Scratch 3: A Beginner's Guide to Coding and Creating
Do you want to learn how to code and create your own interactive stories, games, and animations? If so, Scratch 3 is the perfect tool for you. Scratch 3 is a free programming language and online community where you can imagine, program, and share your creations with millions of other users around the world. In this article, we will introduce you to Scratch 3, show you how to get started with it, and teach you some basic coding and creating skills. By the end of this article, you will be able to make your own amazing projects with Scratch 3.
What is Scratch 3?
Scratch 3 is the latest version of Scratch, a graphical programming language that lets you create your own interactive stories, games, and animations by snapping together colorful blocks. Scratch 3 was launched in January 2019 and it has many new features and improvements compared to the previous versions of Scratch.
scratch 3
The history and purpose of Scratch
Scratch was developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab in 2007. The name "Scratch" comes from the technique of scratching used by DJs to create new sounds by mixing existing records. Similarly, Scratch allows users to remix existing projects or create new ones from scratch. The main purpose of Scratch is to help young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively. Scratch is designed to be fun, easy, and accessible for anyone who wants to learn how to code.
The features and benefits of Scratch 3
Scratch 3 has many features and benefits that make it a great tool for learning and creating. Some of them are:
How to make a game in Scratch 3
Scratch 3 tutorials for beginners
Scratch 3 offline editor download
Scratch 3 projects to try
Scratch 3 extensions and add-ons
Scratch 3 coding challenges
Scratch 3 vs Scratch 2 comparison
Scratch 3 tips and tricks
Scratch 3 online courses and lessons
Scratch 3 for educators and teachers
Scratch 3 for kids and teens
Scratch 3 for Raspberry Pi and Arduino
Scratch 3 for Windows, Mac, ChromeOS, and Android
Scratch 3 examples and templates
Scratch 3 sprites and backgrounds
Scratch 3 sounds and music
Scratch 3 variables and lists
Scratch 3 operators and functions
Scratch 3 events and control blocks
Scratch 3 motion and looks blocks
Scratch 3 pen and drawing blocks
Scratch 3 sensing and input blocks
Scratch 3 data and cloud variables
Scratch 3 video sensing and webcam blocks
Scratch 3 text to speech and translation blocks
Scratch 3 micro:bit and LEGO blocks
Scratch 3 makey makey and PicoBoard blocks
Scratch 3 Google Translate and Wikipedia blocks
Scratch 3 Amazon Text Recognition and Machine Learning blocks
Scratch 3 CoSpaces Edu and VR blocks
Scratch 3 WeDo 2.0 and robotics blocks
Scratch 3 EV3 and Mindstorms blocks
Scratch 3 Boost and Star Wars blocks
Scratch 3 gdx-for and sensors blocks
Scratch 3 music extension and instruments blocks
Scratch 3 speech recognition and synthesis blocks
Scratch 3 face detection and emotion recognition blocks
Scratch 3 pose detection and animation blocks
Scratch 3 object detection and classification blocks
Scratch 3 sentiment analysis and natural language processing blocks
Scratch 3 image filters and effects blocks
Scratch 3 QR code generator and scanner blocks
Scratch 3 barcode generator and scanner blocks
Scratch 3 color picker and converter blocks
Scratch 3 text analysis and summarization blocks
Scratch 3 text generator and spinner blocks
Scratch 3 word cloud generator and analyzer blocks
Scratch 3 is free and open-source. You can use it online or offline on any device that supports a web browser.
Scratch 3 has a simple and intuitive interface that lets you drag and drop blocks to create your code. You don't need to type or memorize any syntax or commands.
Scratch 3 has a rich library of blocks that cover different categories such as motion, looks, sound, events, control, sensing, operators, variables, data, extensions, etc. You can use these blocks to make your projects do anything you want.
Scratch 3 has a large collection of sprites (characters), costumes (outfits), backdrops (backgrounds), sounds, music, and effects that you can use in your projects. You can also upload your own images and sounds or draw your own sprites and costumes.
Scratch 3 has a built-in editor that lets you edit your sprites, costumes, backdrops, sounds, music, and effects. You can resize, rotate, crop, flip, paint, erase, duplicate, import, export, record, play, trim, fade in/out, change pitch/tempo/volume/panning/effects of your media elements.
How to get started with Scratch 3?
Getting started with Scratch 3 is very easy and simple. You just need to follow these steps:
Downloading and installing Scratch 3
If you want to use Scratch 3 offline, you can download and install it on your computer. Scratch 3 is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chrome OS. You can download it from the official website: . To install it, you just need to follow the instructions on the screen. Once you have installed Scratch 3, you can launch it from your desktop or start menu.
Exploring the Scratch 3 interface
If you want to use Scratch 3 online, you can access it from any web browser that supports HTML5. You can go to the official website: and click on the "Create" button. This will take you to the Scratch 3 editor, where you can create your projects. The Scratch 3 editor has four main areas:
The Stage is where you can see your sprites and backdrops. You can change the size and position of the stage by dragging the corners or edges. You can also switch between full-screen and small-screen modes by clicking on the icons at the top-right corner.
The Sprite List is where you can see all the sprites in your project. You can add new sprites by clicking on the icons at the bottom-left corner. You can also delete, duplicate, rename, or reorder your sprites by right-clicking on them.
The Blocks Palette is where you can find all the blocks that you can use in your project. You can select different categories of blocks by clicking on the tabs at the top. You can also search for blocks by typing in the search box at the bottom.
The Code Area is where you can drag and drop blocks to create your code. You can snap blocks together to make them work as a unit. You can also separate, delete, duplicate, or comment out blocks by right-clicking on them.
Creating your first Scratch 3 project
To create your first Scratch 3 project, you need to follow these steps:
Choose a sprite that you want to use in your project. You can either use one of the default sprites or upload your own image or draw your own sprite.
Choose a backdrop that you want to use in your project. You can either use one of the default backdrops or upload your own image or draw your own backdrop.
Add some blocks to your sprite to make it do something. For example, you can use a "when green flag clicked" block to start your code, a "move steps" block to make your sprite move, and a "say hello for 2 seconds" block to make your sprite say something.
Click on the green flag icon at the top-right corner of the stage to run your code and see what happens.
Experiment with different blocks, sprites, and backdrops to make your project more interesting and fun.
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