Hello, friends! Today, we’re going to learn how to make a fun story using Scratch. Scratch is a cool program where you can create stories with characters and scenes. Let’s dive in and start making our own story!
First, we need to choose a main character for our story. In Scratch, characters are called “Sprites.” You can pick a Sprite by clicking on “Choose a Sprite.” If you want to draw your own character, click “Paint.” You can also upload a picture or choose one from Scratch. For this story, let’s pick a princess and name her Maya.
Next, let’s add a background for the first scene. Click on “Choose a Backdrop” and pick a background you like. How about a forest? That sounds like a great place to start our story!
Now, let’s make Maya say something. Go to the “Looks” section and find the “Say” block. Drag it out and type what you want Maya to say. To make her talk when the story starts, put a “When Green Flag Clicked” block on top. Now, when you click the green flag, Maya will say, “Hello.”
If you want another character in your story, click “Choose a Sprite” again. Let’s pick Gobo. To make Gobo face Maya, click on the “Costumes” tab and select “Flip Horizontal.” Now, go back to the “Code” tab.
Let’s have Gobo talk to Maya. Drag out another “Say” block and have Gobo say, “Hi, Maya.” Put a “When Green Flag Clicked” block on top. To make sure they don’t talk at the same time, use a “Wait” block from the “Control” section. If Maya talks for two seconds, make Gobo wait for two seconds before speaking.
After Gobo talks, let’s have Maya say, “Let’s go to the city.” Then, we can change the scene. Click “Choose a Backdrop” and pick a city background. Use the “Switch Backdrop” block to change the scene after Maya talks.
To make sure the story starts in the forest, drag out another “Switch Backdrop” block and put a “When Green Flag Clicked” block on top.
If you want a new character to appear in the city, click “Choose a Sprite” and pick someone like Giga. Use the “Hide” and “Show” blocks from the “Looks” section to make Giga appear only in the city. In the “Events” section, use the “When Backdrop Switches To” block to control when Giga shows up.
Instead of using lots of “Wait” blocks, you can use broadcasts. A broadcast is like a secret message between characters. When Maya finishes talking, she can send a broadcast called “Message 1.” Giga can listen for “Message 1” and say, “Welcome.” If Gobo wants to talk next, create a new message called “Message 2.” Giga can send “Message 2” when done, and Gobo can say, “I like this place.”
Now you know how to make characters talk, switch scenes, and use broadcasts. You can create any story you want with these tools. Have fun making your own adventure in Scratch!
Thanks for learning with me, and happy Scratching!
Create Your Own Character: Use the “Paint” option in Scratch to draw your own character. Think about what kind of character you want in your story. Is it a superhero, an animal, or maybe a robot? Once you’ve created your character, give them a name and think about what kind of adventure they might go on. Share your character with a friend and explain why you chose them for your story.
Story Sequencing Game: Write down different parts of your story on separate pieces of paper, such as “Maya meets Gobo,” “They talk in the forest,” and “They go to the city.” Mix them up and try to put them back in the correct order. This will help you understand how stories are structured with a beginning, middle, and end. You can also try this with a friend’s story and see if you can sequence their story correctly.
Observe and Report: Look around your home or school and find a place that could be a backdrop for a story. It could be the playground, a garden, or even your living room. Imagine what kind of story could happen there. Write a short paragraph or draw a picture of a scene that could take place in that setting. Share your ideas with your class and see what stories they come up with for the same backdrop.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the YouTube transcript:
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Hi, everyone! It’s Zoë from the Scratch team, also known as Zinnea. Today, I wanted to show you how to create a story in Scratch. You can choose any characters and scenes you want, and write all the dialogue. By the end of this tutorial, you’ll be able to create your own story in Scratch. Let’s get started!
First, let’s pick a character to be the main character of your story. You can hover over “Choose a Sprite.” If you want to draw your character, you can click “Paint.” If you want to upload a picture, you can click “Upload.” Or, if you want to choose one of the characters in Scratch, you can click “Choose.” I’ll take the princess and rename her Maya.
Next, let’s add a backdrop for the first scene. Hover over “Choose a Backdrop,” click “Choose,” and pick a background for your story. I’ll select the forest background.
To start your story, let’s make your character say something. Go to the “Looks” category and drag out a “Say” block. You can write whatever you want your character to say. Let’s put a “When Green Flag Clicked” block on top, so every time I click the green flag, the character says, “Hello.”
Now, if you want to add another character, hover over “Choose a Sprite” again and select another character. I’ll pick Gobo. To make this character face your main character, click on the “Costumes” tab and click “Flip Horizontal.” Now, go back to the “Code” tab.
Let’s make this character have a conversation with Maya. Drag out another “Say” block and have Gobo say, “Hi, Maya.” Place a “When Green Flag Clicked” block on top so the conversation starts when the green flag is clicked.
To prevent both characters from talking at the same time, go to the “Control” category and drag out a “Wait” block above Gobo’s “Say” block. If Maya talks for two seconds, set Gobo to wait for two seconds before talking.
Now, let’s say I want Maya to say something else after Gobo talks. I can have Maya wait for two seconds while Gobo talks, and then say, “Let’s go to the city.”
Now, let’s add another scene and make them go to the city. Hover over “Choose a Backdrop” and select a city background. After Maya says, “Let’s go to the city,” we can switch to the city background using the “Switch Backdrop” block.
To ensure they start at the forest background when the project begins, drag out another “Switch Backdrop” block and place a “When Green Flag Clicked” block on top.
If you want a new character to show up when they reach a certain scene, hover over “Choose a Sprite” and select a new character, like Giga. We want Giga to appear when they get to the city. Use the “Hide” and “Show” blocks from the “Looks” category to control visibility.
In the “Events” category, use the “When Backdrop Switches To” block to make Giga hide when the backdrop switches to the forest and show when it switches to the city.
Now, if you want Giga to say something when they reach the city, you could use the wait method, but it can be tedious to keep track of wait times. Instead, I’ll show you another method using broadcasts.
A broadcast in Scratch is like an invisible message that one character sends out. When Maya finishes talking, I can have her broadcast “Message 1.” Then, for Giga, I can say, “When I receive Message 1,” and make Giga say, “Welcome.”
If I want Gobo to say something after Giga, I can create a new message called “Message 2.” Giga can broadcast “Message 2” when finished, and Gobo can respond with, “I like this place.”
That’s how you can create a conversation using broadcasts. Some people prefer using wait blocks, while others prefer broadcasts. Both methods work well!
With the techniques I showed you, you can create any story you want, switch backdrops, and have different characters interact. The link to the project I made today will be in the description below, so you can remix it as a starting point.
Thanks for watching, and happy Scratching!
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