Video Tutorial: Soarin’ Strawberry

Teacher Guide

Summary
● Coding skill level: Beginner
● Recommended grade level: Grades 3+ (U.S.), Years 4+ (U.K)
● Time required: 30 minutes
● Coding Language: Tynker Blocks

Teacher Guide Outline

Welcome!
● Introduction
Activity
● Overview
● Getting Started
● Video Tutorial ​(30 minutes)
● Extended Activities
Going Beyond Soarin’ Strawberry
● Tynker for Schools
Help
Welcome!
Who's ready to learn how to code from the Tynker team? This week, Tyler will teach
your students how to use loops, motion blocks, and event handlers (e.g., "when
pressed", "when occurs") to create a game called "Soarin’ Strawberry."

Introduction
Are your students familiar with the game "Flappy Bird"?​ ​In this lesson, students will
learn how to use event handlers to create their own version of Flappy Bird on Tynker!
The goal of the game is to navigate a character (the strawberry) through obstacles for
as long as possible. Coding concepts include ​simple/advanced events, simple loops,
delays, simple/advanced motion, visibility, simple sound playing​, and ​detecting
conditions​. You can access the video tutorial here:
https://youtu.be/QTN9CS7ksdc 

Students will begin by learning about events in the "Getting Started" activity. Next, they'll
move onto the Soarin’ Strawberry video tutorial to create a game that's played similar to
"Flappy Bird." ​How to play​: Press the spacebar (web)/tap the screen (mobile) to
navigate the strawberry through the barriers. Once students finish coding, they're ready
to share their game with family and friends. Let's see what unique twists and features
your students will add to their game!

Activity
Overview
Objectives
Students will...
● Use event handlers
● Make Actors appear/disappear from the screen
● Apply knowledge of x/y-coordinates
● Use loops
● Create a Flappy Bird-style game using Tynker

Materials
● Computers, laptops, Chromebooks, or tablets with​ ​an internet​ ​connection

Vocabulary
● Code:​ The language that tells a computer what to do.
● Actor:​ A Tynker character or object that can talk and interact with others.
● Stage:​ The background of the project where the Actors are placed.
● Costume:​ Different appearances for an Actor, such as poses used in a
character’s animation.
● Sequence:​ The order in which steps or events happen.
 ● Command: ​A specific action or instruction that tells the computer to do
something.
● Loop:​ A loop is used to repeat one or more commands over and over.
● Counting loop: ​A loop that repeats one or more commands a specific number of
times.
● Infinite loop: ​A loop that repeats forever and does not end until the program
stops. 

U.S. Standards
● CCSS-ELA:​ RF.3.4, RF.3.4.A, RF.4.4.A, RF.4.4, RF.5.4.A, RF.5.4, ​WHST.6-8.4,
W.9-10.3, W.11-12.3
● CCSS-Math:​ MP.1
● CSTA:​ 1B-AP-08, 1B-AP-12, 1B-AP-15, 2-AP-15, 3A-AP-13
● CS CA:​ 3-5.AP.10, 3-5.AP.14, 3-5.AP.17, 6-8.AP.10, 6-8.AP.16, 9-12.AP.12
● ISTE​: 1.c, 1.d, 4.d, 5.c, 5.d, 6.b

U.K. Standards
National Curriculum in England (computing):
● Key Stage 2 (Years 4-6)
○ Design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals,
including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by
decomposing them into smaller parts
○ Use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to
detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs
○ Understand computer networks, including the internet; how they can
provide multiple services, such as the World Wide Web, and the
opportunities they offer for communication and collaboration
○ Use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise
acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report
concerns about content and contact
● Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9)
○ Design, use and evaluate computational abstractions that model the state
and behaviour of real-world problems and physical systems
○ Create, reuse, revise and repurpose digital artefacts for a given audience,
with attention to trustworthiness, design and usability
○ Understand a range of ways to use technology safely, respectfully,
responsibly and securely, including protecting their online identity and
privacy; recognise inappropriate content, contact and conduct, and know
how to report concerns

Getting Started
● As a class, discuss different ways a Tynker game or project can be interactive.
Example: Change an Actor's behavior when the user presses a key (web) or taps
 their device (mobile). Next, inform students that they can use Tynker's "Events"
blocks to make their game or project do something when an event (up arrow
pressed, mouse is clicked, the background switches) occurs.
● Optional: ​Check for understanding by asking students to identify Tynker's
"Events" code blocks. ​Hint:​ They're the yellow colored blocks.

Video Tutorial​​(30 minutes)

Soaring Strawberry (DIY)
● In this project, students will watch a video tutorial to learn how to create a game
where the user presses the spacebar (web)/taps the screen (mobile) to move a
strawberry through obstacles.
● Activities incl​ude programming the strawberry to fly, adding a losing condition,
creating a scrolling barrier, using event handlers, making Actors
appear/disappear, and customizing the project.
● Do students want the ​strawberry to fall faster/slower​? Ask them to adjust the
value of the "wait" block:

A smaller value will make the ​strawberry​ fall faster, whereas a larger value will
make the strawberry fall slower. ​Optional:​ Ask students to try out these values:
0.009 and 0.05.
● Inform students that they can use loops and the "sound" block to create
background music for their game. Their code might look similar to this:

What other features can they add to their game?

● Do students want to change the size of the soaring ​strawberry​? Ask them to add
a "change size by" block to the Strawberry's script:

Check for understanding by asking students to explain what happens when they
set the size to "110%" and "38%". (Answer: At 110%, the strawberry's size will be
larger than its original size. At 38%, the strawberry will be smaller than its original
size.)
● Encourage students to experiment with different event handlers such as the
"when Actor clicked" block:

See if they can make the ​strawberry​ switch costumes or play a sound when the
user clicks it!
● Ask students to brainstorm ideas on how they can make their game more
challenging. Examples include...
○ Making the obstacle gaps smaller
○ Adding falling obstacles that the strawberry needs to avoid
Extended Activities
Short Response
Practice your writing and/or typing skills as you respond to this writing prompt:

If you were given the opportunity to redesign any game (board games,
video/computer games, etc.) using Tynker, what changes would you make? What
game would you redesign? Why? Would you add new rules or challenges? How is
your version better than the original?

Going Beyond Soaring Strawberry

If​ ​your​ ​students​ ​enjoyed​ Soaring Strawberry,​ ​they’re​ ​sure​ ​to​ ​enjoy​ ​the​ ​rest​ ​of​ ​what​
​Tynker​ ​has​ ​to offer!​ ​Tynker​ ​offers​ ​a​ ​complete​ ​premium​ ​solution​ ​for​ ​schools​ ​to​ ​teach​
​computer​ ​science.​ ​Over 400​ ​hours​ ​of​ ​lessons​ ​are​ ​available​ ​to​ ​take​ ​K-8​ ​students​ ​from​
​block​ ​coding​ ​to​ ​advanced​ ​text coding.​ ​We​ ​offer​ ​tons​ ​of​ ​resources​ ​for​ ​teachers,​ ​including​
​comprehensive​ ​guides,​ ​free​ ​webinars, and​ ​a​ ​forum​ ​to​ ​connect​ ​with​ ​other​ ​educators. You
can check out Tynker's coding and STEAM curriculum here:
https://www.tynker.com/school/coding-curriculum/

Tynker for Schools

Used​ ​in​ ​over​ ​90,000​ ​schools,​ ​our​ ​award-winning​ ​platform​ ​has​ ​flexible​ ​plans​ ​to​ ​meet​
​your classroom,​ ​school,​ ​or​ ​district​ ​needs.​ ​All​ ​solutions​ ​include:
● Grade-specific​ ​courses​ ​that​ ​teach​ ​visual​ ​coding,​ ​JavaScript,​ ​Python,​ ​robotics​ ​and​
​drones
● A​ ​library​ ​of​ ​NGSS​ ​and​ ​Common​ ​Core​ ​compliant​ ​STEM​ ​courses​ ​that​ ​are​ ​great​ ​for
project-based​ ​learning
● Automatic​ ​assessment​ ​and​ ​mastery​ ​charts​ ​for​ ​whole schools and individual
classes and students
● Easy​ ​classroom​ ​management​ ​with​ ​Google​ ​Classroom​ ​and​ ​Clever​ ​integration
● Professional​ ​training,​ ​free​ ​webinars​ ​and​ ​other​ ​teacher​ ​training​ ​resources

Need help getting Tynker started at your school?​ ​Contact us​ to learn more about
teaching programming at your school with Tynker!

Help
Need help? Below you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions.

Do I need to create Tynker accounts for my students?

No, you do not need to create a Tynker account for your students.
How do my students open the video tutorial?
Click this image on the Tutorial tab:

How do my students code their project?

Students can follow along with the video tutorial and use Tynker blocks to code a
Flappy Bird-style game called, "Soaring Strawberry." Make sure students drag and drop
code blocks from the Tynker code block pallet onto the coding panel.

Who is this activity for?

Soaring Strawberry is intended for students in grades 3+ (U.S.) or years 4+ (U.K.) who
have experience coding.

What devices do I need?

Computers, laptops, Chromebooks, or tablets (1 per student) with​ ​an internet​
​connection.

What will my students learn?

By the end of this lesson, students will know how to use event handlers to code an
interactive game on Tynker! They'll also reinforce coding concepts such as
simple/advanced events, simple loops, delays, simple/advanced motion, visibility,
simple sound playing,​ and ​detecting conditions​. Additionally, students will develop
debugging and logical reasoning skills as they experiment with code blocks and further
customize their game. The "Extended Activities" section in this teacher guide also
includes a writing prompt that reinforces typing and writing skills.

What should my students code next?

Keep an eye out for the next video tutorial. In the meantime, your students can check
out Tynker's Hour of Code projects which include over 500 challenges! Here's the link:
https://www.tynker.com/hour-of-code/

What do the code blocks do?

Below is a chart of the code blocks mentioned in the video tutorial:
 Code Block Description

Start the program when the Play button is selected.

Run code attached to this block when you press a specified key.

Run the code attached to this block when the specified condition
occurs.

Keep repeating the blocks inside this loop forever.

Repeat blocks inside this loop a specified number of times.

Pause the program for a specific number of seconds.

Change the x-coordinate of an Actor by the specified number of

units.

Change the y-coordinate of an Actor by the specified number of

units.

Set the position of an Actor to the specified parameter (e.g.,

mouse-pointer, touch location).

Make the Actor appear on the screen.

Make the Actor disappear from the screen.

Play the specified sound file.

Return true if the Actor is touching the specified parameter.

Otherwise, return false.

How can I contact the Tynker support team?

If​ ​you​ ​have​ ​any​ ​issues​ ​or​ ​questions,​​ ​send​ ​us​ ​an​ ​email​ ​at​ ​[email protected]​.