Specialist STEM

Year 2 STEM Scratch Junior Games Newsletter 🎮

Welcome to the Year 2 STEM Scratch Junior Games Newsletter!

This term, our Year 2 students have been busy learning how to create their very own games using Scratch Junior — a fantastic app that lets young coders bring their stories and ideas to life with programming!

What is Scratch Junior?

Scratch Junior is a fun, easy and free coding app designed for 5-8 year olds. It helps students learn basic programming concepts like sequencing, loops and events by making animated stories and interactive games.

Games by Jasper S, Jasper O, Lucy and Peter

We use colourful coding blocks to make lots of different games. Coding is giving instructions to a computer.  We snap blocks together to make a sequence.  We learnt about blocks like “start”, “move”, “say” and “repeat”!  First, we chose a background and added characters called “sprites”. We used coding blocks to make things happen — like moving left and right or jumping. We made games where you had to jump to avoid obstacles, remember things or reach a goal!

Learning Key Skills

• Problem-solving: Figuring out how to make their games work the way they want
• Creativity: Designing unique characters and stories
• Collaboration: Working together to test and improve their games

Tips for Parents

Want to help your child explore coding at home? Here are some easy ways to get started:

• Download the Scratch Junior app on a tablet
• Encourage your child to tell you the story behind their game
• Ask them to show you how to make characters move or talk