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Digital storytelling involves combining digital media (images, voice narration, music, text, or motion) to tell a story. Over the past few years, digital storytelling has become an increasingly popular and effective way for students to meet a range of learning goals in the classroom. Scratch, a programming project from the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab, might be an unexpected tool for digital storytelling. But using Scratch to tell a story is a "twofer": Students practice important ELA skills and, at the same time, use computational thinking.

As students build their stories in Scratch, their work aligns with ISTE's definition of computational thinking. With Scratch, students

F ormulate a problem as they determine how to use the elements in Scratch to construct their story -- creating plot, setting, sequencing, and perspective.

Logically organize and analyze data by creating blocks of code to create characters and design settings.

Represent the data (story content) through the movement of sprites -- the characters in Scratch. The source of sprites can be from Scratch's extensive library, an online image, a cropped photo, or an original drawing in Paint (an online drawing program within Scratch).

Use algorithmic thinking as they create code to make sprites move and communicate.

Identify, analyze, and implement solutions in the ordered steps they created to make the program work as they envision.

Transfer this problem-solving process to other situations as they tackle more complex animation challenges within Scratch and elsewhere in their lives.

To plan their stories, students can use storyboards, which are available online. The Scratch website offers detailed instructions about how to start a Scratch project. Numerous video tutorials on YouTube demonstrate how to program sprites, change backgrounds, and add sound effects and voice-overs. Teachers and parents can share resources, ask questions, and get support through the online community, ScratchEd. Although Scratch can also be used to create games and animations, using Scratch to create a digital story provides a way for students to creatively demonstrate learning.

Using Scratch as a digital storytelling tool, students can

Create poetry.

Create short stories related to a piece of literature.

Create and/or illustrate a math problem.

Research and report about a career.

Research and report about a historical figure, scientist, etc.

Illustrate a current event.

Here are two sample projects, both created by eighth-graders studying the periodic table. I remixed them to remove any student identification.

Sodium Man and Chlorine Boy (some sound effects but no voice-over; very short -- just over 1 minute) http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/21245884/#player

Carbon (includes voice-overs; almost 3 minutes long) http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/21246445/

Here are a few ideas for story assignments:

3-2-1 About You
Create a Scratch project about yourself. Use a photo of your own face (you can paste it on any sprite body). Begin by outlining your project on a storyboard, with a title, introduction, middle, and end. Include the following:

Three traits that make you a good team member when working in a collaborative group.

Two science topics that we will be studying this year that you find particularly interesting.

One short-term goal (for this school year).

One long-term goal (5 or 10 years from now).

Import your face on a sprite.

At least two background changes.

Speech or thought bubbles to communicate content.

Music at beginning and end.

Scratch an Element
Research your assigned element from the periodic table. Create a Scratch project focusing on one or more unique properties of that element or a common compound. Begin by outlining your project on a storyboard. Include the following:

An animated Bohr diagram of your element.

The atomic number, mass, and number of protons, neutrons, electrons.

History of your element.

Interesting facts about your element.

Cite references used.

At least two sprites -- at least one of which moves.

At least two background changes.

At least two different sound effects or voice-overs.

Everything must start when the green flag is clicked.

Newton Has an Itch (So Scratch It!)
Create a Scratch project explaining or demonstrating one of Newton's laws. Begin by outlining your project on a storyboard. Include the following:

A description of one of Newton's laws.

At least two animated demonstrations of the law.

At least two sprites.

At least two background changes.

Speech or thought bubbles OR voice-overs to communicate content.

Use one or more command keys to move an object.

At least one sound effect.

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How to Use Scratch for Digital Storytelling

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Digital storytelling involves combining digital media (images, voice narration, music, text, or motion) to tell a story. Over the past few years, digital storytelling has become an increasingly popular and effective way for students to meet a range of learning goals in the classroom.

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What is Scratch?

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What is SCRATCH & how can it be used to support student learning? SCRATCH Code.org Coding isn't just for computer whizzes, says Mitch Resnick of MIT Media Lab -- it's for everyone. In a fun, demo-filled talk Resnick outlines the benefits of teaching kids to code, so they can do more than just "read" new technologies -- but also create them.

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District approved sign up and create classes here

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Scratch is a free programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, games, and animations.

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Online Educator Scratch Community

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From May 2009 until May 2019, more than 27,000 educators who support learning with the Scratch programming language shared 4,749 discussion posts, 1,027 resources, and 354 stories here in the ScratchEd Online Community. We've created this archive so you can peruse these 10 years of discussions, resources, and stories.

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From May 2009 until May 2019, more than 27,000 educators who support learning with the Scratch programming language shared 4,749 discussion posts, 1,027 resources, and 354 stories here in the ScratchEd Online Community. We've created this archive so you can peruse these 10 years of discussions, resources, and stories.

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Google & Scratch Collaboration Run a Club!

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Teach Computer Science & Coding to Kids - CS First

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Teach computer programming and coding to your kids with the free CS First curriculum. Students can create fun, interactive projects. Sign up and get started today!

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Scratch Community Online

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The Scratch Wiki is a collaboratively-written wiki available for free that provides information about the Scratch programming language, its website, history and phenomena surrounding it. The wiki is supported by the Scratch Team but is primarily written by Scratchers.

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District Approved
Coding for ages 5-7 loaded in the students' Chrome Store.

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With ScratchJr, young children (ages 5-7) can program their own interactive stories and games.

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Scratch Jr./Scratch Creativity - Lessons - Tes Teach

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Scratch Jr./ Scratch.ScratchJr - Home.ScratchJr Activities Guide.ScratchJr - Teach.Scratch Jr. Task Card.Scratch Jr. Presentation.Interface Guide.Paint Editor Guide.ScratchJr Grade 2 (example).Coding on iPads - Scratch, Jr.

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Printable Blocks for Reference

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With ScratchJr, young children (ages 5-7) learn important new skills as they program their own interactive stories and games.

By snapping together graphical programming blocks, children can make characters move, jump, dance, and sing. In the process, children learn to solve problems, design projects, and express themselves creatively on the computer. They also use math and language in a meaningful and motivating context, supporting the development of early-childhood numeracy and literacy. With ScratchJr, children don't just learn to code, they code to learn.

ScratchJr was inspired by the popular Scratch programming language (http://scratch.mit.edu), used by millions of people (ages 8 and up) around the world. The ScratchJr interface and programming language were redesigned to make them appropriate for younger children's cognitive, personal, social, and emotional development.

ScratchJr is a collaboration between the Lifelong Kindergarten research group at the MIT Media Lab, the Developmental Technologies research group at Tufts University, and the Playful Invention Company. The ScratchJr project has received generous financial support from the National Science Foundation (NSF DRL-1118664), Scratch Foundation, LEGO Foundation, and British Telecommunications.

If you enjoy using this free app, please consider making a donation to the Scratch Foundation (www.scratchfoundation.org), a nonprofit organization that provides ongoing support for ScratchJr. We appreciate donations of all sizes, large and small.

Version 1.5.10

Awesome, simple, and fun. Fix something though.

There is this mail letter thing, you can choose different colors for it to trigger a signal in your coding thing, or, whatever you call what it does. There is only a few colors, not a lot. I don't like that part, because I have a lot more things to use that mail thingy than just 6 colors. Can we maybe put a text, instead of colors? Like, any text. For example: "car". And on the character, you put the same text on that mail thingy. And the action happens. Also, why only 4 scenes? Can we add more than 4 scenes? I also want the audio recording quality a little better. There is this noise sound, it makes the recording sound a little glitchy, I also want to have a feature where you can just get audio from your audio library, or video library.
Thank you, I just want an improvement to make coding better. Overall from this, this app is great! Thank you for reading.

I kinda like it

I like it but it just needs more sections or whatever you call it, so here's the sections I need so operators but it's renamed math, sensing, and variables and more blocks in the sections like repeat until, point towards mouse pointer but renamed as point towards hand. And also remove the end blocks replace that as my blocks if you want. What should be in the math\operators: a plus sign, a minus sign and finally add times. Also add clones, delete clone, when start as a clone. Just add everything what scratch has only some stuff.

Works okay buut..

The drawing tool is hard to use and you can only have four frames. When you draw to create or edit a character, the app distorts the lines you draw and doesn't allow you to draw anything small. If you draw a curved or squiggly line, it'll often straighten the line unless it has very dramatic squiggles. Your drawing of a parentheses may end up looking like a straight line or a less than sign. If you're drawing the letter E, it'll often connect the lines and make it look more like a box with funny looking triangles. If you're drawing a tiny circle, it literally won't appear unless you draw it larger. It makes it frustrating to draw anything. In addition, projects are only limited to four frames, so you're restricted to making only incredibly simple games/stories/etc. A small selection of only 40 colors also limits creativity.
But overall, if you're making small, short, simple projects with the pre-made characters, it's an okay app.

The developer, Scratch Foundation, Inc., indicated that the app's privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer's privacy policy.

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

Seller

Scratch Foundation, Inc.

Compatibility

iPhone

Requires iOS 9.3 or later.

iPad

Requires iPadOS 9.3 or later.

iPod touch

Requires iOS 9.3 or later.

Mac

Requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.

Age Rating

4+, Made for Ages 6-8

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‎With ScratchJr, young children (ages 5-7) learn important new skills as they program their own interactive stories and games. By snapping together graphical programming blocks, children can make characters move, jump, dance, and sing. In the process, children learn to solve problems, design project...

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ScratchJr is an introductory programming language that enables young children (ages 5 and up) to create their own interactive...

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In Classlink EPS Students are rostered.

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Learn computer science. Change the world.

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Every student in every school deserves the opportunity to study computer science.

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Ask your Teacher Librarian or your EdTech TOSA

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We have four Ozobot kits available for checkout. We have 1 Ozobot Evo kit and 3 Ozobot Bit kits. Each elementary school will have one Ozobot Evo kit available for check out in the library. If you are not at an elementary building or there is not a kit available, fill out the request form here. Please check the calendar below for availability.

EdTech has also curated a variety of resources to help you learn about the Ozobots and find meaningful ways to integrate them into your classroom.

You can check out the kits for up to one week. Be sure to leave yourself enough time to explore the tool before using with students and completing an inventory prior to return.

Click here to submit your check out request. You will be emailed a confirmation once your request has been approved.

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We have four Ozobot kits available for checkout. We have 1 Ozobot Evo kit and 3 Ozobot Bit kits. Each elementary school will have one Ozobot Evo kit available for check out in the library. If you are not at an elementary building or there is not a kit available, fill out the request form here.

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Ask your Teacher Librarian or your EdTech TOSA

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Sphero Resources:
Curated List of Digital Resources Quickstart Guide Educator's Guide How to use the Sphero Power Pack
We have 3 kits available for check out. You can check out the kits for up to one week. Be sure to leave yourself enough time to explore the tool before using with students and completing an inventory prior to return.

Click here to submit your check out request. You will be emailed a confirmation once your request has been approved.

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Sphero Resources: Curated List of Digital Resources Quickstart Guide Educator's Guide How to use the Sphero Power Pack We have 3 kits available for check out. You can check out the kits for up to one week. Be sure to leave yourself enough time to explore the tool before using with students and completing an inventory prior to return.

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Ask your Librarian or your EdTech TOSA

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Introducing the Bee-Bot

The Bee-Bot is a colorful, easy to use robot that can be used for teaching counting, sequencing, estimation, and problem-solving. These robots are geared to our PreK through First Grade students. The directional keys are used to enter commands to send the Bee-Bot forward, back, left, and right. Students can work on the Bee-Bot mat to move the Bee-Bot to specific points or use their own maze creations to navigate through.

Resources Online:
Printable Images for the Bee-Bot mats Themed Bee-Bot Mats & Cards Bee-Bot Lesson Cards Math Connections with Lessons
EPS Resources
Bee-Bot Classroom Setup Bee-Bot Kit Checklist
You can check out the kits for up to one week. Be sure to leave yourself enough time to explore the tool before using with students and completing an inventory prior to return.

Click here to submit your check out request. You will be emailed a confirmation once your request has been approved.

We are always excited to see teachers and students engaging in awesome learning experiences with technology. We would love to hear about what you or your colleagues did with the digital tools in the classroom or even better, we would love to pop out and experience the excitement right along with the students. Here is a link to a form that you or your teachers can share what they did or let us know when we can visit to see the BeeBots being used in the classroom.

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The Bee-Bot is a colorful, easy to use robot that can be used for teaching counting, sequencing, estimation, and problem-solving. These robots are geared to our PreK through First Grade students. The directional keys are used to enter commands to send the Bee-Bot forward, back, left, and right.

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Need Help? Ask or find your answer here.

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Make games, stories and interactive art with Scratch. (scratch.mit.edu)

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Scratch is a free programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, games, and animations.

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Get started with this unit

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YouTube Channel

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With Scratch (scratch.mit.edu), you can program your own interactive stories, games, and animations - and share your creations with others in the online comm...

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You Tube Channel

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scratched scratch mit "mit media lab" "scratch programming for kids"

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ScratchEd (http://scratch-ed.org) is an online community where educators can learn more about Scratch, exchange curricular resources, ask questions, and meet...

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Goes through Teacher Accounts Web Page

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Ideas for how to present Scratch

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Explains how it works

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Spread Sheet Guide to Videos

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Specific Commands Sheet

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Common Core Integration blog post

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Coding, on the other hand, has to do with the syntax, the fine details that allow a computer script to work. Think of coding as a spelling test where a sentence must have words correctly ordered with proper grammar mechanics. If one single thing is wrong, then the grade on the spelling test decreases. Coding is similar, for if one thing is typed incorrectly, then the code won't work.

Common Core Integration

Below are some ways in which programming supports the CCSS. Items marked with an asterisk (*) mean that integration can be modified for the same standard in different grade levels.

Math
MP.1: *K-8
In programming activities, students must persevere in problem solving.
NBT.1: *2-5
Use wait blocks and movement blocks in programs like Scratch and Tynker to differentiate between .01, .1, 1, and 10 seconds.
4.OA.5
Have students create drawings in programs that repeat a pattern. This can be done with the "repeat" (a.k.a. "loop") block. Students can demonstrate their understanding of multiplicative procedures and patterns that follow a specific rule.
4.MD.5 and 4.MD.6 5.G.1, 5.G.2, and 6.G.3
In Scratch, choose "Backdrop" and, under "Categories," click "Other." The last backdrop in "Other" is an XY grid. Students can use this grid to graph points and draw shapes within the coordinate system.
6.NS.5, 6.NS.6, and 6.NS.7
Have students build programs where actors (or sprites) move to specific points on a coordinate plane, based on an action (a conditional).

English Language Arts
RI.3: *K-5

Have students describe what would happen if the blocks in a program went in a specific order.

Identify cause-and-effect relationships by using "if this, then. . ." blocks.

RI.5: *2-4
Locate answers to a question using keywords, sidebars, and glossaries. (Programming tools use menus and categories to organize blocks.)
SL.5: *2-5

Create digital stories in programming platforms such as Scratch and Tynker, changing the scene (background) between events.

Create tutorials on how to advance through a programming level.

W.2 and WHST.2: *K-8

Compose a tutorial on how to advance through a level/stage, or how to animate a character.

Write a comparative analysis, analyzing two different coding platforms or languages.

RST.3 and RST.4: *6-8
Best Practices

When teaching computer programming to our students, it's important to focus on the pedagogy. With a content area that is foreign to so many of us, here are seven habits to help you on your journey.

1. Get frustrated!

Show your students that you're human. When they see how you react to challenges, they'll begin to follow suit.

2. Adopt the iteration mindset.

Life is all about learning how to persevere. It's OK to make mistakes. We should be teaching our students how to learn from their mistakes.

3. Allow students to become the experts.

Give your students a chance to shine.

4. Incorporate the "ask 3 before me" method.

By having students ask others for assistance, it takes the pressure off of you. Plus, it encourages students to be interdependent on one another. ( SL.3 across K-5)

5. Utilize pair programming.

In pair programming, one student operates as the driver (using the computer), and the other student operates as the navigator (instructing the driver on how to build the program). Most of the big tech companies (think: Google) utilize pair programming in order to reduce the frequency of mistakes (bugs) in a program.

6. Complete lessons before assigning them.

Try to be at least one step ahead of your students, so that if they encounter a problem that no one else in the class has seen, you can help guide them.

7. Learn keywords.

By learning the definitions of words like loop, conditional, sprite, and restitution, you're better able to explain the meaning of these words to students.

Social Media Support Networks

Following is a list of hashtags and Twitter chats in which you can participate:

On Google Plus:

Here is a crowd-sourced list of coding and programming tools, categorized by price, device, and ideal age group.

Finally, I invite you to check out my playlist for videos on computer programming in the curriculum activities.

Please share your thoughts and ideas about this post in the comments section below.

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Coding, on the other hand, has to do with the syntax, the fine details that allow a computer script to work. Think of coding as a spelling test where a sentence must have words correctly ordered with proper grammar mechanics. If one single thing is wrong, then the grade on the spelling test decreases.

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Scratch Units Written by Harvard Peeps

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Creativity
​ Computer science and computing-related fields are often introduced to young people in a way that is disconnected from their interests and values-emphasizing technical detail over creative potential. Creative computing supports the development of personal connections to computing, by drawing upon creativity, imagination, and interests.

Agency
​​ Many young people with access to computers participate as consumers, rather than designers or creators. Creative computing emphasizes the knowledge, practices, and fundamental literacies that young people need to create the types of dynamic and interactive computational media that they enjoy in their daily lives.

Computing
Creating computational artifacts prepares young people for more than careers as computer scientists or programmers. It supports young people's development as computational thinkers-individuals who can draw on computational concepts, practices, and perspectives in all aspects of their lives, across disciplines and contexts.

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Creative Computing Curriculum | Overview

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Creativity​ Computer science and computing-related fields are often introduced to young people in a way that is disconnected from their interests and values-emphasizing technical detail over creative potential. Creative computing supports the development of personal connections to computing, by drawing upon creativity, imagination, and interests.

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A learner workbook