Have you ever wanted to create a Scratch program that is interactive or offers multiple outcomes? Some Scratch programs are static: the outcome is fixed and the same thing happens each time. Some are dynamic: they are capable of action or change each time they are run. In order to create dynamic programs, the programmer can use conditional statement blocks (in the Control blocks category) to give instructions on how the project should respond in different circumstances.

Have you used Variable or List blocks in a Scratch project? They can be a powerful tool when you are creating customized programs. Perhaps you have used a variable to store a game score, but did you know a variable can hold numbers or text (also known as a “string”)? And if you are storing a lot of custom information, using a list may be more efficient than creating multiple variables. Let’s explore what variables and lists are, and see a number of ways they can be used.

Have you seen the “My Blocks” category in the Scratch blocks palette? When you click on it, no blocks are present until you create one. Let’s explore how to create a customized block and when and why you might want to use them.

Cartesian coordinates are a way to describe the position of a point on a grid. The grid is made up of two lines called the x-axis and the y-axis, which intersect at a point called the origin. The x-axis runs horizontally, while the y-axis runs vertically. Each point on the grid has a unique pair of x and y-coordinates. The x-coordinate tells us how far left or right the point is from the origin, while the y-coordinate tells us how far up or down the point is from the origin. By using Cartesian coordinates, we can precisely identify and locate points on a grid, which will help us position sprites on the stage, etc.