📘 Course Outline
Certified Scratch Expert Level One
Your First Step to Becoming a Coding Master
🌟 Course Introduction
Welcome to the exciting world of coding! This course is designed to turn you from a complete beginner into a Certified Scratch Expert Level One. Scratch is a special programming language where you don't have to type complex code – you just snap together colorful blocks, like digital LEGO bricks .
By the end of this course, you will have created your own interactive games, animated stories, and even learned the secrets that professional developers use. You don't need any prior experience – just a curious mind and a willingness to have fun . Let's begin our adventure!
🎯 Overall Course Objectives
- Understand the Basics: Navigate the Scratch interface and understand the core programming concepts .
- Think Like a Programmer: Develop computational thinking skills like sequencing, debugging, and problem-solving .
- Create Interactive Projects: Build animated stories and simple games using events, loops, and conditionals .
- Use Core Coding Concepts: Work with variables, lists, and custom blocks (functions) .
- Build a Complete Game: Design and code a playable game with multiple levels and a scoring system .
- Prepare for the Next Level: Gain the skills and confidence to move on to Level Two .
📖 Warm‑up Story: Kemi's First Game
Kemi is 13 and lives in Lagos. She loves playing video games, but she always wondered, "How are these made?" One day, her teacher introduced the class to Scratch.
At first, Kemi was nervous. She thought coding was only for geniuses. But when she saw the colorful blocks and realized she could drag and drop them, her eyes lit up. She followed the lessons, starting with just moving a cat across the screen. She added sounds, then a scoring system, and finally, a whole new level!
When she finished her first game, Kemi felt like a wizard. She had turned her idea into something real. She even taught her little brother how to use Scratch. That's the power of learning to code – it's not just about computers, it's about bringing your ideas to life . You can do it too!
📚 Main Course Modules
This course is broken down into 10 easy-to-follow modules. Each one teaches you a new skill and gives you a chance to practice it.
Module 1: Your First Steps into Scratch
What You'll Learn: How to open Scratch, what all the buttons do, and how to make your first sprite move .
- Definition & Importance: Getting comfortable with the interface is your first step to creating anything.
- Simple Explanation: Think of Scratch like a digital playground where you are the boss.
- Real-Life Example: A teacher opens Scratch to show the class how to program a character to dance.
- School Example: You log in to Scratch for the first time and explore the "Sprites" and "Backdrops" panes.
- Home Example: You and a sibling drag a block to make the cat meow.
- Nigerian Example: A student in Kano creates a simple animation of a "Danfo" bus moving across the screen.
- Illustration:
SCRATCH INTERFACE
+-----------------------------------+
| [Blocks Palette] [Code Area] |
| - Motion |
| - Looks [Sprite Area] |
| - Sound |
| - Events |
| - Control |
+-----------------------------------+
Module 2: Motion and Looks – Bringing Your Sprites to Life
What You'll Learn: Make your characters move, glide, change costumes, and say things .
- Definition & Importance: Motion blocks control movement. Looks blocks change how a sprite appears. This makes your story interactive!
- Simple Explanation: It's like giving your characters stage directions in a play.
- Real-Life Example: Creating a digital pet that walks around and talks to you .
- School Example: Making a frog sprite glide across a pond backdrop.
- Home Example: Making a family member's sprite wave and say "Hello!"
- Nigerian Example: Making a sprite of a "Mama Put" seller greet the player.
- Illustration:
MOTION & LOOKS BLOCKS
+-----------------------------------+
| Move 10 steps |
| Turn 15 degrees |
| Go to x: 0 y: 0 |
| Say "Hello!" for 2 seconds |
| Switch costume to [costume2] |
+-----------------------------------+
Module 3: Events and the Green Flag – Starting the Show
What You'll Learn: How to trigger your code with events like clicking the green flag or pressing a key .
- Definition & Importance: Events tell Scratch "When to start." Without them, your code won't run.
- Simple Explanation: The "When green flag clicked" block is like the "Start" button on a video game.
- Real-Life Example: Clicking "Play" on a streaming service starts your movie.
- School Example: Pressing the spacebar to make a character jump.
- Home Example: Pressing a key to change the background music.
- Nigerian Example: Programming the game to start when you click the green flag after reading the instructions.
- Illustration:
EVENT BLOCKS
+-----------------------------------+
| When green flag clicked |
| When [space] key pressed |
| When this sprite clicked |
| When backdrop switches to [...] |
+-----------------------------------+
Module 4: Sound – Adding Music and Effects
What You'll Learn: How to add sound effects, background music, and voice recordings to your projects.
- Definition & Importance: Sound makes your game or story more immersive and exciting.
- Simple Explanation: It's like adding a soundtrack to a movie.
- Real-Life Example: A video game where you hear a "ding" when you collect a coin.
- School Example: Recording your own voice to narrate a story.
- Home Example: Adding a "pop" sound when a balloon sprite bursts.
- Nigerian Example: Adding "kolo" sound effects for a comedy skit animation.
- Illustration:
SOUND BLOCKS
+-----------------------------------+
| Play sound [Meow] |
| Play sound [Meow] until done |
| Stop all sounds |
| Change volume by -10 |
+-----------------------------------+
Module 5: Control – Making Decisions with If-Then and Loops
What You'll Learn: Use "forever" loops to keep things going, and "if-then" blocks to make decisions .
- Definition & Importance: Loops repeat actions. Conditionals let your program make decisions based on something (like "If the score is 10, then you win!").
- Simple Explanation: A "forever" loop is like a record player that keeps spinning. An "if" block is like choosing between wearing a raincoat or sunglasses based on the weather.
- Real-Life Example: A thermostat checks if the room is too cold, then turns on the heat.
- School Example: Using "if-then" to make a sprite say "You got it!" when the player touches a star.
- Home Example: A "forever" loop to make a fan rotate on your screen.
- Nigerian Example: In a game, if a player touches a "pothole" sprite, they lose a life.
- Illustration:
CONTROL BLOCKS
+-----------------------------------+
| wait 1 seconds |
| repeat 10 times |
| forever |
| if <condition> then |
| if <condition> then ... else ... |
+-----------------------------------+
Module 6: Sensing – Making Your Program Aware of the World
What You'll Learn: How to use sensors to detect when sprites touch, use a mouse, or ask for user input .
- Definition & Importance: Sensing blocks let your program "see" and "hear" what's happening.
- Simple Explanation: It's like giving your program eyes and ears.
- Real-Life Example: An automatic door sensor that opens when you walk near it.
- School Example: A quiz game that uses a "ask and wait" block to get the player's answer.
- Home Example: A game where the mouse pointer is used to control a character.
- Nigerian Example: A scavenger hunt game where you must click on a specific sprite to win.
- Illustration:
SENSING BLOCKS
+-----------------------------------+
| touching [mouse-pointer]? |
| touching [sprite1]? |
| ask "What's your name?" and wait |
| mouse x |
| key [space] pressed? |
+-----------------------------------+
Module 7: Variables – Keeping Score and Remembering Things
What You'll Learn: How to create and use variables to store information, like a score, lives, or player name .
- Definition & Importance: A variable is like a box where you can store a number or a piece of text.
- Simple Explanation: It's like a scoreboard that keeps track of points.
- Real-Life Example: A shopping list – it "stores" the items you need to buy.
- School Example: Creating a "score" variable that increases by 1 every time the player collects a coin.
- Home Example: A variable called "guessCount" that counts how many tries it takes to guess a number.
- Nigerian Example: A game where your "fuel" variable decreases as your car moves.
- Illustration:
VARIABLE BLOCKS
+-----------------------------------+
| set [score] to 0 |
| change [score] by 1 |
| show variable [score] |
| hide variable [score] |
+-----------------------------------+
Module 8: Lists – Working with Big Collections of Data
What You'll Learn: How to create and use lists to store multiple things, like a high-score table or a shopping list of items .
- Definition & Importance: A list is a variable that can hold multiple pieces of information at once. It's like a box with many compartments.
- Simple Explanation: It's like a treasure chest that can hold many different gems.
- Real-Life Example: A playlist of songs on your phone.
- School Example: Storing the names of all the players who finished a game.
- Home Example: Creating a list of your favorite movies.
- Nigerian Example: A list of all the states in Nigeria and their capitals for a geography quiz.
- Illustration:
LIST BLOCKS
+-----------------------------------+
| add "thing" to [list] |
| delete 1 of [list] |
| item 1 of [list] |
| length of [list] |
| [list] contains "thing"? |
+-----------------------------------+
Module 9: My Blocks (Functions) – Building Your Own Tools
What You'll Learn: How to create your own custom blocks (functions) to make your code cleaner and reusable .
- Definition & Importance: "My Blocks" let you give a name to a group of commands. This is called a function or procedure.
- Simple Explanation: It's like creating your own magic spell that does exactly what you want.
- Real-Life Example: A recipe – you can call it a "Pancake Recipe" instead of listing all the ingredients and steps each time.
- School Example: Creating a "jump" block that makes a sprite jump and play a sound.
- Home Example: Making a "greetFriend" block that says "Hello!" and waves.
- Nigerian Example: Creating a "celebrateGoal" block that plays a victory sound and changes the score.
- Illustration:
MY BLOCKS (FUNCTIONS)
+-----------------------------------+
| Define [jump] |
| change y by 10 |
| wait 0.1 seconds |
| change y by -10 |
+-----------------------------------+
Module 10: Building Your Final Game – Putting It All Together
What You'll Learn: How to plan, build, and test your own complete game project from start to finish .
- Definition & Importance: This is where you take all the skills you've learned and combine them to create something unique.
- Simple Explanation: It's like building your own toy from a box of parts.
- Real-Life Example: A game development company planning and building a new video game.
- School Example: Building a maze game with a timer, score, and multiple levels.
- Home Example: Creating a game that you and your friends can play together.
- Nigerian Example: Creating a game about navigating traffic in Lagos, with "danfo" buses and "okada" bikes.
- Illustration:
FINAL PROJECT: MY GAME
+-----------------------------------+
| 1. Plan Game Idea |
| 2. Design Sprites & Backdrops |
| 3. Code the Player Movement |
| 4. Add Obstacles & Enemies |
| 5. Add Scoring & Levels |
| 6. Test & Debug |
| 7. Share Your Game! |
+-----------------------------------+
📖 Key Vocabulary for Level One Experts
- Scratch: A free programming language where you code by snapping blocks together .
- Sprite: A character or object in your Scratch project .
- Backdrop: The background of your project.
- Code Area: The area where you drag and connect blocks to build your program.
- Block Palette: The list of all the coding blocks, organized by type.
- Variable: A container for storing data, like a score or player name .
- Loop: A block that repeats an action (e.g., "forever", "repeat 10 times") .
- Conditional: A block that makes a decision (e.g., "if-then") .
- Event: A trigger that starts your code (e.g., clicking the green flag) .
- Debugging: The process of finding and fixing errors in your code .
- Function (My Block): A custom block you create to reuse a set of commands .
- List: A variable that can store multiple pieces of data .
🧠 Important Concepts in Scratch Programming
- Computational Thinking: A way of solving problems in a way that can be understood by a computer. This involves breaking down problems (decomposition), finding patterns, and creating step-by-step instructions (algorithms) .
- Sequence: The order in which your code runs. Scratch runs blocks from top to bottom.
- Abstraction: Hiding complex details and showing only the essential parts. Using "My Blocks" is a form of abstraction .
- User Interface (UI): How a user interacts with your program. In a game, this includes the controls, scoring display, and feedback.
🔢 Step-by-Step Explanations
Here are a few common tasks you'll learn in Level One, broken down into simple steps.
| Task | Step-by-Step Instructions |
|---|---|
| Move a Sprite with Arrow Keys | 1. Go to the "Events" palette. 2. Drag out a "when [space] key pressed" block. 3. Change it from "space" to the "up arrow". 4. Go to the "Motion" palette. 5. Drag out a "change y by 10" block. 6. Repeat for down, left, and right keys . |
| Create a Simple Scoring System | 1. Go to the "Variables" palette. 2. Click "Make a Variable" and name it "Score". 3. Drag out a "set [Score] to 0" block and place it under the "when green flag clicked" block. 4. Find the "change [Score] by 1" block. 5. Place it inside an "if...then" block that checks if a sprite is touched . |
| Add a Sound Effect | 1. Go to the "Sound" palette. 2. Choose the "play sound [pop]" block. 3. Place it where you want the sound to happen. 4. Choose a different sound from the dropdown menu . |
🇳🇬 Nigerian Examples
- A student in Abuja creates a quiz game about Nigerian presidents.
- A teacher in Ibadan builds a story-telling app about local folklore.
- A student in Lagos creates a game where you have to avoid "pothole" sprites.
- A teenager designs a virtual market where you trade yams and tomatoes.
🎈 Fun Examples for Kids
- Make a virtual pet that follows your mouse.
- Create a "Dance Party" where sprites move to music .
- Build a simple "Catch the Apple" game.
- Design a "Choose Your Own Adventure" story.
👪 Everyday & Parent Tips
- Everyday: Practice coding for just 15 minutes a day. It's like learning a new language – small, regular practice is key!
- Parent Tip: Encourage your child to share their projects with friends and family .
- Parent Tip: Work on a project together. It's a great way to spend time and learn together.
- Parent Tip: Explore the Scratch website together to see what other kids are creating for inspiration.
💡 Interesting Facts & Did You Know?
- Fact: Scratch was created by the MIT Media Lab in 2003 for young people to learn programming.
- Did you know? Scratch is translated into over 70 languages!
- Fact: You can share your Scratch projects online with a global community of millions of creators.
- Did you know? Learning to code with Scratch helps develop skills useful in many fields, not just programming.
🧾 Remember This
- Always save your work!
- Start with small, simple projects and build up.
- It's okay to make mistakes – that's how you learn .
⚠️ Common Mistakes
- Forgetting to connect blocks together properly.
- Not using a "wait" block when needed, so the program runs too fast.
- Using too many sprites and making the project too complex.
✅ Best Practices
- Name your sprites and variables clearly.
- Add comments to your code to explain what it does .
- Test your code often.
📊 Comparison: Beginner vs. Expert Level One
| Feature | Beginner | Expert Level One |
|---|---|---|
| Projects | Simple animations | Interactive games with scoring |
| Variables | Maybe one | Uses multiple variables (score, lives) |
| Logic | Basic sequences | Uses loops and conditionals |
| Data | No lists | Begins using lists for high scores |
| Code Organization | Messy | Uses "My Blocks" for clean code |
🎯 End-of-Course Summary
Congratulations! By completing this course, you will have achieved the Certified Scratch Expert Level One certification. You are now able to:
- Navigate the Scratch interface with confidence.
- Use all the core coding concepts: sequences, events, loops, and conditionals .
- Create and use variables and lists to manage data .
- Build custom blocks (functions) to organize your code .
- Design and code your own complete, playable game .
- Think like a programmer and solve problems creatively.
You are ready for the next level! With this solid foundation, you can move on to Certified Scratch Expert Level Two, where you will explore more advanced topics like clones and complex game mechanics .
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (10)
- What do I need to start this course? Just a computer with internet access and a free Scratch account .
- Do I need to know anything about coding? No! This course is for beginners .
- How long will it take? It depends on your pace, but you can complete it in about 10-15 hours of guided work.
- What if I get stuck? That's part of the learning process! Try to debug it yourself, then ask a friend or teacher for help .
- What will I be able to make? You'll be able to make your own games, animations, and interactive stories .
- Is this a real certification? Yes, upon successful completion, you will earn a certificate that shows you have mastered these skills.
- What's next after Level One? You can move on to Level Two, where you'll learn more advanced concepts like clones and extensions .
- Can I use Scratch on a tablet? Yes, but a computer with a keyboard is recommended for the best experience .
- Is Scratch free? Yes, Scratch is completely free to use .
- Why learn Scratch? It's the fun way to learn the core concepts of all programming languages .
🔗 Matching Exercise
Match the term with its description:
- 1. Sprite → (A) A container for storing data, like a score.
- 2. Variable → (B) A character or object in your project.
- 3. Loop → (C) Repeats an action.
Answers: 1‑B, 2‑A, 3‑C
🎭 Scenario-based Exercise
Scenario: You want to make a game where a character collects stars. Every time the character touches a star, the score goes up by 1. What blocks from which categories would you use?
Hint: You would use sensing (touching), variables (score), and control (if-then).
👥 Group Activity
In groups of 3, take turns being the "driver" and the "navigator". The driver has control of the mouse and keyboard. The navigator gives instructions. Work together to build a simple "Chase Game" where one sprite tries to catch another. This is called pair programming and is used by real software developers!
🧑🎓 Individual Activity
Create a "Virtual Pet" project. Your pet should: 1) Move around the screen with the arrow keys. 2) Say something when you click on it. 3) Play a sound when you press the spacebar. 4) Have a "happiness" variable that goes up when you feed it .
🛠️ Mini Project
Design your own "Maze Game" from scratch. Use the "key pressed" events to move a sprite. The goal of the game is to get to the end of the maze without touching the walls. Add a timer and a "You Win!" screen .
📝 Practical Assignment
Create a "Clicker" game. The game should have a sprite. Every time you click the sprite, a variable called "Score" increases by 1. When the score reaches 10, the sprite should say "You Win!" .
🔑 Key Takeaways from Level One
- You are a programmer: You can now write code to create your own digital worlds.
- Problem-solving: You have learned to break down big problems into smaller, manageable steps.
- Creativity: You have the tools to turn your ideas into reality.
- Foundation: You have built a strong foundation to learn more advanced programming languages later.
💬 Classroom Discussion Questions
- What are some real-world situations where you might use a "loop"?
- Why is it important to test (debug) your code as you build it?
- What is your favorite type of game and why? How could you recreate it in Scratch?
- How does thinking like a programmer help you in other subjects, like math or science?
➡️ Preparation for Level Two
You're ready for the next step! In Certified Scratch Expert Level Two, you will learn how to create clones of sprites, use advanced message broadcasts, and even integrate Scratch with other technologies . You'll become a true coding wizard. See you there!
✨ Course Outline complete — Your adventure into coding starts here.