Today, we were given the task to work with Scratch Jr to create a coding that could be useful in a literacy lesson. This was an assessment task where our end product was evaluated by our lecturer. Scratch Jr is commonly used with children in early, first and sometimes second level. We began practicing with Scratch Jr on the tablets to ensure we were comfortable with it before attempting the task. We were given small activities to complete, such as: making three characters run in a race, make them dance, etc. Additionally, as I knew we were going to be using this application today, I downloaded it to practice with it and be prepared for class.

Initially, I expected that working with Scratch was going to be fairly complex as I did not realise that we would be working with scratch Jr until I was preparing for this week. I felt that working with Scratch was going to be fairly difficult as the previous experience I had with it was in secondary school when I used it for the first time and we used the general Scratch which is available online. However, Scratch Jr has been simplified to ease children into coding. Once I began working with Scratch Jr today, I soon realised that it was fairly easy to use once I got my head around it and learned the different tricks and features.

As we were given the task to base our Scratch Jr creation around a literacy lesson, I decided that I was going to focus on phonemes as they are a big part of early, first and second education. When starting our task, I planned to include a couple of phonemes, such as, ‘sh’, ‘oa’, ‘ll’, etc. but when we began our task, I soon realised that I was only able to do four slides and I would not be able to talk about each one sufficiently. Therefore, I decided to pick one phoneme and focus my whole Scratch Jr presentation on it. I decided to go with the phoneme ‘sh’ as I felt it was the most prominent phoneme and a rather important one too.

My first slide was set with a classroom background to give the impression that we are going to learn something whilst watching this Scratch Jr. creation. Scratch then explains that the children are going to be learning about phonemes, specifically, the phoneme ‘sh’ and he then breaks down the phoneme into the two letters.

My second slide introduced four objects, two of which had the phoneme ‘sh’ in them and two did not. Scratch asks the children to identify which ones do and do not have ‘sh’ in them. There is then a two-minute time gap which would allow discussion in the classroom. Scratch then reveals which objects include ‘sh’ which is a shop and a fish. This introduces that ‘sh’ can be at the beginning and at the end of a word.

My third slide included a rocketship and a mushroom. This is to help establish that ‘sh’ can also be found in the middle of a word. This will help the children learn how to identify ‘sh’, how and where it can be used.

My last slide was Scratch standing on his own and he jumps up and down with a pop sound effect with each jump. He then congratulates and encourages the children for their hard work and explains how the children are now going to be completing a worksheet on the phoneme ‘sh’, this shows that the use of this Scratch Jr. is only an introduction and it will now lead onto a full lesson.

My Scratch Jr. creation linked well with a second level literacy experience and outcome (E&O). ‘I can recognise how the features of spoken language can help in communication and I can use what I learn. I can recognise different features of my own and others’ spoken language.’ (ENG 2-03a). My Scratch Jr. creation incorporates this E&O as by the end of the lesson they would hopefully be able to identify the phoneme ‘sh’, as a feature of the English language, in different words and how it can be positioned throughout a word. My Scratch Jr. creation also linked well with a second level technology experience and outcome. ‘I can create, develop and evaluate computing solutions in response to a design challenge.’ (TCH 2-15a)

This E&O links well with my Scratch Jr. presentation as it shows that learning has been enhanced through by the use of technology. The children will also be able to learn how to code and create a similar presentation about what they learned about ‘sh’. Therefore, this leads onto a future lesson.

I feel that to improve my presentation I would have it be more interactive for the children and have them be able to make Scratch/other objects move by touching them on the screen or to have the children insert code throughout the lesson. Therefore, clearly incorporating two curricular areas in one lesson instead of subtly which is how it currently stands with my presentation.

Slowly, the importance of coding is becoming more evident and the need for it to be taught in schools from young age is more apparent. Coding is now being seen as holding a lot of importance in this modern society, with many organisations such as: universities, gaming companies, the government, manufacturers and even head teachers. These different groups all have their own reasoning for how coding will help them develop and keep up with our futuristic society which is being run by technology (Naughton, 2012)

Nowadays, technology comes naturally for children as explained by Prensky (2001, p. 1) “Our students today are all ‘native speakers’ of the digital language of computers, video games and the Internet.” This can benefit children in the classroom as it can improve their learning in other curricular areas as well as help them develop their understanding of technology, which is important in this forever-changing technological world.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed working with the Scratch Jr. application and found it easy to work with once I got my head around it. Therefore, I personally think that I completed the given task successfully and created a useful literacy lesson. I feel that this application is very useful in the classroom to gently introduce coding into the classroom from an early stage and can be developed over time. Thus, I plan on using this application in future in the classroom.

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References

• Education Scotland () Experiences and outcomes. [Online] https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/Experiences%20and%20outcomes[Accessed 29th January 2019]

 

• Naughton, J. (2012) Why all our kids should be taught how to code. The Guardian. [Online] 31 March. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/mar/31/why-kids-should-be-taught-code [Accessed: 29 January 2019].

 

• Prensky, M. (2001) Digital Natives Digital Immigrants