Getting Started with
To make your own copy of this guide, click File at
the top left, then select Make a copy.
Or, to save a copy to your computer, select
Download.
Create your own games, animations,
interactive stories, and more.
1
GETTING STARTED
You can use Scratch online at: scratch.mit.edu
scratch.mit.edu
Once you’ve navigated to scratch.mit.edu, click Create.
This will bring you to the Scratch Editor, where you can start
creating projects.
If your computer uses an older operating system, or your
internet connection is unreliable, you can download Scratch
and use it offline.
Visit: https://scratch.mit.edu/download
for information on downloading and
installing the Scratch app.
2
THE SCRATCH EDITOR
The Scratch Editor is where you create projects in
Scratch. Here are its main parts:
Blocks Palette The Stage
Blocks for coding Where your creations
your projects come to life
Coding Area Sprite List
Drag in blocks and snap them Click the thumbnail
together to code your sprites of a sprite to select it
3
LET’S CODE!
To code projects in Scratch, you snap together blocks.
Start by dragging out a move block.
Click the block to try it.
Does your cat move?
Now say something!
Click the Looks category.
Drag out a say block.
Snap it onto the move
block. Click on your
blocks to try them.
4
WHAT IS A SPRITE?
In Scratch, any character or object is called a sprite. Every new
project in Scratch starts with the Cat sprite.
Want to choose a different sprite?
Click the New Sprite
icon.
Or, hover over the New Sprite icon to see more options.
Upload an image from
your computer. Click for a surprise
sprite!
Draw your own
sprite. Choose a sprite from
the library.
Want to delete a sprite from your project?
First, select the sprite by clicking
on its thumbnail in the Sprite List.
Then, click here to delete the
sprite.
5
WHERE IS YOUR SPRITE?
Every sprite has an x and y position on the Stage.
x is the position of the sprite from left-to-right.
y is the position from top-to-bottom.
At the very center of the stage, x is 0 and y is 0.
y = 180
x= x=
-240 240
y = -180
When you move your sprite, you
can see its x and y position
change.
6
TUTORIALS
There are a range of tutorials available in the Scratch Tutorials
Library, which guide learners in creating projects with Scratch.
Students can get started making their own stories, animations,
and games.
You can get to the Tutorials Library from the Scratch Editor
by clicking the Tutorials button.
The Getting Started tutorial will walk you through the basics.
7
TUTORIALS
Once you’ve selected the tutorial, it will open in the
Scratch Editor.
Click the green arrow to see each step.
When you’ve reached the end of a tutorial you can select
another tutorial, and keep adding to your project.
Click here to see all
the Tutorials.
8
CODING CARDS
The Scratch Coding Cards provide another way to learn to
create projects with Scratch. Download the cards at
scratch.mit.edu/ideas.
Each set of cards starts with a title card, which shows you
what you can create.
The Animate a Character cards are a great set to start with.
Examples of what
you can create
A list of all the
cards in this set
9
USING THE CODING CARDS
After each title card is a series of cards walking you through
each step of creating a project.
Add your own sprites, backdrops and more!
The front of each card shows
you what you can create.
The back shows
you how to do it.
1
0
GET CREATIVE!
Encourage students to use their imagination as you
create projects. There are many different ways they can
make their Scratch projects unique.
You can choose or
draw your own
characters.
Choose a sound
or record your own.
Try changing numbers or
adding blocks to your code
to see what happens.
Experiment and customize your project however you
want!
1
1
GET CREATIVE WITH SPRITES!
Scratch has its own paint tools, which allow you to
customize sprites from the library, or even create sprites
of your own.
Let’s start by editing a sprite from the library.
Select a sprite to edit by clicking
on it in the Sprite list.
Click the Costumes tab at the top left to see the paint tools.
The paint tools allow you
to recolor sprites, add to
them with a paint brush,
and change them in a
variety of ways.
You can use the paint
bucket tool to recolor
different parts of a sprite.
12
GET CREATIVE WITH SPRITES!
Some sprites, like the Bat
sprite have multiple costumes,
or poses.
You can see a sprite’s
costumes by clicking the
Costumes tab.
If your sprite only has one
costume, right click on the
costume to duplicate it
(On Mac control + click).
Now you can modify the
second costume using the
paint tools, so your sprite
has two different poses or
facial expressions.
Click the Code tab, then try
adding these blocks.
13
ADD YOUR OWN PHOTOS
There are many ways to create your own sprites and artwork using
the Scratch paint tools.
You can create your own sprites by uploading photos or images and
erasing the background.
Hover over the
New Sprite button,
then select
Upload Sprite.
Next click the Costumes tab.
You will see bitmap tools for
editing your image.
Click the eraser icon and use
the eraser tool to remove the
background from your photo.
Tip: to adjust the size of the
eraser, type a larger or smaller
number.
There are two modes for drawing in Scratch:
1. Bitmap Mode allows you to edit photos and paint with pixels.
2. Vector Mode allows you to create and edit shapes.
Created by the Scratch Team (scratch.mit.edu) and shared
under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
International Public License (CCbySA 4.0).
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