Learning Goals 3 min
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Use
think [Hmm...] for (2) secondsandthink [Hmm...]. - Explain what a thought bubble tells an audience that a speech bubble cannot.
- Build a moment where a character thinks one thing and says another.
Warm-Up 7 min
Your characters can talk to each other properly now. But every single thing they know, they have to say out loud — and real stories are not like that.
Quick-fire puzzle
Priya built this and ran it. Two bubbles appeared, one after the other — but they did not look the same. What was different?
when flag clicked
think [Hmm...] for (2) seconds
say [Got it!] for (2) seconds
Reveal the answer
The first bubble was a cloud with little circles trailing to the cat. The second was the ordinary speech bubble with a pointed tail.
Same purple category, same timing, same everything — except a shape that tells the audience whether the words were spoken or only thought.
New Concept — an inside voice 15 min
In a comic, a spiky bubble is a shout and a cloud is a thought. Readers learn to tell them apart without ever being told the rule. Scratch uses the same convention, and gets the same free understanding from your audience.
Blocks reference
| Block | Category | What it does |
|---|---|---|
think [Hmm...] for (2) seconds | Looks | Shows a cloud bubble, holds the script, then clears it. |
think [Hmm...] | Looks | Shows a cloud bubble and moves straight on, leaving it up. |
If those descriptions feel familiar, that is the point: think blocks behave exactly like say blocks in every respect except the shape of the bubble. Everything you learned in the last two lessons applies unchanged.
Why an inside voice is worth having
A thought bubble lets the audience know something a character has not shared. That gap between what somebody thinks and what they say is where nearly all comedy and most drama comes from.
The cat thinks “I ate the last one” and then says “I have no idea where it went.” Nobody has to explain the joke.
Sprites cannot actually read each other
Worth being clear: in Scratch, one sprite never truly hears another. Both say and think are only pictures on the screen. The audience understands who heard what, purely from the bubble shape — and that is enough.
Why it matters
Every story you build from here can now have two layers: what happens, and what somebody privately makes of it. That is a big jump in what your cartoons can do.
Worked Example — thinking one thing, saying another 15 min
We build the oldest joke in cartooning: a character whose thoughts contradict their words.
Step 1 — Find the think block
Open the purple Looks category. The think blocks sit immediately below the say blocks, and there are two of them for exactly the same reasons.
Step 2 — Have the cat think something private
Build a timed think and run it. The cloud appears, holds, and clears itself.
when flag clicked
think [I ate the last one...] for (3) seconds
Step 3 — Now have it say the opposite
Snap a say block underneath with a line that contradicts the thought.
when flag clicked
think [I ate the last one...] for (3) seconds
say [No idea where it went!] for (3) seconds
Step 4 — Run it and watch the shapes
The cloud appears with its trailing circles, clears, and is replaced by a pointed speech bubble. Nobody needs the difference explained.
Step 5 — Give Abby a reaction
On Abby, add a script that waits through both of the cat’s bubbles and then replies — as somebody who only heard the second one would.
when flag clicked
wait (6) seconds
say [Strange. It was here a minute ago.] for (3) seconds
Step 6 — Try swapping them round
Change the think into a say and run it again. The joke collapses instantly, because now Abby has apparently heard a confession and ignored it.
That is worth sitting with. The only thing that changed was one block, and the whole meaning of the scene went with it.
What changed: your characters now have an inside and an outside, and your audience can see both.
The full assembled scripts (your reference)
when flag clicked
think [I ate the last one...] for (3) seconds
say [No idea where it went!] for (3) seconds
when flag clicked
wait (6) seconds
say [Strange. It was here a minute ago.] for (3) seconds
Try It Yourself — three small builds 12 min
Goal: Make the cat think, then decide, then announce — a small moment of working something out.
when flag clicked
think [Which way?] for (2) seconds
think [Left, I think.] for (2) seconds
say [This way!] for (2) seconds
Think: two clouds then a speech bubble. The audience watches a decision being made rather than just hearing the result.
Goal: Make the cat think while it walks. You will need the plain version, not the timed one.
when flag clicked
go to x: (-150) y: (0)
think [Where did I leave it?]
glide (3) secs to x: (150) y: (0)
think []
Think: an empty think block clears the cloud, exactly like an empty say clears a speech bubble. Same rules, different shape.
Mini-mission: the misunderstanding. Write a scene where two characters each think something different about the same moment, and neither of them says it — so only the audience can see why it goes wrong.
It works if: a classmate can watch once and explain what each character wrongly believed, without you telling them. Keep each stack under 8 blocks.
Think: the two thoughts must not appear at exactly the same moment, or the audience will not know which belongs to whom. How do you stagger them?
Mini-Challenge — the secret 5 min
“What the cat is not saying”
Build a short scene in which the audience learns something the other character never finds out.
It works if:
- One flag click plays the whole scene.
- At least one thought bubble and one speech bubble appear, and they say different things.
- The second character reacts only to what was actually said aloud.
- A watcher can tell you the secret afterwards, even though nobody spoke it.
Reveal one valid solution (teacher)
when flag clicked
think [I broke the cup.] for (3) seconds
say [I have not seen it!] for (3) seconds
when flag clicked
wait (6) seconds
say [How odd. I will look upstairs.] for (3) seconds
The mark of success is whether the audience laughs. If Abby’s reply makes sense as an answer to the spoken line only, the scene is working.
Recap 2 min
Think blocks work identically to say blocks — timed and untimed, cleared the same way — and differ only in the shape of the bubble. That difference is enough for an audience to understand who heard what. The gap between what a character thinks and what they say is where most stories actually live.
- think (block)
- A Looks block that shows a cloud bubble. Comes in timed and untimed versions, like say.
- Thought bubble
- The rounded cloud with trailing circles. Signals words that were not spoken aloud.
- Speech bubble
- The pointed bubble. Signals words the other characters would have heard.
- Dramatic irony
- When the audience knows something a character does not. Thought bubbles are the simplest way to create it.
Homework 1 min
The two-layer moment. Build a short scene where a character’s thoughts and words disagree.
- Write the thought and the spoken line on paper first. They must contradict each other.
- Build the cat’s script with a timed think followed by a timed say.
- Give a second sprite a reply that only makes sense as an answer to the spoken line.
- Screenshot both Script Areas.
when flag clicked
think [I ate the last one...] for (3) seconds
say [No idea where it went!] for (3) seconds
Bring back next class:
- Screenshots of both scripts.
- Your answer to: “If you changed the think block to a say block, why would the second character’s reply stop making sense?”
Heads up for next class: SCR-L01-26 introduces costumes, so your characters can change how they look as well as what they say.