move

Moving and Sensing

The children should already have a good sense of how to move a sprite around the screen from the session on turtle graphics. Note that turtle graphics move the sprite relative to its current position and is a much simpler system to introduce to children than placing an object on a grid with X and Y co-ordinates. Scratch supports both approaches but we recommend that younger children stick to the relative movements and repeat turns of 30 degrees rather than learn the coordinates on a grid and angles.

Turtle Graphics

Turtle Graphics comprise Move and Turn commands which allow the child to move the sprite around the screen with simple control commands. These commands are an important way of introducing children to geometry when combined with the pen commands that leave a trail as the sprite moves. The idea is that the children can experiment themselves and discover how to draw a triangle, square, pentagon, and other shapes without necessarily knowing the angle required to draw each shape.

Syndicate content