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Scratch Programming Playground,2E (Scratch 3)
Written in a similar style to the wonderful Playful Intro to Programming series, this book makes learning Scratch more "playground" than "classroom" without sacrificing technical knowledge. While this may sound like a lofty goal, author (and software developer) Al Sweigart has managed it by having kids learn by creating truly fun games in Scratch! All the classics are here - Maze Runner, Brick Breaker, and Asteroid Breaker - with a few more complicated modern "clones" as well: Shooting Hoops, Rainbow Lines and an advanced Platformer. Amazingly, no prior experience in Scratch or coding is needed!
A brief introduction covers the Scratch interface and coding environment before launching right into a beginner project. This is a consistent theme: rather than learning code and then replicating it, the student is given a broad goal to work towards with small steps guiding the way. Each step is illustrated clearly through blocks of code or screenshots and then explained. This step-by-step process takes a little longer, but ultimately keeps students engaged without becoming bogged down in terminology or great heaps of code. The technical know-how beginners need is all there, of course, it's just explained on an as-needed basis to help keep it in context. This structure builds as the book progresses to more and more advanced game projects, so (ideally) students are never overwhelmed with too much new information at once. Once a chapter is completed, a summary as well as review questions are provided to cement chapter materials. Overall, this is an exceptional entry into the "advanced introduction" line of coding books, and much-needed for those learning Scratch! Uses Scratch 3, available for free online. 202 pages, pb.
A project-filled introduction to coding that shows kids how to build programs by making cool games. Based on Scratch 3, the world's most popular drag-and-drop programming language developed by the MIT Lifelong Kindergarten Group.
Kids learn to code by making fun computer games with the Scratch programming language. Games include things like a timed maze, a snake game, asteroids, and more. By combining colorful Scratch programming blocks of code, kids quickly learn computer programming concepts, like loops, strings, and variables, without having to master the cryptic syntax found in most programming languages. Easy-to-follow, full color instructions allow immediate results with minor supervision. Review questions and coding challenges reinforce learning and aid classroom use and the development of lesson plans.
Product Format: | Paperback |
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Brand: | No Starch Press |
Author: | Al Sweigart |
Grades: | 5-9 |
ISBN: | 9781718500211 |
Length in Inches: | 9.25 |
Width in Inches: | 7 |
Height in Inches: | 0.875 |
Weight in Pounds: | 1.4 |