Planning on Paper — Scratch L1

Learning Goals 3 min

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

Fill in a sprite-list table on paper — naming each sprite, what it does, and which blocks it needs.
Sketch a tiny script-sketch for one sprite before opening the Scratch editor.
Use your paper plan to rebuild the Hari Raya story from SCR-L01-45 without guessing what to drag next.

Warm-Up 7 min

Last lesson you built the Hari Raya two-scene story. Today you'll learn the habit that makes every future project faster: plan on paper before you touch the editor.

Quick-fire puzzle

Imran starts a new project with no plan. He clicks the flag and sees this script run:


when flag clicked
switch backdrop to [night v]
play sound [Meow v]
say [Hello!] for (2) seconds

Three actions, all on one sprite, no plan written down.

Reveal: what's missing?

Nothing is wrong — but nothing tells Imran why he wrote these three lines, or what the project is meant to be. He'll forget tomorrow. A friend can't help him. He can't extend it without re-reading every block.

A one-page plan would have said: "A cat greets the audience at night. Sprite: cat. Backdrop: night. Sound: meow. Words: Hello!" Twenty seconds to write. Saves an hour later.

New Concept — the paper plan, three boxes 15 min

A Scratch plan is not an essay. It is three small boxes you can sketch on the back of any exercise book in five minutes:

The project sentence — one line saying what the project does.
The sprite-list table — every sprite, its job, and which blocks it needs.
A script-sketch per sprite — a tiny ladder of block names.

Plan on paper before you open Scratch — one page, five minutes, every project.

The sprite-list table

This is the heart of the plan. Three columns, one row per sprite:

Sprite Name	What it does	Which blocks
Aisyah's Cat	Walks across the screen, says "Selamat datang!"	when flag clicked, move, say
Ketupat	Falls from the top of the Stage. Score goes up if the cat catches it.	when flag clicked, go to, glide, change score

You don't need to know exactly which blocks yet. A rough list is fine — "move", "say", "wait" is enough. The point is to think before you drag.

The script-sketch

For each sprite, scribble a tiny ladder. One block name per line. Two-space indent for the body of a repeat (10) or forever block.


when flag clicked
go to x: (-200) y: (0)
say [Selamat Hari Raya!] for (2) seconds
move (50) steps

A script-sketch lives in your notebook first. Later, it becomes blocks in the editor — line for line.

Notice the script-sketch uses the same words as the real blocks. That's on purpose. When you open Scratch, you don't have to translate — you just grab.

Why it matters

Every project from SCR-L01-43 onward has several sprites and several scripts. Without a plan, you forget which sprite does what. With a plan, you build the project once and never re-read a block to find your place.

Worked Example — re-planning the Hari Raya story 15 min

Last lesson you built SCR-L01-45 from the lesson page. Today you'll pretend you haven't built it yet, and produce the paper plan a real engineer would write first.

Step 1 — Write the project sentence

One line. What does the project do? Write it across the top of your page:

"A two-scene Hari Raya story: a daytime open house with a cat greeting visitors, then a night-time fireworks scene."

Step 2 — List the sprites

Three sprites for this story. Fill in the table:

Sprite Name	What it does	Which blocks
Aisyah's Cat	Walks in from the left, says "Selamat Hari Raya!"	when flag clicked, go to, move, say
Ketupat	Sits on the table. Says "Makan!" when clicked.	when sprite clicked, say
Firework	Appears in the night sky, plays a "pop" sound.	when backdrop switches, show, play sound, hide

Step 3 — Sketch each script

One little ladder per sprite. Use the same words as real blocks — that way, you can copy your plan straight into Scratch.

Aisyah's Cat:


when flag clicked
switch backdrop to [open-house v]
go to x: (-200) y: (-50)
move (100) steps
say [Selamat Hari Raya!] for (2) seconds

The cat's plan — 5 lines, well under the 8-block cap.

Ketupat:


when this sprite clicked
say [Makan!] for (1) seconds

Ketupat is simple — just two blocks, on a click.

Firework:


when backdrop switches to [night v]
show
start sound [Pop v]
wait (1) seconds
hide

Firework reacts to the scene change — five blocks, exactly at the cap minus three.

Step 4 — Sketch the Stage

Add a tiny rectangle to your page. Draw where each sprite starts. Label the two backdrops in the corners.

Stage sketch on paper. Three sprites positioned. Two backdrops named. This drawing took 30 seconds and replaces an hour of trial-and-error.

What changed: you built the same Hari Raya story as last lesson — but this time, every block you'll drag is already named on paper. The editor is just for assembly.

The full paper plan, in one glance

Your finished page should look like this:

Top: the project sentence in one line.
Middle-left: the sprite-list table (three rows).
Middle-right: the three script-sketches (one per sprite).
Bottom: the Stage sketch with starting positions.

One page. Five minutes. Every Scratch project from now on starts here.

Try It Yourself — three paper plans 12 min

Open your notebook. For each task, produce the paper plan only — no Scratch editor yet.

🟢 Easy

Goal: Plan a one-sprite "name greeting" project. The cat says hello to you when the flag is clicked. Fill in just one row of the sprite-list table, then sketch the script.


when flag clicked
say [Hello, my name is Aisyah!] for (2) seconds

Think: What's the project sentence? Write one line at the top of your page. ("A cat that says hello to the audience.")

🟡 Medium

Goal: Plan a two-sprite chase. The cat walks slowly across the Stage; a ketupat tries to follow. List both sprites in your sprite-list table, then sketch the cat's script:


when flag clicked
go to x: (-200) y: (0)
repeat (10)
  move (40) steps
  wait (0.5) seconds
end

Think: What blocks does the ketupat need? Sketch its script in your notebook before peeking at the cat's script.

🔴 Stretch

Goal: Plan a three-sprite mini-game: roti-canai falls, the cat catches it, score goes up. Fill in three rows of the sprite-list table. Sketch each script. (Don't open Scratch — just plan.)


when flag clicked
set [score v] to (0)
forever
  go to x: (pick random (-200) to (200)) y: (180)
  glide (2) secs to x: (x position) y: (-180)
end

Think: Which sprite owns this script — the roti-canai or the cat? Label your sketch clearly. The cat's script will be different — what does it need?

Mini-Challenge — your own project, planned in 5 minutes 5 min

"Plan first, build later"

Pick a project idea from your head. It can be a story, a tiny game, an animated greeting — anything that uses sprites you've seen this level. Produce a full paper plan in five minutes.

It works if your paper has:

One project sentence at the top.
A sprite-list table with at least 2 rows.
A script-sketch for at least one sprite (the rest can be jotted as "tbd").
A Stage sketch showing where each sprite starts.

Reveal one valid plan

Project sentence: A pasar-pagi (morning market) animation where a customer asks a stall owner for nasi lemak.

Sprite	What it does	Which blocks
Customer	Walks up to the stall, asks for nasi lemak.	when flag, go to, move, say
Stall Owner	Waits for the customer, then replies.	when backdrop switches, say
Nasi Lemak	Appears when the order is placed.	when sprite clicked, show

That's it. Five minutes. Now you could open Scratch and build it directly from this sheet — no decisions left to make mid-build.

🚀 Mission — Plan Your Dream Project

On paper (not in Scratch!), plan a project you truly want to build one day. It can be a game, a story, an animation, or anything you like.

Write one project sentence at the top — what does it do?
Fill in a sprite-list table with at least 2 sprites: name, job, and 2–3 blocks each.
Sketch a script ladder for your favourite sprite — one block name per line.
Draw a Stage rectangle and mark where each sprite starts. Label any backdrops in the corners.
Keep your plan short — one notebook page, five minutes maximum.

✅ Done when: your page has a project sentence, a sprite-list table, at least one script sketch, and a Stage rectangle with positions marked. Going further: swap your plan with a classmate — can they understand your project without you explaining it? If yes, your plan is clear enough to hand to any coder.

Recap 2 min

Today you learned the planning habit professional coders use every day: a project sentence at the top, a sprite-list table in the middle, a script-sketch per sprite, and a Stage sketch at the bottom. One page, five minutes. Every project from SCR-L01-43 onward fits on one sheet of paper before you touch the editor.

Project sentence: One line at the top of your paper plan saying what the project does. The "why" of the build.
Sprite-list table: Three columns: Sprite Name, What it does, Which blocks. One row per sprite in the project.
Script-sketch: A tiny ladder of block names you scribble in your notebook, one block per line. Becomes real blocks later.
Stage sketch: A rough rectangle showing where each sprite starts on the Stage. Backdrops labelled in the corners.

Homework 1 min

Plan one project end-to-end. Pick any project idea — Hari Raya, CNY, Deepavali, a market scene, a school-bag mini-game, whatever you like. Produce the full paper plan in your notebook:

One project sentence.
A sprite-list table — at least 2 sprites, ideally 3.
A script-sketch for each sprite.
A Stage sketch with starting positions.

Bring back next class:

The finished paper plan (a photo of your notebook page, or the page itself).
Your answer to this question: "Did you find any block you weren't sure how to write? What would you ask the teacher about it?"

Heads up for next class: SCR-L01-47 teaches how to write the Notes & Credits and Instructions boxes on the scratch.mit.edu project page — so a friend who opens your project knows what to do.

Learning Goals 3 min

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

Fill in a sprite-list table on paper — naming each sprite, what it does, and which blocks it needs.
Sketch a tiny script-sketch for one sprite before opening the Scratch editor.
Use your paper plan to rebuild the Hari Raya story from SCR-L01-45 without guessing what to drag next.

Warm-Up 7 min

Last lesson you built the Hari Raya two-scene story. Today you'll learn the habit that makes every future project faster: plan on paper before you touch the editor.

Quick-fire puzzle

Imran starts a new project with no plan. He clicks the flag and sees this script run:


when flag clicked
switch backdrop to [night v]
play sound [Meow v]
say [Hello!] for (2) seconds

Three actions, all on one sprite, no plan written down.

Reveal: what's missing?

A one-page plan would have said: "A cat greets the audience at night. Sprite: cat. Backdrop: night. Sound: meow. Words: Hello!" Twenty seconds to write. Saves an hour later.

New Concept — the paper plan, three boxes 15 min

A Scratch plan is not an essay. It is three small boxes you can sketch on the back of any exercise book in five minutes:

The project sentence — one line saying what the project does.
The sprite-list table — every sprite, its job, and which blocks it needs.
A script-sketch per sprite — a tiny ladder of block names.

Plan on paper before you open Scratch — one page, five minutes, every project.

The sprite-list table

This is the heart of the plan. Three columns, one row per sprite:

Sprite Name	What it does	Which blocks
Aisyah's Cat	Walks across the screen, says "Selamat datang!"	when flag clicked, move, say
Ketupat	Falls from the top of the Stage. Score goes up if the cat catches it.	when flag clicked, go to, glide, change score

You don't need to know exactly which blocks yet. A rough list is fine — "move", "say", "wait" is enough. The point is to think before you drag.

The script-sketch

For each sprite, scribble a tiny ladder. One block name per line. Two-space indent for the body of a repeat (10) or forever block.


when flag clicked
go to x: (-200) y: (0)
say [Selamat Hari Raya!] for (2) seconds
move (50) steps

A script-sketch lives in your notebook first. Later, it becomes blocks in the editor — line for line.

Notice the script-sketch uses the same words as the real blocks. That's on purpose. When you open Scratch, you don't have to translate — you just grab.

Why it matters

Worked Example — re-planning the Hari Raya story 15 min

Last lesson you built SCR-L01-45 from the lesson page. Today you'll pretend you haven't built it yet, and produce the paper plan a real engineer would write first.

Step 1 — Write the project sentence

One line. What does the project do? Write it across the top of your page:

"A two-scene Hari Raya story: a daytime open house with a cat greeting visitors, then a night-time fireworks scene."

Step 2 — List the sprites

Three sprites for this story. Fill in the table:

Sprite Name	What it does	Which blocks
Aisyah's Cat	Walks in from the left, says "Selamat Hari Raya!"	when flag clicked, go to, move, say
Ketupat	Sits on the table. Says "Makan!" when clicked.	when sprite clicked, say
Firework	Appears in the night sky, plays a "pop" sound.	when backdrop switches, show, play sound, hide

Step 3 — Sketch each script

One little ladder per sprite. Use the same words as real blocks — that way, you can copy your plan straight into Scratch.

Aisyah's Cat:


when flag clicked
switch backdrop to [open-house v]
go to x: (-200) y: (-50)
move (100) steps
say [Selamat Hari Raya!] for (2) seconds

The cat's plan — 5 lines, well under the 8-block cap.

Ketupat:


when this sprite clicked
say [Makan!] for (1) seconds

Ketupat is simple — just two blocks, on a click.

Firework:


when backdrop switches to [night v]
show
start sound [Pop v]
wait (1) seconds
hide

Firework reacts to the scene change — five blocks, exactly at the cap minus three.

Step 4 — Sketch the Stage

Add a tiny rectangle to your page. Draw where each sprite starts. Label the two backdrops in the corners.

Stage sketch on paper. Three sprites positioned. Two backdrops named. This drawing took 30 seconds and replaces an hour of trial-and-error.

What changed: you built the same Hari Raya story as last lesson — but this time, every block you'll drag is already named on paper. The editor is just for assembly.

The full paper plan, in one glance

Your finished page should look like this:

Top: the project sentence in one line.
Middle-left: the sprite-list table (three rows).
Middle-right: the three script-sketches (one per sprite).
Bottom: the Stage sketch with starting positions.

One page. Five minutes. Every Scratch project from now on starts here.

Try It Yourself — three paper plans 12 min

Open your notebook. For each task, produce the paper plan only — no Scratch editor yet.

🟢 Easy

Goal: Plan a one-sprite "name greeting" project. The cat says hello to you when the flag is clicked. Fill in just one row of the sprite-list table, then sketch the script.


when flag clicked
say [Hello, my name is Aisyah!] for (2) seconds

Think: What's the project sentence? Write one line at the top of your page. ("A cat that says hello to the audience.")

🟡 Medium

Goal: Plan a two-sprite chase. The cat walks slowly across the Stage; a ketupat tries to follow. List both sprites in your sprite-list table, then sketch the cat's script:


when flag clicked
go to x: (-200) y: (0)
repeat (10)
  move (40) steps
  wait (0.5) seconds
end

Think: What blocks does the ketupat need? Sketch its script in your notebook before peeking at the cat's script.

🔴 Stretch

Goal: Plan a three-sprite mini-game: roti-canai falls, the cat catches it, score goes up. Fill in three rows of the sprite-list table. Sketch each script. (Don't open Scratch — just plan.)


when flag clicked
set [score v] to (0)
forever
  go to x: (pick random (-200) to (200)) y: (180)
  glide (2) secs to x: (x position) y: (-180)
end

Think: Which sprite owns this script — the roti-canai or the cat? Label your sketch clearly. The cat's script will be different — what does it need?

Mini-Challenge — your own project, planned in 5 minutes 5 min

"Plan first, build later"

Pick a project idea from your head. It can be a story, a tiny game, an animated greeting — anything that uses sprites you've seen this level. Produce a full paper plan in five minutes.

It works if your paper has:

One project sentence at the top.
A sprite-list table with at least 2 rows.
A script-sketch for at least one sprite (the rest can be jotted as "tbd").
A Stage sketch showing where each sprite starts.

Reveal one valid plan

Project sentence: A pasar-pagi (morning market) animation where a customer asks a stall owner for nasi lemak.

Sprite	What it does	Which blocks
Customer	Walks up to the stall, asks for nasi lemak.	when flag, go to, move, say
Stall Owner	Waits for the customer, then replies.	when backdrop switches, say
Nasi Lemak	Appears when the order is placed.	when sprite clicked, show

That's it. Five minutes. Now you could open Scratch and build it directly from this sheet — no decisions left to make mid-build.

🚀 Mission — Plan Your Dream Project

On paper (not in Scratch!), plan a project you truly want to build one day. It can be a game, a story, an animation, or anything you like.

Write one project sentence at the top — what does it do?
Fill in a sprite-list table with at least 2 sprites: name, job, and 2–3 blocks each.
Sketch a script ladder for your favourite sprite — one block name per line.
Draw a Stage rectangle and mark where each sprite starts. Label any backdrops in the corners.
Keep your plan short — one notebook page, five minutes maximum.

Recap 2 min

Project sentence: One line at the top of your paper plan saying what the project does. The "why" of the build.
Sprite-list table: Three columns: Sprite Name, What it does, Which blocks. One row per sprite in the project.
Script-sketch: A tiny ladder of block names you scribble in your notebook, one block per line. Becomes real blocks later.
Stage sketch: A rough rectangle showing where each sprite starts on the Stage. Backdrops labelled in the corners.

Homework 1 min

Plan one project end-to-end. Pick any project idea — Hari Raya, CNY, Deepavali, a market scene, a school-bag mini-game, whatever you like. Produce the full paper plan in your notebook:

One project sentence.
A sprite-list table — at least 2 sprites, ideally 3.
A script-sketch for each sprite.
A Stage sketch with starting positions.

Bring back next class:

The finished paper plan (a photo of your notebook page, or the page itself).
Your answer to this question: "Did you find any block you weren't sure how to write? What would you ask the teacher about it?"

Heads up for next class: SCR-L01-47 teaches how to write the Notes & Credits and Instructions boxes on the scratch.mit.edu project page — so a friend who opens your project knows what to do.