Scratch Jr
Beginner
30 mins
Teacher led
What you need:
iPad/Tablet

Talk It Out: Programming a Fun Conversation

In this lesson, teachers will guide students through a fun exploration of animal sounds, teaching them how to record and attach these sounds to characters in Scratch Jr. Students will then be challenged to create a classroom scene, recording dialogue between characters and using the 'wait' function to simulate a real conversation. The lesson concludes with time for students to experiment and get creative with their projects.
Learning Goals Learning Outcomes Teacher Notes

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    1 - Exploring Animal Sounds

    Start by introducing the students to the animals available in Scratch Jr. Have a brief discussion about the sounds that different animals make, asking questions like, "What sound does a dog make? How about a cat?" This will get the students thinking about the different noises that animals produce.

    2 - Recording Sound in Scratch Jr.

    Guide the students to select an animal character in Scratch Jr. and show them how to record a sound for that character.

    1. Selecting an Animal: Instruct the students to open a new project and choose an animal character from the Scratch Jr. library.

    2. Recording Sound:

      • Demonstrate how to select the microphone icon (green section) to record a sound.
      • Encourage the students to record the sound that matches their chosen animal, like a "meow" for a cat or a "bark" for a dog.
      • Once recorded, show them how to attach the sound to the character, so that when the green flag is pressed, it can play the recorded sound.

    3 - Today's Challenge: Creating a Classroom

    Once the students have practiced recording and attaching sounds to their characters, introduce the more complex challenge: creating a classroom setting where a teacher asks a question, and a student responds.

    Setting the Scene:

  • Guide the students to create a classroom background by choosing a relevant background or drawing one themselves.
  • Instruct them to add two characters to the scene: one to act as the teacher and the other as the student.

  • 4 - Recording Dialogue

    Demonstrate how to record a question for the teacher to ask, such as "What is 2 + 2?"

    Then, show how to record a response for the student character, like "The answer is 4."


    5 - Using the Wait Function

    At the moment, our two characters say their lines at the same time, so we need to tell our students to wait before they react!

    Using the Wait Function:

    • Emphasize the importance of timing in this interaction. Explain that they need to use the "wait" block to control when the student responds after the teacher asks the question.
    • Demonstrate how to insert the wait block between the teacher’s question and the student’s response, allowing a brief pause to simulate a real conversation.
    • Encourage them to test the timing by adjusting the wait duration to ensure the dialogue flows naturally.

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