Welcome to Coding with Scratch, a free course that makes Scratch coding for kids easy and exciting. Scratch is a free programming language where you snap colourful blocks together, like puzzle pieces, to make characters move, talk and play. In ten lessons, learners go from their very first click to building and sharing a complete game.
Coding teaches more than computers. It builds problem solving, creativity, patience and the confidence to try again when something does not work. Every lesson introduces one big coding idea, shows exactly which blocks to use, and ends with a small challenge with a sample solution.
What you will learn
- Find your way around the Scratch editor
- Add and design sprites and backdrops
- Move sprites using steps, directions and x and y coordinates
- Start scripts with events like the green flag, key presses and clicks
- Use loops, if-then decisions and variables to keep score
- Use random numbers and messages, then build and share a catch game
Who this course is for
This course is for students in Grades 3 to 5 (about ages 8 to 11) who are complete beginners. Learners should be able to read simple instructions and use a mouse or trackpad.
A note for parents and teachers
Scratch is made by the Scratch Foundation and is free to use in a web browser at scratch.mit.edu. You can start creating without an account; to save projects online, children under 13 need a parent or guardian’s email address to sign up. A free offline Scratch app is also available. Please review the Scratch community guidelines with your child before they share projects publicly. Encourage experimenting: changing numbers and seeing what happens is one of the best ways to learn coding. Debugging, which means finding and fixing mistakes, is a normal part of every coder’s day.
How the course works
There are ten lessons of about ten to fifteen minutes each. Each lesson adds a new skill, and the final lesson combines them all into a game.