Lesson 11- Variables!!

Reflecting: Design notebook question

What did you like about the maze project? How might you want to change it?

Creating: Maze extensions

· Group into teams of three people.

Check out these Maze extension projects   http://scratch.mit.edu/galleries/view/138300

· Select one of the Maze extension projects to explore:

o   Score: Demonstrates how to set and change a score. Receive 10 points every time the Scratch cat is clicked.

o   Timer: Demonstrates how to use a timer. Use the mouse to navigate the Scratch cat to Gobo.

o   Enemies: Demonstrates how to add an enemy. Avoid the crazy tennis ball using the up and down arrow keys.

o   Levels: Demonstrates how to change levels. Score increases by 1 every time the space bar is pressed. Level increases by 1 for every 10 points.

(Rewards: Demonstrates how to collect items. Use the arrow keys to move the Scratch cat around to collect items for his quest.)

Reflecting: Here’s what I figured out

·  After studying the extension projects, teach the rest of the class what they learned. Take notes to help you explain the processes.

o   What was the project?

o   How could it be used to extend the maze? 

 How does it use variables?

 Notes- Variables are an important mathematical concept and also an important computational concept. You learn about variables in their math & science classes at school, but many have a difficult time learning them. Games are one way to make the usefulness of variables more concrete.

Lesson 10 - Design a Maze

Note- This lesson uses the Maze handout.

Reflecting: Design notebook question

What is a game? 

Connecting: Games brainstorm

·   Get with two other people and generate a list of games that you all like. You have 4 minutes.

·  Now make another list of what the games have in common.

Then, what features of their design make them a game?

  

We're going to start with making a simple maze game. 

 

Creating: A-maze-ing

·   You have two choices. One is to follow along for a maze-creating activity, as described in the Maze handout. Or try it yourself...

·   Start by designing the maze layout, by drawing a maze-like background with single-colored walls and a different single-colored end marker.

·   Add a sprite that will navigate the maze. Keep this simple – a single-colored square will work fine.

·  Add the interactive navigation to the sprite, having it move up, down, right, and left with the arrow keys, using the “point in direction” block and the “move 10 steps” block.

·  Add the initial state, by having the sprite jump to the beginning of the maze using the “when green flag clicked” block and the “go to x y” block.

· Have the sprite bounce off the maze walls using conditionals (the “if” block) and sensing (the “touching color” block).

Define the ending condition, using the “wait until” and “touching color” blocks.

How did it go? Write down your challenges and your successes then share with a neighbor!

 

Lesson 9 - Conditionals, Operators, Testing, and Debugging

Note- This lesson uses the "Debug it!" handouts.

Reflecting: Design notebook question

·  Look at your response to the Lesson #4 design question. What new strategies have you learned for dealing with getting stuck?

Exploring: Debug it!

·  Divide into teams of four people.

·  Each team uses the Debug it! handout set, which contains 5 programs to debug and a prompt to design a new debugging challenge.

  Note - Testing and debugging is probably the most common activity of programmers. Things rarely work as planned, so developing a set of testing and debugging strategies will be beneficial to any computational creator.

 Have fun working as a team to "debug" your handouts. 

You have about 35 minutes. 

 

Reflecting: Comparing debugging strategies

·  When finished, discuss and compare the various approaches to fixing the bugs.

o   What was the problem?

o   How did you identify the problem?

o   How did you fix the problem?

o   Did others have alternative approaches to fixing the problem?

·  Share with other groups how you and your group defeated the debugging challenge!