Savana desert with a sprite giraffe.

Scratch Basics Episode 2: Deleting a Sprite, Adding a Sprite & Adding a Backdrop

Kayla Blacquiere

Kayla Blacquiere

About the author

Kayla is currently one of the educators in the Lindsay Makerspace who helps plan, design and deliver curriculum for a variety of programs. She has a long history of working with children in many different areas such as gymnastics, cheerleading, summer camps and public schools. She graduated from The University of Western Ontario with a BA and specialization in Nutrition and Families and also recently completed a BEd at Ontario Tech University in the Primary/Junior division. Her recent studies have led her to discover a love and interest for LEGO robotics, coding and STEAM education.

In the series: Scratch Basics Series


Introduction

Scratch is a basic coding language that uses a ‘building block’ style coding to create animated stories, interactive games, simulations, and beautiful artwork. In using Scratch, learners will be introduced to basic coding concepts and develop their computational thinking skills while bringing their own ideas to life. In this series, the basics of Scratch will be introduced to provide learners with the foundational skills required to begin creating in Scratch. 

Scratch makes it easy on learners who are just starting out by organizing the types of code you can use into categories, the code blocks are grouped by the following categories: Motion, Looks, Sound, Events, Controls, Sensing, Operators, Variables and My Blocks. These code blocks can be pieced together in the Code Area like placing jigsaw puzzle pieces together. Students can easily test their code and debug problems with their code by having the Code Area and the Stage both visible at the same time.

In this episode, learners will explore: 

  • Deleting a Sprite
  • Adding a Sprite
  • Adding a Backdrop

Vocabulary

The following vocabulary definitions are directly from Scratch Wiki.

Backdrop (Scratch)
backdrop is an image that can be shown on the Stage.
Code Area
The Code Area is the large empty space to the right of the Block Palette. It is an area for storing blocks that run the project. Blocks can be dragged from the Block Palette into the Code Area and arranged to form scripts.
Sprite (Scratch)
Either user-created, uploaded, or found in the sprites library, are the objects that perform actions in a project.
Sprite Pane (Scratch)
It is a white area located beneath the Stage where all sprites present in a project can be easily accessed to modify or inspect.
Stage (Scratch)
The stage is the area where the sprites are and perform their actions. It is located in the top of the area to the right of the Code Area.

Materials

Scratch 3.0 (Online or Desktop)


Computer Activity

This episode will take you through the steps of deleting a Sprite, adding a Sprite and adding a Backdrop to your Stage.

Deleting A Sprite

  1. Every ‘New Project’ on Scratch will begin with the Cat Sprite. In your Sprite Pane, left click on the garbage can, located in the top right corner of the Sprite that you wish to delete. 
Scratch sprite option.

Adding A Sprite

  1. Hover over the Choose a Sprite icon in the Sprite Pane.
Choose a Sprite icon in the Sprite Pane.
  1. Select the magnifying glass icon.
Choose a Sprite magnify glass icon in the Sprites Pane.
  1. This will take you to the Scratch Sprite library. You can scroll through all Sprites, search for a Sprite using the search bar or select a category from the top of the menu to find a Sprite.
  1. Add the Sprite that you would like to code by left clicking on the sprite. 
  1. The Sprite that you selected will now appear on your Stage and in your Sprite Pane. 
Giraffe sprite visible on the Scratch stage and Sprite Pane.

You can also create your own Sprite. To do this you must:

  1. Hover over the Choose A Sprite icon in the Sprite Pane.
Choose a Sprite icon in the Sprite Pane.
  1. Select the paint brush icon.
Scratch paint option.
  1. This will take you to the area in which you can begin to create your own sprite using the tools available.
Sprite costumes options.
  1. You will see this Sprite appear on your Stage and in your Sprite Pane. 
A painted smiley face.

Adding A Backdrop

  1. Hover over the Choose a Backdrop icon in the bottom right corner of your screen. 
Red arrow pointing towards 'Choose a Backdrop' option located in the Stage menu.
  1. Select the magnifying glass icon.
Red arrow pointing towards 'Choose a Backdrop' option located in the Stage menu.
  1. This will take you to the Scratch Backdrop library. You can scroll through all Backdrops, search for a Backdrop using the search bar or select a category from the top of the menu to find a Backdrop.
Backdrop options highlighted alone the top beside the search bar.
  1. Select the Backdrop that you would like to use on your Stage.
Backdrop selected.
  1. You will see this Backdrop appear on your Stage and in your Backdrop menu. 
Example of the Savana backdrop shown on the stage after selecting it in your Stage menu.

You can also create your own Backdrop. To do this you must:

  1. Hover over the Choose a Backdrop icon in the bottom right corner of your screen. 
Red arrow pointing towards 'Choose a Backdrop' option located in the Stage menu.
  1. Select the paint brush icon.
Backdrop paint option.
  1. This will take you to the area in which you can begin to create your own Backdrop using the tools available.
Paint backdrop area.
  1. You will see this Backdrop appear on your Stage and in your Backdrop menu. 
Painted clouds and grass.

Conclusion

In this episode you learned basic Scratch concepts such as how to delete a sprite, add a sprite and add a backdrop. What will you create now that you have learned a few Scratch Basics?

We want to see the awesome things you’re creating! Take a photo or video and share your work with us by emailing media@pinnguaq.com or tagging @pinnguaq on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Don’t forget to include the hashtag #LearnWithPinnguaq! You can also upload your project to the Pinnguaq Studio.


Resources


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