Scratch Day Digital World Activity

Getting started with Things To Try

By Saskia Leggett

For new Scratchers, you can design an activity based on one (or many) of the tutorials on the Things To Try page, which offers 10 interactive tutorials with accompanying printable Activity Cards for kids and Educator Guides for facilitators. Here are a few steps to plan your activity:

1. Start by picking one of the 10 tutorials for your group to try together, such as “Animate Your Name”.
2. Read through the accompanying Educator Guide beforehand. The Educator Guide offers step-by-step guidance for imagining, planning, and executing your activity, including sample question prompts and ideas for extending the activity.
3. Plan out your space to facilitate collaboration and sharing. Consider creating spaces where people can sit together and talk, such as round tables or soft surfaces on the ground. Make sure to have a screen (a projector, a monitor, or a TV) so participants can follow along during the first few steps of the activity.
4. Plan out the logistics. Will participants be working on their own, or with a partner? Will you print out and distribute the Activity Cards, or fan them out near working spaces for people to use on their own? How will you introduce newcomers to the activity after it has started?
5. During the activity itself, you can walk around and offer suggestions and ask questions if participants get stuck.
6. When participants complete their projects, they can share their work either in pairs or with the group. Use the prompts in the Educator Guide to encourage them to reflect on their projects and process.
7. If time permits, participants can choose another activity to try, or you can encourage them to continue creating after Scratch Day by sharing with them the links to the resources you used.

Adapt it: For larger groups, consider choosing just a few of the 10 tutorials and setting up a station for each one. You can decorate the stations based on theme, include the accompanying activity cards, and encourage participants to try out different stations.

Remix it: Try a round robin “pass the story” activity: Arrange a table with multiple devices, and pair a person with an individual device. Ask each person to begin a project. After ten minutes, ask everyone to stand, rotate clockwise, take the seat to their right, and build on the first project. Repeat these steps multiple times. At the end of the session, invite participants to return to their original devices, explore the complete project, and share their collaborative work.

For other detailed activity ideas, check out the post How do you design Scratch Day activities?

Saskia Leggett is Outreach Manager for the Scratch Team.