This is a Year Two child talking about the animation she created for Maths using Scratch Junior. Scratch Jn is a wonderful tool, allowing students to use computational thinking across the curriculum. Whilst it builds impressive skills in computational thinking, it also creates opportunities for teachers to give students an outlet for exploring or extending their understanding in other areas. An example of this is in Mathematics – for a child who already knows a basic set of number facts – using Scratch Jn to create a game is one way of enriching their understanding. Thinking from a Technologies Design perspective – it is also allowing them to design a solution with the user in mind.
Our Year One classes have been discovering Scratch Jnr this week. Open exploration has shown the different elements they will discover. The video below shows one child sequencing actions and another considering text to type into the speech bubble. The final image shows sequenced action in four of the creations but also the use of a microphone to add audio.
Scratch Jn has some impressive teacher materials to support the use of this tool.
- Activities – this is a great collection of activity ideas to build up your own skills and those of the students.
- Curriculum materials including printable image blocks and ideas for integrating into Maths and Literacy.
- Some Assessment materials – this is a wonderful collection of materials you can use to assess the children’s understanding.