Kids learn to code with a deck of instructional cards by creating interactive games, stories, music, and animations with Scratch, a popular visual programming language.Now updated for Scratch 3.0, this 75-card deck features interactive programming projects you can make with Scratch, a free-to-use graphical programming language used by millions of kids around the world. The front of each card shows an activity, like Pong, Write an Interactive Story, Create a Virtual Pet, Play Hide and Seek. The back shows how to put code blocks together to make projects come to life! Along the way, kids learn coding concepts like sequencing, conditionals, and variables.
Natalie Rusk is one of the lead developers of Scratch and works as a Research Scientist in the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab. Rusk co-founded The Computer Clubhouse, an international network of after-school centers where young people learn to use new technologies to express themselves creatively.
“One of the most interesting things about the projects is that in some of them you don’t have to follow the prescribed order. Some of the programs have an end goal you’re working to create, but others just have you experimenting with code and Scratch. This is honestly one of the best ways to do it, as playing about with your code to see different results is a great way to test the limits of what you can do.”
—The MagPi
“It’s a great getting-started activity, one that you can hand to a child and they can do themselves.”
—GeekDad
“If you are looking for some hands-on coding activities for upper-elementary age kids, this is a great place to start. Some kids are already familiar with the Scratch website for coding, but the addition of the box of
Scratch Coding Cards provides a structure that takes them beyond 'click and guess' to having a set of instructions that tie the process together.”
—Getting Smart
“The cards are a fun way for anyone to play with Scratch without the bother of having to design an application. It’s also easy to shuffle through the cards to find tasks you want to learn more about.”
—Kids, Code, and Computer Science Magazine
“These cards are easy to use, straightforward, and they provide a variety of tasks to complete...If you are thinking of ways to introduce programming into your curriculum, this is a great way to start.”
—STEM Activities for Kids
“Librarian or teacher? These cards are a class/program in themselves. Parent, or just interested in learning how to code? You can’t beat these cards for teaching and learning block coding.”
—Mom Read It
“I'm a big fan of this method of instruction, guiding the kids into breaking down a large problem into several smaller problems (a central tenet of Computational Thinking) and then letting the students have lots of small 'wins' as they progress through the cards.”
—Damien Kee, technology education expert
