Game it with Pong

Computer Programming Games with Scratch

written by Beckett Dunning & Susan Klimczak

GOAL
Move from exploring Scratch to getting some real skills by breaking down thinking and steps for making a Pong Game

BIG IDEAS
Computational Thinking: How to think like a computer program! Types of computer program instructions - loops, operators, sensing, using variables How to plan computer program instructions for a game

SKILLS TO LEARN
Review some ideas that have been introduced before Compass and Graph aspects of Scratch Control --- when green flag clicked, forever, forever if, stop, wait until Motion --- point in direction, bounce, move # steps, go to coordinates Optional: Cool Paint stuff you can do (stamp, gradation, drawing, erasing) Fully charged computers for each youth teacher All computers loaded with Scratch and Pong Game Demo Pong Game in 15 minutes Cheat Sheet for every youth teacher Individual Instruction Flash Cards for every pair of youth teachers

MATERIALS

INTRODUCTION
Ask children What are your favorite videos games? Ask children, Do you know what the very first video game was? Pong Show short History.com video on the history of Pong and game controllers: http://www.history.com/videos/pong-launches-arcade-craze#pong-launches-arcade-craze Tell children that they are going to be making their own pong game today. Introduce the four elements of the game: Ball, Paddle, Danger Zone, Background Have Pong Game Demo downloaded on each computer and have children play the original pong game: http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/Learn2Teach2012/2596969 Then, introduce the four elements of the game: Ball, Paddle, Danger Zone, Background Have children change the ball, paddle, danger zone and background to create their own version of the Pong Game using the Pong Game Demo.

INTRODUCE NEW INSTRUCTIONS ON SCRATCH Walk children through the Cheat Sheet and give them the cards Review screen as graph and compass Review of familiar Scratch Menus: CONTROL, MOTION Review idea of LOOPS Introduce new Scratch Menus SENSING --- touching OPERATORS --- subtracting, pick random and NOT VARIABLES --- direction, mouse x, using counter

COMPUTATIONAL THINKING BEHIND THE GAME

Using Cheat Sheet, go over the 5 steps to making a Pong Game have children use the cards to think about the different steps OPTIONAL: if there is a projector, have the children make a pong game together step by step, holding up the cards they think are involved in the steps

MAKING THE PONG GAME STEP BY STEP

CHALLENGE CARDS Add music Add counter Add one row of blocks at the top (make it into a 1 row brick breaker) Add multiple rows of blocks at the top (make it into a multi-row brick breaker) Make it a two-player game (have the paddles controlled by keys) 12:00 - 12:30pm BREAK FOR LUNCH 12:30 - 1:30pm INCORPORATE ANIMATIONS INTO PONG GAME DROPBOX TUTORIAL INCORPORATE ANIMATION INTO PONG GAME This is a chance to find create way to incorporate sprites of themselves and animate them into the Pong Game. SHOW EXAMPLES --- Becketts animated Pong Game (See others above) WALK THEM THROUGH HOW TO ANIMATE SPRITES IN SCRATCH Maybe get photos from James (who isnt there) and animate them on screen BRAINSTORM ways to incorporate the animations and photos into the game

CREATIVE EXPLORATION --- for an hour 1:30pm - 2:15pm SCRATCHBOARD INTRODUCTION Introduction to the board example --- online Try out example codes Beckett will look for cool examples (See above) INCORPORATE SCRATCHBOARD WITH THEIR GAME using slider and in other different ways PLAY YOUR BANANA (MUSIC) (See below) 2:15pm-2:30pmCIRCLE UP Have each person show off what they made & answer three questions what did they learn making it? how confident are they with their Scratch skills? what helped the most? what are they still confused about? Feedback on new approach to teaching Scratch what should we do differently next week to get better?

TO DO: ETA - Friday Morning Beckett in Charge Action Cards DONE Challenge Cards --- Today - In Progress (Add graphics to physical cards) Plan dropbox tutorial --- DONE Samsung netbook needs scratchboard driver --- DONE Check for drivers on other netbooks --- DONE Charge up the notebooks --- DONE Test the scratchboards --- DONE Create online googledocs tally for scratchboards and computers --- DONE Susan in Charge Cheat sheet --- DONE Individual Cards --- DONE print sets onto cardstock --- DONE Get secure carrying bags for the computers --- DONE Locate AC charger for Samsung netbook (three pronged to AC plug)

OLD BRAINSTORMS FOR SCRATCH/BOARD ACTIVITY

TEACH PONG GAME & INCORPORATE ANIMATIONS?

I looked over all the scratch projects made so far and most of them are animations. I really want the youth teachers to develop a competency at building at least one kind of game --- the maze games we used to teach were kind of boring, but I like the idea of telling the history of Pong as the first video game and teaching computational thinking about how to design a game. I dont know if we will use this, but I developed an approach to teaching a Pong Game using computation thinking as Olivia put it and a cheat sheet to help. . . the idea being that every youth teacher this year would be able to build a pong game in 20 minutes or less and would be introduced to how to think through designing a complicated script in Scratch. Beckett developed an innovative approach to incorporating animation and possibly some of the sprites the youth teachers made of themselves into the pong game. TRANSITION TO SCRATCHBOARDS WITH GAME A transition into using the scratchboard could be using the sound sensor on the scratchboard to control the paddle. Then break youth teachers into two teams and have the two teams compete for who can use their collective voices to score the most points. It looked fun on the video. INTRODUCTION TO SCRATCHBOARD Use a canned program or finish the one that David started to introduce youth teachers to the scratchboard Then have a series of design activities to introduce them to programming using the scratchboard. You could have different activity stations that youth move around doing with one of you at each station. Or you could do the activities with the whole group. Here are some possible ideas: USE THE SLIDE TO CONTROL THEIR PONG GAME Thats a practical and fun use for the game they just made. Maybe find other ways to incorporate the scratchboard into the game. PLAY YOUR BANANA The children love this during the summer so we should teach resistance sensors using this. I think we should have some kind of good explanation of resistance sensors and how they work included http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqdAGhqJ0Cs&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL8F 524C7B4C81B3EA ACTIVITY FROM INTRO TO PICOBOARDS WITH RHYTHMIC BRACELETS that play drums. PIKACHU PROTECTOR

I am making an example of a scratchboard application that uses the light sensor and pikachu as a protector. I have an idea of how to develop computational thinking and show them how to develop the code for this by taking light sensor measurements and thinking through what they want to do. To do Add example of Pikachu Protector to lesson plan examples when completed. SOME KIND OF HOMEMADE SENSOR ACTIVITY Either some kind of dance revolution type thing --- there are many online examples of this and they might enjoy getting up and moving around a bit. The musical one --- head shoulders knees and toes, with homemade sensors attached to someones body. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LtihtAizo&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLAAF92E8F36A0C663?