Showing posts with label variables. Show all posts
Showing posts with label variables. Show all posts

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Help Getting Started with Scratch


   I will be teaching a mathematics class this Fall for middle and high school math teachers. The course requires that students do a bit of programming in the Scratch environment. To smooth their entry into Scratch,  I have written three Getting Started with Scratch  documents.
   The first document guides the reader through the steps of building a script that draws a square with a side length of 100 steps. This introduces the blocks menu and the mechanics of connecting blocks together to build a script.
   The second document describes how to create variables, sliders, and how to set the minimum and maximum values in a slider. The size of the square is now under variable control.
   The third document helps the reader build a script that will draw any regular polygon. In a regular polygon the side lengths are equal. A slider controls the number of sides and again, the side length is controlled by a slider. 
   The relationship between the number of sides and the turn angle for a regular polygon of n sides requires a bit of mathematical analysis.

   You may request any or all of these documents—in PDF format— by sending an email to: grandadscience@gmail.com.           
            Getting Started with Scratch - Part 1
            Getting Started with Scratch - Part 2
            Getting Started with Scratch - Part 3