To do this, tap the green start block with your finger and drag and drop it
to a star on the left. Repeat this for each star.

Share (10 minutes)


Have students go around and share the programs that they made. Ask if anyone had any
difficulties with the instructions or if anything was particularly confusing for them. What did
they learn about programming and coding?
Some sentence starters include:
o “My night sky has _____ stars.”
o “It was hard for me to do _______.”
o “I learned _______ about coding.”

Present (5 minutes)
This is a great opportunity for your class to share with outside visitors or another class. Turn off
the class lights and project an example night sky program. Students could spread their iPads
around the room or sit with a friend and share programs. Have each student play their program
and sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” as a class.

What’s Next?
When this activity is over, teachers and parents are advised to build on what students learned
in this “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” activity. Extending the activity allows children to think
creatively and make the project unique to their own lives. Potential ideas for the children may
include:
o What else could the stars do? Add shooting stars, experiment making them
move in different ways, etc.
o Add more characters to the program including yourself or family and friends.
o Create a game with the project.
o Add a page to show the scene during the day time.
o Record your voice singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” in the program

Congratulations on completing this Hour of Code!

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