1 - What We're Building ~5 mins
Every game you play on a screen was built by someone writing instructions for the computer to follow. Today you become that person! We're going to build a game called Frog Frenzy, where a frog keeps popping up in random places and you have to click it fast to score points.
Just like real programmers, you'll watch it demonstrated on the board first, then build each piece yourself and run it to see what happens. When something doesn't work the way you expect, that's not a disaster — finding and fixing those problems is a huge part of what coders do every day.
Set the scene at the IWB: tell the class they are the programmers today. Explain the watch-then-do routine — you model, they build, they run. Have devices open on a new Scratch project. Ask: 'What kind of games have you played that keep score?' Reassure pupils that bugs are normal and expected.
2 - Introduction ~2 mins
Welcome to the Frog Frenzy game! In this game, a frog will appear and disappear at random positions. Your task is to click on the frog to score points. Let's start coding!
Read the game idea aloud so everyone knows the goal: click the frog to score. Ask pupils to predict what needs to happen for a frog to 'pop up' — this primes them for the loop later. Keep the pace brisk; the real work starts at the next steps.
3 - Create a New Project ~2 mins
First, let's create a new Scratch project and delete the cat sprite. We'll be using a frog sprite for this game.
Go to the Scratch website using the link below and click on the 'Create' link in the blue bar at the top.
By default, each new project starts with the cat sprite already added. To delete the cat click on the x in the blue circle beside the cat in the sprite list.
Model creating a new project and deleting the cat sprite on the board. Watch for pupils who accidentally start editing the cat instead of removing it. Circulate to check everyone has a blank stage before moving on.
4 - Add the Forest Backdrop ~2 mins
Next, add the Forest backdrop to your project. This will be the setting for our game.
Show how to choose the Forest backdrop from the library. A common slip is adding it as a sprite rather than a backdrop — point out the difference between the backdrop button and the sprite button.
5 - Add the Frog Sprite ~2 mins
Now, add the Frog sprite to your project. This will be the character that we will be interacting with in our game.
Model adding the Frog sprite. Check each pair has the frog selected before they add code, as blocks added to the wrong sprite is the most frequent early bug. Ask: 'Which sprite is highlighted right now?'
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Scratch is developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. It is available for free at https://scratch.mit.edu