What is Scratch coding? Everything you need to know
Scratch coding is a free block-based coding platform designed by MIT that allows you to create your own games, stories, and animations. On Scratch, you can program many different types of projects, such as a Magic Pen, Wizard Tag Game, or even platform games. Scratch for kids is designed for students ages 8-16, but can be used by everyone.
Scratch is a great tool for kids to learn programming because it’s a visual programming language. That makes it unlike Python and Javascript, which are written languages, meaning children type out all their code. With Scratch you can create online projects by connecting a series of coding blocks, and share your creations with the online community.
Blocks include event blocks, Scratch motion blocks (for movement), looks blocks (for changing shapes and colors), control blocks (for managing logics of your code), and more. So you can create all sorts of fun animations, games, and stories!
Answers to common questions about Scratch coding
1. Is Scratch coding free?
Yes, the Scratch website is completely free. Your child can go there anytime and start coding! Scratch does not offer any curriculum though. So kids will have to figure out how to learn it on their own. There are also books and YouTube videos that teach students Scratch. The easiest way for your kid to get started on Scratch is to join our Free Scratch Intro class live online with an awesome teacher. We have taught thousands of students Scratch coding over the years.
2. Is Scratch real coding?
Scratch is real coding, even though it is easy to learn.
3. Should my kid learn Scratch before Python?
Yes, your child can start learning Scratch before Python, because they can focus on learning computational thinking, which is the core principles of coding, without having to worry about syntax. Scratch is a block-coding language, meaning that children code by dragging and arranging logic “blocks” onto a canvas. While its applications are ultimately more limited than Python, Scratch shares many coding fundamentals such as loops, conditionals, and variables.
4. Is Scratch good for beginners?
Yes, Scratch is fun coding that’s good for beginners. For children with little-to-no experience, Scratch is a great place to start to learn the basics of coding. What's great is that you are unable to make typos with this method, ensuring less errors.
5. When should I join the Scratch Coding Club?
It's best to join our Scratch Coding Club after completing Unit 2 of Scratch Ninja. Scratch Coding Club stays at the same level of skill as the end of Scratch Ninja 2. In the club students get to practice applying their skills and better develop their understanding of key principles, before later continuing on with Scratch Ninja 3. The added experience of the club is particularly helpful and highly recommended for younger students such as those in Grades 3 and Grades 4. The club also teaches students cool things such as how to use the camera feature, and even text to speech!
Explore Scratch coding online quick links
Here are a few helpful ways to continue your MIT Scratch learning journey.