Animate Comics with Code in Scratch! (ages 8-12)
Over 5 lessons, students will learn to make animated comics with the programming environment Scratch. Students will learn fundamentals of animation, storytelling, and coding, and design their own project by the end.
What's included
5 live meetings
6 hrs 15 mins in-class hoursProjects
1 hour per week. Students will work on the project entirely during class time, but will retain access to the project to work on or expand indefinitely. We will work on some smaller assets early on in the course, building up to one full project over the course of the week. Students will receive positive, growth-oriented feedback as they work on the project together in the class and upon completion.Certificate of Completion
Upon completion, students will show off their project and receive a certificate of completion, recognizing their accomplishment in designing and coding an animated comic.Class Experience
Beginner - Intermediate Level
Over 5 lessons, students will learn to make animated comics with the programming environment Scratch. Lessons will cover fundamentals of animation, comic page layouts, story design, and selection of simple drag-and-drop coding options in Scratch. With fun story beats in mind, students will learn to move sprites around and utilize advanced techniques through cloning, broadcasting, and loops. Each bit of coding will be introduced with a clear visual output in mind so we can experiment, test, and revise quickly and easily, making this project suitable for ages 8+. By the end of this course, students will have designed, coded, and animated a short comic they can keep and share. This will be structured as a guided hands-on project, using a constructivist I Do - We Do - You Do structure where students learn key skills and apply them through their own playful exploration. As we progress, we will learn new skills and build on existing working to make more and more involved projects.
Learning Goals
Students will learn to draw and create animations in the programming environment Scratch.Students will learn to code in the programming environment Scratch.
Syllabus
5 Lessons
over 1 WeekLesson 1:
Animations and Effects
Learn fundamentals about how animation works and how it can be used to achieve fun effects in stories and games. 75 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Comic Pages and Story Design
Learn how to design and organize panels to tell a story, and learn how to plan out a beginning, end, and key moments to connect the two. 75 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Creating Our Comics Animations: Intro to Coding
Learn fundamentals of how to place and move your characters and objects around to start laying out your animated story. 75 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Creating Our Comics Animations: Advanced Coding
Learn more advanced coding techniques such as loops, broadcasting, and cloning to set your panels up to work together and support further changes. 75 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Students will use the programming environment Scratch (https://scratch.mit.edu), designed by the MIT Media Lab to allow children to practice coding using drag-and-drop blocks with a clear visual output and easy to use organizational system. A free account is required.
I will try to keep students inside the Create mode, but note that while Scratch Foundation provides active moderation to keep the platform child-friendly, the platform does host a wide variety of user-created games and animations.
Pre-Requisites
No prior experience or knowledge needed! Learners will need to be able to access the online platform Scratch.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Joined July, 2024
Teacher expertise and credentials
Doctoral Degree in English Language and Literature from Stony Brook University
Following nearly a decade in higher education, I have spent the past 2.5 years leading programs just like this one for students in this age group in schools, day cares, and learning centers.Reviews
Live Group Course
$75
for 5 classes5x per week, 1 week
75 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 8-12
1-9 learners per class
