Using Scratch and Minecraft in Middle Years Maths

Britt Gow, 2015

Science and Maths teacherHawkesdale P12 College

SW Victoria

Technomaths blog since 2010

Twitter @brittgowbrittgow@gmail.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgqAcTxiToE

http://technomaths.edublogs.org/2015/05/24/year-8-increasing-volume-with-three-little-pigs/

https://scratch.mit.edu/

What is Scratch?

• ‘Scratch’ is an online website and offline software that can be used to create simple animations. It has a range of characters (called ‘sprites’) and backgrounds that can be combined in a multitude of ways. The ‘sprite’ performs on a stage, which is based on the Cartesian co-ordinate system, with (0,0) at the centre. The user creates an animation using simple drag-and-drop commands, such as ‘go to (x,y)’; ‘move 100 steps’ or ‘turn 90 degrees’.

General, transferable skills

• Logical and creative thinking

• Systematic reasoning with instant feedback

• Communication and collaboration with peers

• Problem solving

• Developing patience and persistence

• Greater sense of control and responsibility for the learning process

https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/59482726/

What Maths concepts can you learn?

• Cartesian co-ordinate system

• Identifying, creating and naming angles (acute, right, obtuse, straight and reflex)

• Identifying, creating and naming polygons

• How to calculate the perimeter of polygons

• How to calculate the area of polygons

Scratch Resources

• Scratch for Parents https://scratch.mit.edu/parents/

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• Why Learn Scratch? http://learnscratch.org/resources/why-learn-scratch

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• Why Kids Should Learn Scratch https://thecoderfactory.com/posts/Why-Kids-Should-Learn-Scratch

Victorian F-10 Curriculum

• Creating symmetrical patterns, pictures and shapes with (and without) digital technologies (Year 4);

• Applying the enlargement transformation to familiar two-dimensional shapes and exploring the properties of the resulting image compared with the original (Year 5);

• Introducing the Cartesian Co-ordinate system using all four quadrats (Year 6);

• Describing translations, reflections in an axis and rotations of multiples of 90 degrees on the Cartesian plane using co-ordinates (Year 7); and

• Plotting linear relationships on the Cartesian plane with (and without) the use of digital technologies (Year 8).

Thanks for your participation in this session!

Feel free to contact me by email or Twitter @brittgow

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