Programming

with Scratch
A step-by-step guide, linked to the English
National Curriculum, for primary school teachers

Revision 3.0 (Summer 2018)

Revised for release of Scratch 3.0, including:

- updated screenshots and descriptions
- micro:bit physical computing extension activities

Written by Neil Rickus (Computing Champions)

http://computingchampions.co.uk
@computingchamps

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Contents

Activity 1 – Scratch Conversations .............................................................................................................. 3

Optional activity – Broadcast messages ...................................................................................................... 7

Activity 2 – Maths Quiz ................................................................................................................................ 8

Activity 3 – Maze Game ............................................................................................................................ 12

Activity 4 – Moving sprite game ................................................................................................................. 17

Activity 5 – Platform game ......................................................................................................................... 24

License

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license. The license can be viewed at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
sa/4.0/

Acknowledgements

Parts of this work build on the Scratch Planning examples provided by Phil Bagge at http://code-it.co.uk/ in
accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC 3.0) license.
The license can be viewed at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 2

 Programming with Scratch

Activity 1 – Scratch Conversations

Computing National Curriculum areas covered (all Key Stage 2):

• design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating
physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
• use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input
and output
• use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors
in algorithms and programs

Task overview:

• Familiarisation with the Scratch interface

• Create a conversation between two characters using Say blocks

Possible cross-curricular links:

• Literacy – speaking and listening; drama; speech punctuation; feelings and emotions of characters
• History – interviewing historical figures
• Geography – conversation between two people from contrasting environments
• PSHCE – discussing feelings towards an issue, such as bullying
• Science – highlighting misconceptions about a particular topic

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 3

Activity 1 – Scratch Conversations

The Scratch website can be accessed at: http://scratch.mit.edu/

The Scratch programming environment has four screen sections:

• Script Area – contains your program’s code

• Block Palette – contains sections of code (called Blocks), which can be dragged into the Script Area
• Stage – where your program’s actions take place
• Sprites Area – contains details of the characters (called Sprites) in your program

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 4

Our first task is to create a conversation between two characters. Before working at the computer, you may
wish to get the children to think about what their characters will say. In class, it is useful to model the first
few instructions on an Interactive Whiteboard at the same time as the children.

Task explanation Required steps Screenshots

Firstly, delete the cat sprite so Click on the cross to the top
we can use something more right of the cat in the Sprites
interesting Area and select Delete

Next, we’re going to choose our Click on the Choose a sprite

characters button at the bottom right of the
Sprites Area
You can move the characters
around the screen so they’re Find a sprite from either the
where you want them Animals, Fantasy or People
sections and click on your
selection

Repeat to add a second Sprite

We now need a more exciting Click on the Choose a

background backdrop button (right hand
side of the Sprites Area)
Make sure you select a
background to make the Select a suitable backdrop
Sprites stand out

It’s now time for our sprites to Click on your first Sprite in the
have a conversation. To do Sprites Area. Click on Code at
this, we need a Green flag to the top of the Block Pallet if the
start the program (Script) and a Script Area is not visible
number of instructions in order
On the left of the Block Pallet, Sprite 1
click on Events and drag a
when Green Flag clicked block
into the Script Area (in the
middle of the screen)

Drag two Say, for, seconds

blocks from Looks into the
Script Area and attach them to
the when Green Flag clicked
block

Enter some text for the sprite

to say Sprite 2

Click on your other Sprite and

repeat the above

Click on the Green Flag at the

top of the Stage to run your
program

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 5

 You will have noticed the Click on your first Sprite and Sprite 1
Sprites talk over each other! To drag two Wait blocks from
rectify this problem, we need to Control into your existing Script
use a Wait instruction
Change the Wait time to two
seconds for each block

Click on your other Sprite and Sprite 2

repeat the process (note the
location of the Wait blocks
within the script is different for
the two Sprites)

Run your program again using

the Green Flag

Congratulations! You’ve created your first program in Scratch. You’ve written a program to achieve a
specific goal, sequenced instructions and worked with outputs (the text displayed on the screen). You’ve
also probably corrected errors in your program, which is known as debugging.

Extension activities

For each of the activities below, feel free to experiment with a range of features to make your program as
engaging as possible.

• Get the Sprite to move towards the character (Hint: have a look in Motion)
• Play a sound instead of using a Say block (Hint: try looking in Sound)
• Change the appearance of the Sprite after they’ve spoken (Hint: use a Next Costume block in
Looks)
• Alter the background after one of the characters has spoken (Hint: the required block is in Looks)
• Add a third character (Sprite) to the conversation

Physical computing extension activities

If you have access to a micro:bit, you could include additional functionality within your program.

• Enable a button press or an action to start your program (Hint: replace the when Green Flag clicked
block with one of the blocks below)

• Have some text or an image display at the end of the program (Hint: add one of the blocks below
after your existing instructions)

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 6

 Programming with Scratch

Optional activity – Broadcast messages

In Activity 1, Wait blocks were used to ensure the characters spoke in turn. Using Wait blocks in this way is
quite inefficient and creates lots of extra work if we want to add additional events, such as movement,
sound or further speech. We’re now going to alter each Sprite’s script to use Broadcast messages, which
pass a message to a Sprite to ensure it only undertakes an action when it receives a specified command
(rather than relying on a certain period of time).

When working with children, this can be effectively demonstrated by whispering to a few pupils that when
they hear a specified code word, such as “Dave”, they have to get up and do five star jumps. “Dave” is then
shouted out (i.e. Broadcast) to the class, but only the children given the code word know to act upon it.

We need to modify our For each of your Sprites,

program from Activity 1 to delete your existing Script by
remove the Wait blocks and clicking with the right mouse
use Broadcast messages button and selecting Delete
instead Block

Sprite 1
Click on your first Sprite and
drag a Broadcast block from
Events, along with a Say, for,
seconds block and a when
Green Flag clicked block

Sprite 2
Click on your second Sprite
and drag a When I receive
block from Events, followed by
a Say, for, seconds block

Continue the conversation, by

adding a Broadcast block to
your second Sprite’s script
(you’ll need to create a new
message with a suitable name,
such as message2)… Sprite 1

followed by adding a separate

When I receive block to your
first Sprite and another Say,
for, seconds block

Continue the conversation by

repeating the process

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 7

 Programming with Scratch

Activity 2 – Maths Quiz

Computing National Curriculum areas covered (all Key Stage 2):

• design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating
physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
• use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input
and output
• use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors
in algorithms and programs

Task overview:

• Create a Maths game containing a range of multiplication questions

• Add a score to the game using a variable

Possible cross-curricular links:

• All subjects – assessment activities (formative and summative; peer assessment)

• Science – predicting outcomes of experiments

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 8

Activity 2 – Maths Quiz

Initially, we need to ask the user a question and allow them to Input the answer. Although quizzes can be
produced for any topic, it’s best to initially only ask questions with numerical answers, which minimises
errors relating to spelling or typing.

Task explanation Required steps Screenshots

As with the first task, delete Click on the cross to the top
the cat Sprite so we can use right of the cat in the Sprites
something else Area and select Delete

Next, we’re going to choose Click on the Choose a sprite

our character (you only need button at the bottom right of
one!) the Sprites Area

Find a sprite from either the

Animals, Fantasy or People
sections and click on your
selection

Feel free to also change the

background

We need our character to Drag a when Green Flag

introduce the game when the clicked block and a Say, for,
program starts seconds block into the Script
Area (if you can’t see the
Script Area, click on the Code
tab at the top of the window)

Change the text to introduce

your game

Our quiz needs a question to Drag an Ask block from

ask the user Sensing and attach it to your
Script

Change the text to ask a

multiplication question

The program has to display a Drag an if, then, else block

different message depending from Control and attach it to
on whether the answer is your Script
correct or incorrect. We do this
using Selection

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 9

 Following this, we need to Drag an equals block from
check the Input and use Operators into the top of the if,
Selection to choose the route then, else block
through our program, which is:

If the answer is correct

(2x5=10), then display a “well
done” message, else display
an “unlucky” message Place Answer from Sensing in
one side of the equals block,
followed by the correct answer
on the other side

Drag a Say, for, seconds block

into the first half of the if, then,
else block. Change the text to
“Well done”

Drag another Say, for,

seconds block into the second
half of the if, then, else block.
Change the text to “Unlucky”

Run your program using the

Green Flag (you enter your
answer in the box that appears
at the bottom of the Stage)

Add some additional questions Add further Ask and if, then,
using the same process else blocks to your Script
containing different questions
and answers

Run your program and check it

behaves as expected

Well done! You’ve made another program in Scratch. This time you’ve also used selection and worked with
both inputs and outputs. We’re now going to add a score to our game using a variable.

A variable is similar to a box. It can contain anything the computer can store, such as numbers or text. Its
contents can be changed, or varied (hence the name variable), and we can find out the contents of the box
at any time.

We first need to create a Click on Variables on the left of

variable to store the score the Block Palette and select
Make a Variable

Give the variable a name, such

as “Score” and click OK

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 10

 If the tick box next to the
variable name is selected in the
Block Palette, the variable’s
value is shown in the corner of
the Stage

When the quiz starts, we have Drag the set, to block from Data
to ensure the score starts at to immediately below the when
zero, rather than continuing Green Flag clicked block in your
from the previous game script (this ensures it’s the first
instruction run)

Every time the user gets an Drag a shange, by block from

answer correct, we need to Data into the first half of your if,
increase the score by one then, else blocks. Place it
before the “Well done” message

Repeat the process for the other

if, then, else blocks in your
Script

Run your program and check

the score starts at zero and it
increases by one when a
question is answered correctly

Good work! You’ve now used a variable to record the score. You have also output the variable to the
screen for the user to see.

Extension activities

For each of the activities below, feel free to experiment with a range of features to make your program as
engaging as possible.

• Adjust the score to decrease when the user gets a question wrong (Hint: change the score by -1)
• Make the character move or dance when an answer is correct (Hint: look in Motion)
• Get the character to include the user’s answer when they speak – e.g. “Well done. The answer was
10” (Hint: you’ll need to use a Join block from Operators)
• Change the background when the score reaches ten (Hint: add an if, then block to check the score
and perform an action if Score = 10)

Physical computing extension activities

If you have access to a micro:bit, you could include additional functionality within your program.

• Make the micro:bit display the score (Hint: add the block below before each question is asked)

• Ask different questions depending on whether the user starts the game using button A or B (Hint:
you could have separate question blocks for each button, or have the buttons alter the times table
used to ask questions)
Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 11
 Programming with Scratch

Activity 3 – Maze Game

Computing National Curriculum areas covered (all Key Stage 2):

• design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating
physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
• use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input
and output
• use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors
in algorithms and programs

Task overview:

• Guide a character around a maze without bumping into the sides

Possible cross-curricular links:

• Maths – angles and lines of symmetry (within the maze design)

• Art – sprite and maze design
• History / Literacy – famous mazes (e.g. Hampton Court); Myths and Legends (e.g. Theseus and the
Minotaur)

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 12

Activity 3 – Maze Game

Our first task is to make our character look like they’re moving as they travel around the maze. We also
need to control the character using the keyboard.

Task explanation Required steps Screenshots

We need to choose a sprite Delete the Cat sprite.

with more than one look /
appearance, or Costume. This Click on the Choose a sprite
allows us to make the sprite button at the bottom right of
appear as if it’s moving the Sprites Area

Select a sprite from Animals

containing more than one
costume (possible Sprites
include Crab, Rabbit, Monkey,
Dinosaur4)

Leave the background white

To give the impression of Drag a when Green Flag

movement, we need to use clicked block into the Script
repetition to constantly switch Area.
between costumes. We do this
using a forever loop Attach a forever block from
Control

Place a wait block from

Control and a next costume
block from Looks inside your
forever loop

Run your program using the

Green Flag. Alter the number
of seconds in the wait block so
it looks like your sprite is
moving

During the maze game, our Drag a second when Green

sprite is going to constantly Flag clicked block and a
move forward. We also use forever block into the Script
repetition through a forever Area
loop to achieve this
Insert a Move block from
Motion into the forever loop

Run your program. You can

alter the number of steps in
the Move block if your sprite is
moving too fast

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 13

 Next, we need to move the Drag a further when Green
character when certain keys Flag clicked block and a
are pressed. We use both forever block into the Script
repetition and selection to Area
check for keyboard input
Place the forever loop after the
when Green Flag clicked
block, followed by an if, then
block inside the loop

Put a key pressed block from

Sensing in the top of the if,
then block and change the key
to the right arrow

Put a turn right block within the

if, then block

Repeat this process to make

the left arrow turn the sprite
left when pressed

Run your program using the

Green Flag and experiment
with the key presses. You can
adjust the amount of turn in
the turn degrees block if
required

You’ve produced yet another program in Scratch. Within the program, you’ve used repetition to make the
character move across the screen. Repetition has been combined with selection to enable keyboard input,
which alters the location of the sprite output to the screen.

The next stage in producing our game is to create the maze. We also need to program our sprite to perform
a sequence of instructions if it touches the maze wall.

Firstly, we need to draw our Hover the mouse over the

maze Choose a Backdrop button to the
right of the Sprites Area and
select Paint from the menu

Select the Backdrops tab at the

top of the Blocks Palette

Choose either the Brush or Line

tools from the icons on the left of
the window

Change the thickness of the line

by altering the value in the box at
the top of the window
Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 14
 Draw your maze by clicking and
dragging with the left mouse
button on the backdrop (don’t
worry if your sprite is too big at
this stage)

Ensure your maze has a

coloured border all the way
around the edge

Your Sprite is probably too large Change the value in the Size box
to move around the maze, so we at the top of the Sprites Area to
need to make it smaller reduce the size of the Sprite

We now need to modify the Once again, drag a when Green

game so the Sprite cannot go Flag clicked block
through the maze’s walls. We
can again use repetition and Place a forever loop after the
selection to check whether the when Green Flag clicked block,
Sprite is touching the wall: followed by an if, then block
inside the loop
If the Sprite is touching the wall,
then we want it to say “Ahhh” for
a period of time, followed by
ending the game
Drag a touching color block from
Sensing into the top of the if,
then block

Click on the colour within the

touching color block, followed by
clicking on your color picker tool
at the bottom of the box. Click on
maze outline on the Stage (this
will alter the touching color to be
the same as your maze)

Place a Say, for, seconds block

within the if, then block and
modify the block to say “Ahhhhh”
for 0.2 seconds

Add a Stop block from Control

into the if, then block (this will
end the game)

Run your program using the

Green Flag. You may wish to
adjust some of the game’s
parameters, such as the Sprite’s
speed, size or the layout of the
maze

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 15

 The Sprite currently remains in Drag your Sprite to your
the same position when we preferred starting position on the
restart the game. Each time the Stage
game starts, we ideally want the
sprite to return to a specific Add a go to x, y block from
starting position and point Motion to the start of your last
upwards script, which now contains the
starting point’s co-ordinates (the
co-ordinates are also displayed
at the bottom right of the Stage)

You should also add a Point in

direction block from Motion

Run your program using the

Green Flag. Debug your
program as appropriate

Brilliant! You’ve created a game involving a Sprite interacting with the background, that responds to a
number of inputs (the keyboard and touching a colour). Repetition and selection have again been used,
along with instructions in sequence. You’ll be beginning to see how programs can be built by decomposing
them into smaller parts.

Extension activities

For each of the activities below, feel free to experiment with a range of features to make your program as
engaging as possible.

• Include sound effects when the character moves / hits the wall (Hint: look in Sound)
• Change the Sprite to a ghost if it touches the wall (Hint: you’ll need to add a new Costume)
• Add a score that increases for every second the character avoids touching the side (Hint: combine a
variable for the score with a Wait block)
• Instead of ending the game when the character touches the wall, get it to automatically change
direction (Hint: remove the Stop block and look in Motion)
• Add objects (e.g. coins) to collect (Hint: add some extra Sprites and Hide them when touched)
• Include a second level (Hint: you’ll need an end point, of a different colour, in your first maze, which,
when touched, should change to your second maze background)

Physical computing extension activities

If you have access to a micro:bit, you could include additional functionality within your program.

• Instead of using the keyboard to control your Sprite, tilt the micro:bit to make it move (Hint: replace
the key, pressed blocks with the blocks below)

• Program the buttons to alter various parts of

the game, such as the speed of the Sprite
(Hint: have buttons A and B increase /
decrease the amount the Sprite moves, by
changing a new Speed variable)

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 16

 Programming with Scratch

Activity 4 – Moving sprite game

Computing National Curriculum areas covered (all Key Stage 2):

• design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating
physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts
• use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input
and output
• use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors
in algorithms and programs

Task overview:

A leading game manufacturer wants to see how well you can program.

They have asked you to design a game that involves moving a character around obstacles or away from
enemies.

Your game can be for one or two players.

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 17

Activity 4 – Moving sprite game

If you wish, you can plan your moving sprite game and start programming immediately. Alternatively, you
can use the example game specification below, or the more detailed instructions overleaf, which break
down the necessary steps for each requirement.

Within school, pupils should be given a planning template and asked to solve the programming challenge
by splitting it into smaller parts. This is known as decomposing. This would typically involve specifying the
required steps, or script, to complete each section of the program.

Example game specification

Basic: A frog has to move across the road from his pond. The frog is controlled using the keyboard.
Butterflies automatically move along the road. If the frog collides with a butterfly, he becomes injured and
the game ends. The frog should always start from his pond at the bottom of the screen.

Intermediate: The frog starts with a score of 100, which should decrease by 5 for every second it takes to
cross the road. The frog starts with three lives. Every time the frog collides with a butterfly, he loses a life.
Once the frog has lost all his lives, the game ends. A "game over" message or screen should be displayed,
along with an appropriate sound.

Advanced: Each butterfly’s speed should increase as the game progresses. Once the frog crosses the road
and reaches a certain point on the other side, he should progress to the next level. He should also get an
extra 100 points.

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 18

Detailed instructions

For each sentence of the Basic example game specification, the required steps are outlined below,
although a similar result can often be achieved using other blocks or scripts

Task explanation Required steps Screenshots

Text: A frog has to move Delete the Cat sprite.

across the road from his pond
Click on the Choose a sprite
Required steps: We need a button at the bottom right of
frog sprite, in addition to a the Sprites Area
suitable background
Select the Frog sprite from
Animals

Click on the Stage (right-hand

side of the Sprites Area)

Hover over the Choose a

Backdrop button and click on
the Upload backdrop button

Select the file containing the

game’s background and click
Open

Text: The frog is controlled Drag a when Green Flag

using the keyboard clicked block and a forever
block into the Script Area
Required steps: Our sprite is
going to constantly move Insert a Move block from
forward using a forever loop. Motion into the forever loop
We also need to move the
character when certain keys
are pressed

Drag a further when Green

Flag clicked block into the
Script Area

Place a forever loop after the

when Green Flag clicked
block, followed by an if, then
block inside the loop

Put a key pressed block from

Sensing in the top of the if,
then block and change the key
to the right arrow

Put a turn right block within the

if, then block

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 19

 Repeat this process to make
the left arrow turn the sprite
left when pressed

Run your program using the

Green Flag and experiment
with the key presses. You can
adjust the amount of turn in
the turn degrees block. You
also can alter the number of
steps in the Move block if your
sprite is moving too fast

Text: Butterflies automatically Click on the Choose a sprite

move along the road button at the top of the Sprites
Area
Required steps: We need to
add some additional butterfly Select the Butterfly2 sprite
sprites to move horizontally from Animals
across the screen. When they
reach the edge of the screen, Drag a when Green Flag
they should turn around and clicked block and a forever
continue moving block into the Script Area

Insert a Move block from

Motion into the forever loop, in
addition to a wait block from
Control

Add an if on edge, bounce

block from Motion to your
forever loop

Finally, add a set rotation style

block from Motion before your
forever loop (this stops our
butterfly turning upside down
when it touches the stage
edge)

Run your program using the

Green Flag and ensure your
butterfly moves automatically.
Experiment with altering the
value of the move and wait
blocks

Additional sprites can be

added by repeating the
process above

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 20

 Text: If the frog collides with a Click on the new sprite in the
butterfly, he becomes injured Sprites Area and click on the
and the game ends Code tab at the top of the
Block Palette
Required steps: We need to
detect if the frog is touching a Drag a when Green Flag
butterfly using repetition and clicked block into the Script
selection: Area

If the frog sprite is touching the Place a forever loop after the
butterfly sprite, then we want when Green Flag clicked
the frog to say “Owwww” for a block, followed by an if, then
period of time, followed by block inside the loop
ending the game

Put a touching block from

Sensing in the top of the if,
then block and change the
sprite to Frog

Put a say, for, seconds block

from Looks into your if, then
block and alter the block to say
“Owwww” for 0.5 seconds

Add a stop block from Control

into the if, then block (this will
end the game)

Run your program using the

Green Flag and ensure your
script works as expected.
Repeat this process for your
other sprites

Text: The frog should always Drag your frog Sprite to your
start from his pond at the preferred starting position on
bottom of the screen the Stage (in the pond)

Required steps: The frog Place a when Green Flag

Sprite currently remains in the clicked block in the Script Area
same position when we restart
the game. Each time the game Add a go to x, y block from
starts, we ideally want the Motion below the when Green
sprite to return to a specific Flag clicked block. You should
starting position and point also add a point in direction
upwards block from Motion

You may wish to set the

starting position for other
sprites
Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 21
Brilliant! You now have a moving sprite game, which has been produced by decomposing the program
specification into smaller tasks. A child undertaking a task such as this independently has met the coding
requirements of the Key Stage Two Computing National Curriculum.

For the Intermediate and Advanced example game specification, step-by-step instructions are not provided.
However, guidance for how to complete each part of the specification is outlined below. As with the Basic
guidance, similar results can often be achieved in a number of ways.

Intermediate example game specification

Text Required steps

The frog starts with a score of 100, which should • Create a variable for the score
decrease by 5 for every second it takes to cross • Set the variable to 100 when the game starts
the road • Use a forever loop to change the score by -5
and wait one second

The frog starts with three lives. Every time the frog • Create a variable for the lives
collides with a butterfly, he loses a life • Set the variable to 3 when the game starts
• When the frog touches a butterfly, change the
score by -1

Once the frog has lost all his lives, the game ends • If the lives variable is zero, stop the game

A "game over" message or screen should be When the lives variable reaches zero, either:
displayed
• Say a specific message
• Change the backdrop to a special “game over”
screen

Along with an appropriate sound • Play a sound when the lives variable reaches
zero

Advanced example game specification

Text Required steps

Each butterfly’s speed should increase as the • Create a variable for the speed for each
game progresses butterfly sprite
• Set the variable to 0 when the game starts
• Use a forever loop to change the move speed
by a certain amount after a specific period of
time, such as every few seconds

Once the frog crosses the road and reaches a • Create a sprite or coloured area at the top of
certain point on the other side, he should progress the screen
to the next level • When the frog touches the area or sprite, the
backdrop should change
• The starting position of both the frog and
butterflies may also need to be altered

He should also get an extra 100 points • When changing the backdrop, change the
score variable by 100

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 22

Extension activities

For each of the activities below, feel free to experiment with a range of features to make your program as
engaging as possible.

• Include sound effects when the character moves / hits the enemies (Hint: look in Sound)
• Change the Sprite to something different if it touches a butterfly (Hint: you’ll need to add a new
Costume)
• Get the butterflies to change direction (Hint: use a turn block)
• Make the frog bounce across the stage if he touches the side (Hint: look in Motion)
• Add objects, such as food, for the character to collect (Hint: add some extra Sprites and Hide them
when touched)
• Have different enemies, such as dogs or dinosaurs, on each level (Hint: only show certain sprites
when a certain backdrop is selected)
• Rather than your frog automatically moving forward, program the up and down arrows to move the
sprite forwards and backwards respectively
• Include additional levels

Physical computing extension activities

If you have access to a micro:bit, you could include additional functionality within your program.

• Make the micro:bit display a timer showing you how long it took the frog to reach the finish
• Alter the controls to use either the micro:bit’s buttons or tilt sensor to move the frog
• Use the buttons to alter the difficulty at the start of the game

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 23

 Programming with Scratch

Activity 5 – Platform Game

Computing National Curriculum areas covered (all Key Stage 3):

• use two or more programming languages, at least one of which is textual, to solve a variety of
computational problems
• design and develop modular programs that use procedures or functions
• understand simple Boolean logic [for example, AND, OR and NOT] and some of its uses in circuits
and programming

Task overview:

A leading game manufacturer was impressed with your moving sprite game. They now want you to produce
a platform game.

They have asked you to make a one-player game, which involves moving a sprite along various platforms.
The sprite is likely to have to jump over gaps between platforms, in addition to avoiding obstacles and
enemies.

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 24

Activity 5 – Platform game

If you wish, you can plan your platform game and start programming immediately. Alternatively, you can
use the example game specification below, or the more detailed instructions overleaf, which break down
the necessary steps for each requirement.

Within school, pupils should be given a planning template and asked to solve the programming challenge
by splitting it into smaller parts. This is known as decomposing. This would typically involve specifying the
required steps, or script, to complete each section of the program. They should also identify sections of
code that can be reused and included within a procedure.

Example game specification

Basic: A sprite has to move along the ground or on platforms. The sprite is controlled using the keyboard.
The sprite should fall to the ground if not on a platform. The sprite should be able to jump onto platforms
and be able to jump a range of different heights. The sprite should start on the left hand side of the screen
and move right along the ground / platforms. The code should be implemented using procedures where
possible.

Intermediate: The sprite should move realistically, including when jumping or falling. The sprite starts with
three lives. The sprite should have to avoid enemies and lose a life if he collides with an enemy. Once the
sprite has lost all his lives, the game ends. A "game over" message or screen should be displayed, along
with an appropriate sound.

Advanced: Once the sprite reaches a certain point on the right hand side of the screen, a "congratulations"
message must appear and he should progress to the next level. The sprite has a set amount of time to
complete the level. Levels should scroll over more than one screen where possible.

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 25

Detailed instructions

For each sentence of the Basic example game specification, the required steps / blocks are outlined below,
although a similar result can often be achieved using other blocks or scripts

Task explanation Required steps Screenshots

Text: A sprite has to move Delete the Cat sprite
along the ground or on
platforms Click on the Choose a sprite
from library button at the top of
Required steps: We need a the Sprites Area
suitable sprite to control and
also a sprite to act as our Select a suitable the sprite
ground / platforms. The
background should be kept to
a single colour Hover the mouse on Choose a
sprite and select the Paint
button

Draw a simple sprite containing

a flat ground and a number of
coloured obstacles. The sprite
should fill the whole screen

Rename the sprite

appropriately, such as "ground"

Text: The sprite is controlled

using the keyboard

Required steps: Our program

is going to constantly check
for when certain keys are
pressed

Unlike previous programs,

we're going to manually alter
the X co-ordinates, rather
than using move

To move the sprite left and

right, we can use the
following code. Note the use
of both not and and operators
in the final if statement

Text: The sprite should fall to

the ground if not on a
platform

Required steps: We need to

create and set a variable for
the "gravity". We also need
an extra if statement in the
forever loop to check if the
sprite is on the ground and
reduce the Y co-ordinate
appropriately if not
Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 26
 Text: The sprite should be
able to jump onto platforms
and be able to jump a range
of different heights. The code
should be implemented using
procedures where possible

Required steps: We can

create a block, or procedure
(in More Blocks) named
"jump" to reuse the same
code for different height
jumps

We can assign different key

presses to pass different
values to the procedure

Text: The sprite should start

on the left hand side of the
screen and move right along
the ground / platforms

Required steps: We can

define the Sprite's starting
position at the beginning of
our program using goto x y

The final code is shown on

the right

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 27

Well done! You now have a platform game, which includes the use of procedures and Boolean operators. A
child undertaking a task such as this independently has met some of the coding requirements of the Key
Stage Three Computing National Curriculum.

For the Intermediate and Advanced example game specification, blocks of code are not provided. However,
guidance for how to complete each part of the specification is outlined below. As with the Basic guidance,
similar results can often be achieved in a number of ways.

Intermediate example game specification

Text Required steps

The sprite should move realistically, including when • Give the impression of movement using next
jumping or falling costume
• Slowly increase and decrease the value of the
Y co-ordinates during the jump

The sprite starts with three lives. The sprite should • Create a variable for the lives
have to avoid enemies and lose a life if he collides • Set the variable to 3 when the game starts
with an enemy. Once the sprite has lost all his • When the sprite touches an enemy, change the
lives, the game ends score by -1

Once the sprite has lost all his lives, the game • If the lives variable is zero, stop the game
ends
A "game over" message or screen should be When the lives variable reaches zero, either:
displayed
• Say a specific message
• Change the backdrop to a special “game over”
screen

Along with an appropriate sound • Play a sound when the lives variable reaches
zero

Advanced example game specification

Text Required steps

Once the sprite reaches a certain point on the right • Create a sprite or coloured area at the right
hand side of the screen, a "congratulations" hand side of the screen
message must appear and he should progress to • When the main sprite touches the area, the
the next level message sprite should be displayed, followed
by changing the ground / platforms sprite

The sprite has a set amount of time to complete • Create a variable for the time and reduce it by
the level one every second
• When the variable reaches zero, display the
"game over" message / screen

Levels should scroll over more than one screen • Create the adjoining part of the level sprite and
where possible hide it when the game starts
• As the sprite moves right, move both the
background sprite left at the same rate as the
sprite

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 28

Extension activities

For each of the activities below, feel free to experiment with a range of features to make your program as
engaging as possible.

• Include sound effects when the character moves / hits the enemies (Hint: look in Sound)
• Change the Sprite to something different if it touches an enemy (Hint: you’ll need to add a new
Costume)
• Allow the player to select their Sprite at the start of the game (Hint: you could use a range of
Costumes or independent sprites)
• Get the enemies to move at random (Hint: look in Operators)
• Add objects, such as food, for the character to collect (Hint: add some extra Sprites and Hide them
when touched)
• Have an end of level boss to get past (Hint: only show certain sprites when certain co-ordinates are
reached)
• Give the sprite ability to fire custard pies or a similar, non-threatening, weapon at enemies (Hint:
add an additional sprite, which moves from the main sprite when a certain key is pressed)
• Include additional levels

Physical computing extension activities

If you have access to a micro:bit, you could include additional functionality within your program.

• Make the micro:bit display the number of lives the dog has left
• Alter the controls to use either the micro:bit’s buttons or tilt sensor to move the frog
• Use the buttons to alter the difficulty at the start of the game

Written by Neil Rickus. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 29