Learning Primary Programming with Scratch (Home Learning Book Years 3-4)

By Phil Bagge

This book, written by Phil Bagge and published in conjunction with Hampshire Inspection and Advisory Service (HIAS), has been devised for children of KS2 (Year 3 and 4) age to learn programming outside of school.

It contains a series of programming projects that gradually introduce children to algorithm design, evaluation and generalisation. Children will learn how to use sequence and repetition through becoming creators of a wide variety of programming projects. Maths, literacy, humanities, gaming and music are all put to the test. Read the short introduction to find out more.

The Scratch programming language, widely recognised in schools, is freely accessible online or as a download and is the ideal place to begin programming.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Legend Press
• Release date: Oct 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781915054173

Book preview

Illustration

Learning

Primary

Programming

with Scratch

Home Learning Book Years 3-4

Phil Bagge

Copyright © Phil Bagge 2022

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, copied or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, now known or hereafter invented, save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988, or under terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the publisher.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

ISBN 978-1-91505-4-166

Contents

INTRODUCTION

About these book

Prior Knowledge needed

Resources Needed

Ages

Symbols

CHAPTER ONE

Watch the video and learn about Scratch programming Environment

CHAPTER TWO

Introducing Sequences

Talking Sprites

Joke Time

Jumbled Shapes

Ladybug Munch

CHAPTER THREE

Introducing count-controlled-loops

Toy Give Away

Turning sequences into count-controlled-loops Dragonfly

Dog Chase

CHAPTER FOUR

Introducing Indefinite Loops

Helicopter Game

ANSWERS

About these books

If you picked this book up and are leafing through it you deserve to know what it is and how it works before you buy it.

The front part of this book is the young programmer’s work book and the back section is the home educator’s guide.

This book is not a text book you just give to a child and let them get on with it on their own. There are plenty of such copy code type books out there—this is not one of them. This book needs an active partnership1 between you the home educator and your child.

Prior Knowledge Needed

Neither partner needs to know anything about programming before you start. That’s my job as the narrator and guide-to help you both learn about programming and be able to use it creatively.

Resources Needed

To use these books you will need either a laptop, PC, Mac or Chromebook. If your budget is tight, I recommend a Chromebook and a free Google account to make it work.

Online

The easiest way to use these resources is with internet access and a free Scratch account. In many chapters, I will be sharing pre-made programs for you both to examine and learn from.

The link to access these resources is https://youtu.be/LDASth9B5o8

Research

This book uses the latest research-driven code comprehension methods. Your child needs to predict what code does, answer questions about it and modify existing code before creating new things. The home educator will be alerted to possible pitfalls and checks via the home educator part of the book.

Away from the computer

Do not be surprised if we work offline to introduce new ideas through roleplay and offline exercises. These sections are really important. Do not let your child race through them. Check their understanding as they go. There is a special home educator symbol which denotes things to do together and in the home educator section of the book there are hints to help your child if they get stuck. At the end of this chapter, there is an explanation of all the symbols used in the book and advice on how to help your child whilst encouraging independence and resilience.

Timing

A word on timing. Every child is different and so this book is not split into lessons. I recommend about an hour a week but you know your child best. Sometimes children will get excited about creating a project at those times a little more time to explore and create is useful. Chapters, apart from the first, follow a pattern of introducing a concept offline followed by code comprehension and then time to create online. When you see a new concept being introduced these are good longer break points.

Ages

These books are designed for pupils between the ages of 7-12. Older pupils will often have a greater advantage as they have greater reading and maths skills. Book one is designed for 7-9 year olds and Book 2 for 10-12 year olds, however, do not jump straight to book 2 if your child is older. They need to cover the information in Book 1 before moving on.

Concepts covered (do not worry if this means nothing as that is part of our journey)

•    Sequence

•    Algorithmic notation

•    Count controlled loops

•    Indefinite loops

Helping Children who are stuck

Process is more important than outcome. If your child is on task and puzzling something out give them time to do so. It is better to have 60% finished where that work is mainly the children’s own work than 100% finished where a home educator solved it for them.

It is very important to establish a positive attitude towards problem solving. Programming is very useful in that it calls errors bugs and