2. Blocks, adding sprite,changing the Backdrop,

Blocks

There are mainly ten types of blocks available in Scratch 3.0. You will now learn about some commonly used blocks. Blocks are the code or command used to create a program in Scratch. It looks like a puzzle piece and each block connects with other blocks to perform a task.

Motion Block

The blocks that are used to control the movement of a Sprite are known as Motion blocks. They are blue in colour. They are used to give motion to the sprite.It provides following types of motions to Sprite:

• Moving Sprite:It helps to move the sprite in a specific direction.

For example, the motion block is used to move a sprite. Here, 10 is the number of steps  that the sprite will move forward. You can change the number of steps. To make the sprite move backward, give a minus (-) sign before the number as shown below. This will move the sprite 30 steps back on the stage.

• Turning Sprite: Typing in the number of degrees you want the sprite to rotate will turn the sprite .If you type in  a negative number , the sprite will go in the opposite direction.

Looks Block

The blocks that are used to add speech and thought bubbles to the sprite are called Looks Block. They are purple in colour. For example, you want to add a speech bubble to the sprite for 2 seconds with a message, ‘Hello!’ as shown. You can change the message by clicking on the message text box and typing your own message. You can also change the time by clicking on the time text box.

Events Block

This is the topmost block. It helps to run the script on the stage as it controls the starting of scripts. It gives you the control of all the blocks as without an event block no program will run.It is green in colour.

To run the script, you have to click on the Go button before the other blocks.

When you open Scratch, the default sprite1 is the cat. The location of the sprite cat is at the centre of the stage. Let me tell you how to add another sprite to the stage.

Adding a Sprite

To add a sprite, follow the given steps:

Step 1 – Click on the Choose a Sprite tool in the Sprites Info Pane.

A Choose a Sprite window opens. It shows the thumbnails of the available sprites.

Step 2 – Click on a sprite to add it to your project. Here, we have added a mouse. Notice that there are now 2 sprites thumbnails in the Sprites Info Pane.

Changing the Backdrop

To change the backdrop, follow the given steps:

Step 1 – Click on the Choose a Backdrop tool in the Sprites Info Pane.

A Choose a Backdrop window opens. It shows the thumbnails of the available backdrops.

Step 2 – Click on a backdrop to add it to your project.

Here we have added a farm backdrop. Notice that the thumbnail of the backdrop appears in the Sprites Info Pane.