Scratch

‘Scratch’ is an online website and offline software that can be used to create simple animations. It has a range of characters (called ‘sprites’) and backgrounds that can be combined in a multitude of ways. The ‘sprite’ performs on a stage, which is based on the Cartesian co-ordinate system, with (0,0) at the centre. The user creates an animation using simple drag-and-drop commands, such as ‘go to (x,y)’; ‘move 100 steps’ or ‘turn 90 degrees’.
 * What can students learn by creating in Scratch? **

Some general, transferrable skills that you can learn with Scratch:
 * Logical and creative thinking
 * Systematic reasoning with instant feedback
 * Communication and collaboration with peers
 * Problem solving
 * Developing patience and persistence
 * Greater sense of control and responsibility for the learning process

Students can learn many maths concepts using Scratch, such as:
 * Cartesian co-ordinate system
 * Identifying, creating and naming angles (acute, right, obtuse, straight and reflex)
 * Identifying, creating and naming polygons
 * How to calculate the perimeter of polygons
 * How to calculate the area of polygons


 * More Scratch and Coding Resources**
 * Scratch for Parents [|https://scratch.mit.edu/parents]
 * Why Learn Scratch? [|http://learnscratch.org/resources/why-learn-scratc]
 * Why Kids Should Learn Scratch []
 * Code.org is a fabulous site for all things coding, including instructional videos, step-by-step games and tutorials for creating your own code.
 * Register for Hour Of Code and join 100's of thousands of students and teachers around the world and over 1,600 in Australia.
 * More "Hour of Code" resources at ABC Splash

** How to start SCRATCHING! **
 * 1) Go to the Scratch site at []
 * 2) Join up to the site with your username and password – you need an email address as well. You can only save your work if you join up.
 * 3) To share your work with others you need to click on the email message from Scratch.
 * 4) Click on “Create” and give your project a name.
 * 5) Start with an “Event” tile, then use the “Pen” to choose a color and thickness.
 * 6) To change the direction of the line you can use the “Motion” tiles to “Turn clockwise by x degrees” or “Turn anticlockwise by x degrees”.
 * 7) You can also start your drawing at a specific point by choosing “Go to (x,y)” and choose which direction to point in (up, down, left, right

Some tasks for students to create in Scratch 1. Use a "sprite" to draw four different shapes, one in each quadrant of the Cartesian plane. 2. Use a "sprite" to explain a maths concept - how to calculate the perimeter or area of a shape, for example. 3. Use a "sprite" to create an adding or subtracting game, like 'snakes and ladders'. 4. Get more ideas at the DET Great Victorian Coding Challenge 1; Great Victorian Coding Challenge 2 and Great Victorian Coding Challenge 3