Getting Started with Scratch

Scratch is a free visual programming language and online community where anyone can create their own stories, games, and animations. We are so excited to share the many pathways to participate in the Scratch global community!

Just Getting Started?

  • The Scratch Ideas page is a great place to begin! This page offers a variety of tutorials, guides, coding cards, and projects for kids, families, and educators to start creating with Scratch.
  • Did you know that Scratch is available in more than 70 languages? To change languages on the Scratch website, click the drop down menu at the bottom of the page. Or, in the Project Editor, click the 🌐 globe icon at the top of the page. Related resources and 💡 tutorials will also be made available in your selected language if they have been translated.
  • Getting Started with Scratch Info Sessions offer a facilitated opportunity to learn more about the Scratch editor, online community, and ways Scratch is used by young people and educators around the world.
  • Explore the what, why, and how of creative learning with a community of educators, designers, parents, and learners in Learning Creative Learning, an online course organized by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group — the group who created Scratch — at the MIT Media Lab. The weekly workshops will introduce the creative learning ethos found on the Scratch platform and share ideas for using Scratch through a creative learning approach.

Interested in Scratch in Schools?

  • The Getting Started with Scratch Guide covers the basics: from dragging out your first blocks of code to creating your own sprites. It also includes links to our tutorials, coding cards, and other tips to get you and your learners creating in Scratch. Click on the link provided to make your own copy of the guide.
  • Set up a Scratch Teacher Account. The Scratch Teacher Account guide includes support for account set up, class creation, password tips, and making teacher studios where students can share their Scratch projects with you and their peers.
  • Virtual Family Creative Coding Nights bring young people, families, educators, and administrators together online to create and explore using Scratch. The Scratch team collaborated with the Office of Computer Science at Chicago Public Schools to develop and share this guide as a remixable resource for running your own version of the event.
  • The Scratch Educator page offers many more resources to support creative coding from beginner to more advanced learners.
  • The Creative Computing Curriculum Guide was developed by the Creative Computing Lab at Harvard Graduate School of Education. The guide offers a collection of ideas, strategies, and activities for an introductory creative computing experience using Scratch.

Ready to Connect and Collaborate?

  • Scratch Educator Meetups, developed by the Harvard Creative Computing Lab, are a place to meet in-person or virtually with other educators around the globe. Connect and learn year-round with educators in your community.
  • Join a global community of practice focused on equitable creative coding! The Scratch Education Collaborative (SEC) is building a powerful network of organizations across the world focused on supporting learners from historically marginalized communities in developing their confidence with creative computing. The application for the 2022-23 Cohort is now open and the deadline to apply is January 31st, 2022.

Stay connected!

 

Have limited or no internet access?

The downloadable Scratch app allows users to create and save projects with or without an internet connection.

For younger kids (4-7)

Younger creators can get started with ScratchJr, a free creative coding app for children (ages 4-7) to program their own interactive stories and games. Check out the ScratchJr Activities Page for activities.

Keep in touch

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Things to Try