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Chapters

This textbook is organized into 13 chapters covering 200 concepts.

Chapter Overview

  1. Computational Thinking Foundations - Introduces the vocabulary of computational thinking that the rest of the course builds on.
  2. The Scratch Interface & Environment - Orients students to the Scratch editor, stage, sprites, and block categories.
  3. Sequencing & Scripts - Teaches how blocks snap together into ordered scripts that run top to bottom.
  4. Motion & Coordinates - Covers the coordinate plane, sprite heading, and the motion blocks that position sprites.
  5. Loops & Repetition - Introduces fixed-count and condition-based loops, taught before drawing shapes.
  6. Turtle-Graphics Drawing - Combines pen, motion, and loop blocks to draw lines, polygons, stars, and spirals.
  7. Variables & Data - Shows how to create and use variables to control drawings and other data.
  8. Conditionals & Logic - Covers Boolean expressions and if/if-else blocks for branching script behavior.
  9. Custom Blocks & Abstraction - Centers on Scratch's Make a Block feature as procedural abstraction.
  10. Parameters & Generalization - Teaches adding parameters to a custom block so it can generalize across situations.
  11. Events & Interactivity - Covers event blocks that trigger scripts and handle keyboard and mouse input.
  12. Debugging & Testing - Builds the habit of reading, tracing, and debugging a script's behavior.
  13. The Python & Turtle Bridge, and Capstone Project - Maps Scratch blocks onto Python's turtle module and closes with a capstone project.

How to Use This Textbook

Work through the chapters in order, since each chapter builds on the concepts and skills introduced in earlier ones and dependencies are respected throughout. Complete the drawing and coding activities in each chapter before moving on, since later chapters (such as custom blocks, parameters, and the Python bridge) assume you can already build the scripts from earlier chapters. The final chapter's capstone project draws on skills from across the whole book, so treat it as a chance to combine everything you have learned.

Note: Each chapter includes a list of concepts covered. Make sure to complete prerequisites before moving to advanced chapters.