Grade 6 – Structures and Mechanisms

Lesson Summary: Students will create a playable quiz game that demonstrates the impact of aviation on the

environment and how to reduce its negative impacts.

Curriculum Expectations: These expectations are intended to highlight the many ways in which this lesson could support

the curriculum. It is neither expected nor necessary for teachers to address all of these expectations at once. Teachers

are encouraged to select the most relevant expectations based on their unique context and intentions for the lesson.

A2.1 write and execute code in investigations and when modelling concepts, with a focus on obtaining input

in different ways for a variety of purposes

A2.2 identify and describe impacts of coding and of emerging technologies on everyday life

To paraphrase these expectations and express them in plainer language, students are being asked to:

● write code to demonstrate a science-related concept, focusing on writing code that asks the user to provide

information or data

● show how coding impacts our lives

Success Criteria:

1. I can use a variety of event blocks to control the flow of my program

2. I can use conditionals to evaluate a player’s response

3. I can collect and use input from the player to change the outcome of my program

4. I can use variables to store data, including input from the player

5. I can effectively share information about the impacts of aviation on the environment.

STEM Profile:

(the data or information) and you use that response to determine what flavour of ice cream to purchase for a treat

(using the data to influence the outcome).

Discussion: Can students think of a real-life example of a time when they have sought input?

3. In small groups or as a class, brainstorm with students the types of questions they will ask in their quiz game,

including a mix of questions about the impacts of aviation on the environment, as well as strategies that can be

used to reduce this impact. Some sample prompts include:

the impacts of aviation. Students should plan out their questions by drawing pictures and writing a few words or

sentences, including any dialogue that will appear on screen, and starting to plan their code, if applicable. Teachers may

wish to provide a list of words from which to choose, a scribe, or other assistive technology to support students.

Creating Our Project:

Since every student’s project will be unique, there is no single, step-by-step set of instructions to follow; however, the

information below will support your students in the general process of creating a game, as well as key features that they

will likely want to include. This sample code further demonstrates how the project might work and please note that

there is code included for each of the sprites and the stage. For your reference, Scratch determines where to display

answers to each question that will be asked. Each question should have its own backdrop that includes just the

answers for that question (i.e., the question will be included as part of your code) and be sure to name your

backgrounds clearly.

2. Choose a sprite to serve as the “host” of your game. All code written for this project will be in this sprite.

Part 2: Opening Scene & Score

1. Add the When Green Flag Clicked block and use the Go To X () Y () block to position your sprite

2. In the Variables menu, create a variable called Score and uncheck the variable so it does not appear on screen.

3. Use the Set () to () block to set the Score variable to 0.

6. Use a Wait Until () block and drag a Key () Pressed? block from the blue Sensing menu into the empty space of the

Wait Until () block. Set it to the Space key.

7. Finally, add a Switch Backdrop To () block and set it to switch to the background that represents your first question.

question.

2. Use the Go To X () Y () block to reposition your sprite, if necessary.

3. Use the Ask () And Wait block from the blue Sensing menu to ask the question that the player is expected to answer.

The answer options should be shown as part of your background.

4. Drag out an If () Then, Else block add a () = () block from the green Operators menu to the black space of the If ()

Then, Else block.

5. In the first blank space of the () = () block, add the Answer block from the blue Sensing menu. In the second blank

space, add the letter that matches the correct answer for your quiz question.

6. The If Then section of the If () Then, Else block will run if the player inputs the correct answer. In this section, add:

a. A Change () By () block from the orange Variables menu. Set it to match the Score variable and to increase

second question.

Part 4: Setting Up Additional Questions

1. Repeat the steps in Part 3 for all subsequent questions, using a new When Backdrop Switches To () event block to

trigger the code for that question and the final Switch Backdrop To () block being changed to move on to the

following question. Make sure that the Answer = () operator aligns with the correct answer.

2. To save time, you can right click on a section of code and select Duplicate in order to make an exact copy of code

that has already been written.

4. Add a Join () () block from the green Operators menu to the blank space of the Say () block

5. In the first blank space of the Join () () block, write the beginning of a message that will tell the player what their

final score was (do not include any number for the score).

6. In the second blank space of the Join () () block, drag the round Score block that was created in Part 2 from the

orange Variables menu. This will ensure that the score displayed to the user represents the actual number of

questions they got correct and will change each time the game is played, depending on the player’s performance.

Extensions

● Students can take their own photos and upload them as backdrops and/or sprites using the Paint Editor

1. Students should be provided with time to share their projects with others and to engage in self and peer

assessment. This can be done in a variety of different formats, including a gallery walk, whole class presentation, or

fully functional product.

To assess learning, teachers can conference with students throughout the creation of their projects using the

anecdotal prompts in Appendix B and documenting these discussions using an anecdotal observations chart.

Teachers are encouraged to consider the troubleshooting strategies used by students throughout the project, their

ability to explain how their project works, and what they might do differently in the future.

3. A rubric can be used to evaluate the final product. This and other assessment and evaluation tools can be modified,

as needed.

● If you have no access to devices, you can:

o print images of the Scratch blocks in the folder at this link, cut them out and have students create their

o You may also wish to print out images of the background scenes and characters to further support students

Appendix A: Self and Peer Feedback

o Thumbs Up

o WIN

with students to discuss their projects and progress. The process is just as, if not more, important than the final product

when it comes to coding, so this is key to truly understanding a student's understanding.

Key Concepts