Upper KS2 Viking raid animation activity
Using sequence in programs
Recommended Year Group: Upper key stage 2: Years 5 & 6
Activity Duration: Approximately 1 hour 15 mins
Concepts and approaches
Algorithms
Programming Sequencing
Tinkering
Debugging
Collaborating
Curriculum links
Computing
use sequence in programs
History
Pupils should be taught about the Vikings. This could include Viking raids (nonstatutory).
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Introduction
In this activity pupils program an animation of a Viking raid in Scratch. In doing so
they learn that programming is the process of implementing algorithms as code
and about the importance of sequencing commands.
Prior knowledge
KS1 Introduction to algorithms
Scratch Tinkering: Pupils should have completed Scratch tinkering so they are
familiar with the Scratch programming environment.
Ideally, pupils will have learnt about Viking raids in history so this activity can help
reinforce this knowledge, however links to resources on Viking raids have also
been included in the teaching notes. You may have to extend the duration of this
activity if more time is to be spent learning about Viking raids first.
Pupil objectives
•I can write a program with a sequence of instructions.
Resources
•MIT’s Scratch 1.4 or Scratch 2.0 (Please refer to this guide on the ways to
download and use our Scratch resources in your school)
Interactive whiteboard for writing up key terms and pupils’ ideas about Viking
raids and to display Scratch as you work through this lesson
Viking raid presentation (see download link at bottom of webpage)
Viking raid algorithm design sheet (One for each pair – see download link at
bottom of webpage)
Scratch commands help sheet (One for each pair if required – see download
link at bottom of webpage)
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•Viking raid extension (One for each pair if required –
see download link at
bottom of webpage)
Pupil access to the Scratch resources. Either downloaded from the download
link at the bottom of this webpage or within the Scratch 2 online editor from
these links: Viking raid example animation; Viking raid animation
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Before you start
•Download the resources required for this activity from the list above.
•Load the presentation ready for the lesson.
•Print the paper based resources required, as explained above.
•Ensure that Scratch is working on your school’s computers and the files for this
activity are downloaded and accessible.
Organisation
•This activity is organised with pupils working in pairs. Each pair will need access
to a computer running Scratch and access to the example file. If you do not have
a sufficient number of computers to make this possible, you may wish to group
pupils in 3s or deliver this lesson with half of your class at a time.
Introduction
•Recap with pupils what an algorithm is (a sequence of instructions, or a set of
rules, for performing a specific task) and ask a couple of pupils to share their
own examples of algorithms, perhaps from previous work.
Write the word programming on the board and explain that when we program
we use an algorithm (which is for humans to follow) to help us write a program in
a computer programming language (code) for a computer to follow.
Explain that the programming language pupils will be using in this activity is
called Scratch. Mention that Scratch is free and pupils can download it or use
it online at home (www.scratch.mit.edu). Explain that a programming language,
such as Scratch, is made up of commands and other keywords. Ask pupils if
they know what the word command means.
Discuss that a command instructs us to do something. Explain that similarly
commands in Scratch tell the computer what to do and we create a program by
joining commands together.
Explain that in this lesson we will be programming an animation of a Viking raid
using the commands in Scratch and that it is important that the events happen
in the correct sequence. Write the word sequence on the board and check
pupils are clear that it means order.
Show slide 2 of the presentation to share the activity learning objective with your
pupils if this is your normal practice.
• I can write a program with a sequence of commands
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Recapping about Viking raids (5 mins + depending on pupils’
knowledge of Vikings)
•Ask pupils to discuss what they know about Viking raids. Ask some pupils to
feedback and write up their ideas on the whiteboard.
Review with pupils key points:
• Vikings came from Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
• Vikings crossed the sea on longships to raid parts of Britain.
• In the raids they burned buildings, stole treasures and murdered
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monks.
• They retreated back to their home countries after the raid.
If pupils need to recap their knowledge about Viking raids, model performing a
search of the world wide web to find web pages of information; if time permits
ask pupils to think about how these results will have been selected and ranked
by the search engine. A selection of web pages has also been provided in the
teaching notes.
Open the Scratch ‘Viking raid example animation’ file on your interactive
whiteboard.
Explain to pupils that this is an example of the type of animation they will be
creating. Explain that within this program the Viking, Monk and Gold Coins are
called sprites, which means they are objects we can program. These are the
objects we will be writing a sequence of commands to control. Show pupils that
each appears in the sprite selection window, as shown below.
Note – a number of other sprites also load with the project (Thor, group of
monks, axe and a storm cloud) this are for use in the extension exercise are
currently hidden when the project opens.
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The Viking raid animation loads with a number of sprites. Pupils will start by using the Viking, monk
and gold in their animation.
•Click the green flag to watch the animation, as shown below.
Click the green flag to watch the example Viking animation
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•After watching the animation, ask pupils why the sequence of this animation
was important? If the Viking had said he was going to steal the gold coins before
seeing them, or the monk had returned from hiding in the woods before the
Viking had arrived then the animation would not have made sense.
Designing the algorithm for their animation (15 mins)
•Explain to pupils that the Scratch file they will use in this activity will load with:
the monastery background and three sprites (a Viking, monk and a pot of gold
coins) – as was shown in the example animation. Note – other sprites for the
extension activity will also load in the Scratch file but will be hidden.
Display slide 3 of the presentation and explain that pupils’ first task is to design
their animation’s algorithm. Explain that their animation is to show a Viking raid
using the three sprites, however emphasise it is up to them to choose what
happens in this raid. The algorithm will be created within a storyboard planning
sheet as shown on slide 3. Pupils should included details on their algorithm
about:
• When and how the sprites move
• When and what the sprites say
Briefly show the example from the model animation on slide 4 to illustrate to
pupils one example of how the storyboard might be completed. Remind pupils
they are free to choose what happens in their own animation. Point out that each
step in the algorithm is numbered. Why do pupils think numbering the steps is
important? So we ensure they are in the correct sequence.
Pupils should now have 15 mins to work in pairs to create their Viking animation
algorithm using the storyboard algorithm design sheet.
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Introducing the Scratch commands (15 mins)
•Once pupils have completed the algorithm design for their animation, open the
‘Viking raid example animation’ Scratch file so it is displaying on the interactive
whiteboard.
Pupils should open the ‘Viking raid animation’ Scratch file.
Once pupils have opened the file they should save their own copy to an
appropriate area on the school network with an appropriate file name, e.g.
adding their initials to the file name or using their individual accounts on the
Scratch website if they have these.
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Selecting ‘File’ then ‘Save as’ in Scratch 1.4 (left) and 2 (right) to save a copy of the project.
•Ask pupils what two different actions they were asked to show on their algorithm
design? Sprites’ movement and speech. Explain that pupils are going to explore
a selection of Scratch’s movement and speech commands so they can turn
their algorithms into programs within Scratch.
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•Getting the sprites moving
•‘go to X: Y:’ & ‘glide _ secs to X: Y:
•Explain to pupils that both the ‘go to X: Y:’ and ‘glide _ secs to X: Y:’ commands
makes a sprite move to the coordinates entered. Show these two commands
within the ‘Motion’ commands.
Show the ‘go to X: Y:’ and ‘glide _ secs to X: Y:’
•Recap briefly that pupils will have encountered coordinates in mathematics. Note
that pupils without a good knowledge of coordinates in four quadrants can still
use these commands (see below) and this will help develop their understanding
of coordinates. In addition, the Viking animation example Scratch file loads with
an alternative grid background to show the coordinate system. To show this to
pupils, select ‘stage’ then ‘background’ and switch to X-Y grid, as shown below
Switching to display the coordinate background
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Finding the coordinates for the movement blocks (Scratch 1.4 and 2)
•Demonstrate to pupils that to find the coordinates that you want the sprite to
move to, you follow the simple steps below:
1. Add a movement command to your program (‘go to X: Y:’ or ‘glide _
secs to X: Y:’)
2. Place the cursor where you would like the sprite to move to within the
stage.
3. Read the X and Y coordinates shown for that position.
4. Enter these into the movement command block you have added.
Two simple steps for finding the coordinates for use in the ‘go to’ and ‘glide to’ commands (Scratch
1.4 & 2)
Finding the coordinates for the movement blocks (Scratch 2 only)
•If your pupils are using Scratch 2, demonstrate there is a second way for
determining the coordinates. Firstly, place the sprite in the location you wish
it to move to, highlight that the coordinates in the movement commands
automatically update so you can just drag the command into the script area
ready to use.
Two simple steps for finding the coordinates for use in the ‘go to’ and ‘glide to’ commands (Scratch
1.4 & 2)
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•Pupils tinkering: Give pupils a few minutes to tinker with adding a few
instances of the movement commands so they become familiar with using these.
Lead a discussion with pupils to determine how the sprite moves differently with
the ‘go to X: Y:’ and ‘glide _ secs to X: Y:’ commands. Discuss that the ‘go to
X: Y:’ command causes a sprite to move instantly to that position, which makes
it ideal for setting the starting position of each sprite. Show that the program
for the monk and coins sprite in the example animation uses a ‘go to X: Y:’
command to set the initial position of the sprite.
Explain to pupils that ensuring sprites start in the correct position is one example
of the need to set initial conditions in a program. Add that this is important to
remember since programs that don’t set initial conditions may run differently
each time. For example, if we didn’t reset a variable being used for a score in a
game, we’d find when we played we were continuing with the previous player’s
high score.
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Each sprite’s program (monk sprite program shown above) starts with a ‘go to X: Y:’ command to set
the initial position.
•Getting the sprites to talk
‘Say _ for _ secs’: Show pupils the ‘Say_for_secs’ command from within the command looks command blocks, as shown below.
The ‘Say _ for _ secs’ command
•Pupils tinkering: Give pupils a few minutes to tinker with the ‘Say _ for _ secs’
command so they become familiar with using this. If you feel your pupils require
further support, model adding this command within the Viking’s script area beneath a ‘When green flag clicked’ command illustrating how to add the text you
wish the sprite to say and changing the duration they will say it for, as shown
below.
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Model how to use the ‘Say _ for _ secs’ command in the Viking sprite.
•‘Wait _ secs’: Show the ‘wait_secs’ command from the control blocks palette, as
shown below.
The ‘wait_secs’ command.
•Pupils tinkering: Give pupils a few minutes to tinker with adding a few
instances of the wait command (with other commands) so they become familiar
with using this.
If you feel pupils need further support, demonstrate that it causes the program
to wait for the time entered before moving on to the next command. This can be
demonstrated by adding the command beneath the ‘Say _ for _ secs’ command
you have just added to the Viking sprite with another instance of the ‘Say _ for
_ secs’ beneath, as shown below. By running this program several times with
different ‘wait times’ entered you can illustrated how the command holds the
program for the time entered.
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llustrate the ‘wait_sec’ command.
•Explain that this command is useful in ensuring that the programs for different
sprites are correctly sequenced so they move and speak at the right time.
When pupils use this command they can first estimate the time they think they
will need to enter then run their programs to observe if this was too long or not
long enough, and adjust the time accordingly. (Pupils could note the wait and
say times on their design sheet to help them keep track of the different sprite
timings.)
Hide & show: Finally, give pupils time to tinker with using the ‘hide’ and ‘show’
commands from the ‘Looks’ commands. If they require further support explain
to pupils that in the example animation program, the ‘hide’ command was used
to make the coins sprite disappear so that it looked like the Viking had collected
it. This can be shown within the coin sprite’s program, as shown below. Pupils
might want to use this command to achieve a similar effect in their programs.
If they do it is important that they also use the ‘show’ command at the start of
the sprite’s program to ensure it reappears when the program is run again, as
shown below. Can pupils recall what including the show command at the start of
the program is another example of? Setting the initial conditions of a program.
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Show the use of the ‘show’ and ‘hide’ sprite within the coin sprite.
Pupils program their animations (20 mins)
•Pupils should now have 20 mins to work in their pairs to implement their Viking
raid animation algorithm as a program within Scratch. Discuss with pupils that
whilst they have just been tinkering with Scratch to develop their understanding
of how commands work, they will now be more purposefully programming
as they use their algorithm to change their ideas for their Viking raid into an
animation.
A Scratch commands help sheet has been provided to support pupils during this
part of the activity if the require it.
Remind pupils that it can be useful to run their program as they are writing it to
check it matches their algorithm design. This might be after adding each new
command for each sprite. If it doesn’t do as they wished they should debug their
program. Write the four points below up as a guide to help with debugging:
• Identify what the program should do?
• Observe what the the program does do?
• Use your knowledge of the Scratch commands to work out where it
went wrong
• Fix it
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Extension
•An extension activity sheet has been provided which encourages pupils to tinker
with using repetition to control the movement of additional sprites within their
animation.
Plenary (10 mins)
•Give pupils time to move around the class and watch a selection of each others’
animations. When sharing their animations with others pupils should firstly show
their algorithm to illustrate how they used it to help create their program. After
watching an animation pupils should feedback two things they think pupils have
done well and one point for improvement. Slide 5 of the presentation has a
range of questions to support pupils in giving this feedback.
Use think-pair-share to guide a class discussion with the questions on slide 6.
• Why was the sequence of commands important?
• Can you explain what each command that you have used does and
why you needed each?
• Did you have any bugs in your program? How did you fix them?
• What are the steps we have gone through in creating our program?
Write the algorithm; create the program using the commands; test the
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program; debug it by fixing any bugs you find.
• How have you learnt this lesson? By tinkering with the Scratch
commands; listening to teacher/pupils’ explanations; having a go at
programming in Scratch; asking their partners; receiving peer feedback in
the plenary.
Differentiation
Support:
Mixed ability pairing should be used to ensure less confident pupils are
encouraged by their peers. An additional adult, if available, may work with a
small group of pupils to provide additional support. They may plan the algorithm
together as a group and work through implementing this as a more guided
activity. They may also spend more time looking at how the XY coordinate
system is used in the movement commands.
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Stretch & challenge:
An extension activity is provided above for pupils that complete the main activity.
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Assessment opportunities
•Informal, teacher assessment of progress during main task, class discussions
and plenary. Key pupil knowledge and skills to identify:
• Are pupils’ animations correctly sequenced?
• Can pupils explain why the sequence of commands was important?
• Can pupils explain a selection of the commands they used and why
they used those commands?
• Can pupils use their knowledge of the Scratch commands to debug
their programs?
Formal, summative assessment of Scratch projects if required (note however
these are completed in pairs).
Peer assessment and feedback on each others’ animations during the plenary.
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Teaching Notes
Concepts and approaches
Algorithms
•Before programming the Viking raid animation, pupils work in pairs to create the
algorithm describing the sequence of steps. Subsequently, pupils implement
this algorithm as a program using the commands in the Scratch programming
language.
Programming
•In this activity pupils create a program in Scratch which is an animation of a
Viking raid. In doing so they use their knowledge of the commands in Scratch,
the programming language, to implement the algorithm they have written
describing the sequence of events in their animation. Programming is the
process of implementing an algorithm as code.
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Sequence
•For pupils animations to make sense they must be sequenced correctly. This
requires pupils to firstly correctly sequence their algorithm to illustrate the
actions of their sprites. Pupils do this using a storyboard which represents a
timeline of events that will occur in their animation. Pupils then have to select
the correct sequence of commands in Scratch to implement this algorithm as an
animation.
Tinkering
•Tinkering means trying things out, this is the explorative phase of learning
about something. Tinkering should be fun, free, creative and full of questions
and surprises. In this activity pupils tinker with a variety of Scratch commands
to develop their understanding of how these could be used to create their
animation.
Debugging
•When a program isn’t working correctly, the process of detecting and correcting
the errors in a program is called debugging. Bugs happen in programs all the
time and so debugging is an important skill to have. In this activity, as pupils
construct their program they are encouraged to test their program after they add
new commands and debug it if an error has occured.
Collaborating
•Collaboration is evident here as pupils work with their partners to write the
algorithms for their animations and then create the animation in Scratch.
Web pages on Viking raids
•BBC Schools web page about the Vikings
•Horrible Histories song about the Vikings
Taking this further / adapting this activity
Pupils can create animations in Scratch linking to their learning from across the
curriculum. Such animations may be created as an outcome to reinforce and evidence pupils’ wider learning. By using Scratch’s paint editor to design the sprites
and the background pupils can draw their own content for such animations. Pupils
could, for example, create animations for:
The water cycle or life cycles in science
Volcanoes and earthquakes in geography
To illustrate how their design and technology projects work
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Related activities
Lower KS2 fossil animation sequence activity
KS2 Shapes and crystal flowers repetition activity
Upper KS2 Viking raid animation activity
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