The chasing Martian- Scratch
Topic/ Area
Coding and programming
Date released
2012
Type of Best Practice
Online Tools, Applications or Platform
Description of the methods/ approach
This activity will be done in different groups, therefore, dealing with the cooperative approach. First of all, there will be a direct instruction, in which the teacher will explain and review the different commands available on Scratch and explain the task. In order to make it easier for students, teachers could develop an example on the digital blackboard, allowing students to participate and asking them about possible solutions. After that, students will have to come up with a similar game in small groups. The teacher will walk around the class, trying to solve questions or doubts that may arise during the process.
Purpose/Aim
The purpose of this activity is to teach students about one of the different possibilities that Scratch offers. They will learn how to set the movements of a character on screen and control it during the game. Moreover, and more related to AI, they will also learn how to program a second character who will move on its own, depending on the movement of the former character. In this example, this second character will always chase the cat wherever it goes.
Evaluation (results) of its effectiveness
Teachers will be able to experience the progress and results of their students immediately, by observing their performance during the lesson. It is advisable to let students come up with different ideas and include whatever they consider creative or innovative. If there are recurrent questions or doubts, there could be another general explanation for the whole class.
Overview of the lessons learned which are relevant to the project
Learning the different Scratch codes and commands
