As a team we have always created Scratch projects to complement our scheme of work, or to provide activities on a certain theme for schools. I decided I wanted to create a collection that would be useful to teachers in primary schools, and also specifically for those working with students with special educational needs. The result of this can be found at https://sheffieldclc.net/scratch/.
The projects are split into 6 categories:
Sequence – simple programs using a sequence of commands, for example to make a sprite move, to play a tune or to tell a joke.
Input – these projects use a number of different inputs to control sprites using the Events blocks, e.g. when green flag clicked, when this sprite clicked, when space bar clicked.
Repetition – all the projects in this section contain a simple example of repeat or forever loops, e.g. to draw a square, or create a screensaver.
Selection – these projects use the if…then…else… blocks to add conditions to the code, for example, if the sprite touches the walls of a maze it returns to the beginning.
Variables – these programs contain simple variables, e.g. to add a score or lives in a game.
Other – a collection of projects to extend learning, e.g. using procedures, operators, or simply more complex combinations of code.
The idea is that pupils complete projects from the categories in this order, providing a progression in the programming concepts learnt. Within each category there are a number of projects with different themes, e.g. music, story-telling, games. In addition, there are the following types of project:
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This provides pupils with different ways of interacting with the code, which will help when scaffolding learning for pupils with different abilities, and encourage discussion around programming. It fits in with the PRIMM approach to programming, which you can read more about here.
This resource will continue to grow, and the hope is to provide a set of worksheets to accompany the projects soon, for example containing sample code and teaching points.