Scratch

This will bring you to the Scratch Editor, where you can start
creating projects.

If your computer uses an older operating system, or your
internet connection is unreliable, you can download Scratch
and use it offline.

Visit: https://scratch.mit.edu/download
for information on downloading and
installing the Scratch app.

GETTING STARTED

You can use Scratch online at: scratch.mit.edu

scratch.mit.edu

Once you’ve navigated to scratch.mit.edu, click Create.

1

The Scratch Editor is where you create projects in
Scratch. Here are its main parts:

THE SCRATCH EDITOR

The Stage
Where your creations

come to life

Blocks Palette
Blocks for coding
your projects

Sprite List
Click the thumbnail

of a sprite to select it

Coding Area
Drag in blocks and snap them

together to code your sprites

2

To code projects in Scratch, you snap together blocks.
Start by dragging out a moveblock.

LET’S CODE!

Click the block to try it.
Does your cat move?

Now say something!
Click the Lookscategory.

Drag out a sayblock.
Snap it onto the move
block. Click on your
blocks to try them.

3

WHAT IS A SPRITE?

Draw your own
sprite.

Upload an image from
your computer.

Want to delete a spritefrom your project?

First, select the sprite by clicking
on its thumbnail in the Sprite List.

Then, click here to delete the
sprite.

Click for a surprise
sprite!

Or, hover over the New Spriteicon to see more options.

Choose a sprite from
the library.

In Scratch, any character or object is called a sprite. Every new
project in Scratch starts with the Cat sprite.

Want to choose a different sprite?

Click the New Sprite
icon.

4

y = -180

x =
240

When you move your sprite, you
can see its x and y position
change.

WHERE IS YOUR SPRITE?

Every sprite has an x and y position on the Stage.

x is the position of the sprite from left-to-right.

y is the position from top-to-bottom.

At the very center of the stage, x is 0 and y is 0.

y = 180

5

x =
-240

TUTORIALS

There are a range of tutorials available in the Scratch Tutorials
Library, which guide learners in creating projects with Scratch.
Students can get started making their own stories, animations,
and games.

You can get to the Tutorials Library from the Scratch Editor
by clicking the Tutorials button.

The Getting Started tutorial will walk you through the basics.

6

TUTORIALS

Once you’ve selected the tutorial, it will open in the
Scratch Editor.

Click the green arrow to see each step.

When you’ve reached the end of a tutorial you can select
another tutorial, and keep adding to your project.

Click here to see all
the Tutorials.

7

CODING CARDS

The Scratch Coding Cards provide another way to learn to
create projects with Scratch. Download the cards at
scratch.mit.edu/ideas.

Each set of cards starts with a title card, which shows you
what you can create.

The Animate a Character cards are a great set to start with.

Examples of what
you can create

A list of all the
cards in this set

8

USING THE CODING CARDS

After each title card is a series of cards walking you through
each step of creating a project.

Add your own sprites, backdrops and more!

The back shows
you how to do it.

The front of each card shows
you what you can create.

9

GET CREATIVE!

Try changing numbers or
adding blocks to your code
to see what happens.

Experiment and customize your project however you want!

Choose a sound
or record your own.

Encourage students to use their imagination as you
create projects. There are many different ways they can
make their Scratch projects unique.

1
0

You can choose or
draw your own
characters.

GET CREATIVE WITH SPRITES!

Click theCostumes tab at the top left to see the paint tools.

1
1

Scratch has its own paint tools, which allow you to
customize sprites from the library, or even create sprites
of your own.

Let’s start by editing a sprite from the library.

Select a sprite to edit by clicking
on it in the Sprite list.

The paint tools allow you
to recolor sprites, add to
them with a paint brush,
and change them in a
variety of ways.

You can use the paint
buckettool to recolor
different parts of a sprite.

Some sprites, like the Bat
sprite have multiple costumes,
or poses.

You can see a sprite’s
costumes by clicking the
Costumes tab.

If your sprite only has one
costume, right click on the
costume to duplicate it
(On Mac control + click).

Now you can modify the
second costume using the
paint tools, so your sprite
has two different poses or
facial expressions.

Click the Code tab, then try
adding these blocks.

GET CREATIVE WITH SPRITES!

12

ADD YOUR OWN PHOTOS

There are many ways to create your own sprites and artwork using
the Scratch paint tools.

You can create your own sprites by uploading photos or images and
erasing the background.

13

There are two modes for drawing in Scratch:
1. Bitmap Mode allows you to edit photos and paint with pixels.
2. Vector Mode allows you to create and edit shapes.

Next click the Costumestab.
You will see bitmap tools for
editing your image.

Hover over the
New Sprite button,
then select
Upload Sprite.

Click the erasericon and use
the eraser tool to remove the
background from your photo.

Tip: to adjust the size of the
eraser, type a larger or smaller
number.

Created by the Scratch Team (scratch.mit.edu) and shared
under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
International Public License (CCbySA 4.0).

| | ||||| ||| |COLOR SCHEME

To make your own copy of this guide, click File at
the top left, then select Make a copy.

Or, to save a copy to your computer, select
Download.

Please do not request share access. Thank you.