Scratch Educator Meetups Organizer Toolkit
Scratch Educator Meetups are localized, professional learning communities developed for and by educators. The Meetups model supports multiple pathways for educators to develop as creative learning and creative coding practitioners through participant generated focus topics and just in time support. Meetups also provide the opportunity to scale understanding and implementation of creative learning and creative coding through dissemination of educator resources and participation in Scratch workshops, events, and conferences.
Ready to launch your Scratch Educator Meetup? We provide a collection of creative learning materials here in our Learning Library, available to all groups excited to start their own SEM Community and share a commitment to equitable creative coding. We also share an Organizer Guide: your ultimate game plan, packed with easy-to-follow steps, where we walk you through everything from pre-meetup prep to post-event reflection. Each step comes with a clear overview, detailed explanation, and real-life examples to spark your creativity.
Tags
Platform
ScratchScratchJrOctoStudio by MIT
Created By
Scratch Foundation
Audience
Educators and Facilitators
Experience Level
Getting StartedIntermediateAdvanced Concepts
Type
Guide or WorksheetOther
Topic
Community and KindnessEducator Resources
Language
English
Related Resources
Getting StartedNew to Scratch or ready to learn about some of the features of the platform? Our Getting Started guide and tutorials are the perfect place to begin!
Translated Resources
Getting Started (v1 original): Ελληνικά | Esperanto | Euskara | Français | Hrvatski | Italiano | 한국어 | Norsk Bokmål | Português Brasileiro | Русский | Slovenščina | Српски
Learn MoreScratch's Creative Learning PhilosophyScratch pioneered block-based programming, enabling young people to learn to code creatively and interactively. Creating Scratch projects fosters the development of computational and creative thinking skills that are critical for future success: learners identify problems, break them into smaller parts, debug them, and iterate on solutions.
Over the years, we’ve loved seeing the unique, exciting strategies educators use to explore Scratch and creative learning in their classrooms, clubs, and beyond. To learn more about our Creative Learning Philosophy, see our guide that lays out our guiding stars and includes a trove of facilitation tips and recommended reading. And we encourage you to explore the variety of Creative Learning Materials in our Learning Library (including lesson plans, coding cards, and educator guides).
When we adapt/remix or develop a creative coding activity/lesson, we look to:
Design for tinkering and learning through play
Design spaces for learners to bring themselves in and see themselves in the lesson (considerations we call the 4/5 P’s): Peers, Passion, Projects, Play, and Purpose
Allow multiple pathways of engagement to foster a wide diversity of projects and support different experience levels (what we call low floors, wide walls, high ceilings or the “house model”)
Create opportunities that naturally guide learners through the creative learning spiral (an iterative process of imagining, creating, playing, sharing, reflecting, and imagining again) by building in time and opportunities to play, share. and reflect
As facilitators, we want to support playful learning and tinkering mindset values, so that participants can:
Engage playfully in projects that are meaningful to them and elicit joy
Collaborate with peers to experiment, share, and celebrate ideas
Develop a mindset that is comfortable with the discomfort of getting stuck (making room for risk and iteration)
Develop a mindset that thinks critically about strategies for getting unstuck (saving space for the process to start again or help them imagine what’s next)
Learn MoreMinute with Mitch: Many Paths, Many Styles“Different children have different interests, come from different cultures, learn in different styles.” Engage learners with diverse interests and backgrounds while creating with Scratch.
As professor Mitch Resnick has noted in his post Designing for Wide Walls, “no single project will be meaningful to all kids. So if we want to engage all kids — from many different backgrounds, with many different interests — we need to support a wide diversity of pathways and projects.” Scratch is designed to support the creation of different types of projects, so kids can make what they feel passionate about: they can create their own games, but also interactive stories, art, music, animations, simulations, and more!
Learn MoreMinute with Mitch: Curriculum Connections“Students aren’t just learning to code, they’re coding to learn.” Students can use Scratch to express ideas across subjects.
Learn MoreMinute with Mitch: Peer Learning with Scratch“When people think about thinking, they often think of a lone individual in deep contemplation. But most creative thinking doesn’t happen that way.” Support students in learning with their peers.
Learn MoreMinute with Mitch: Projects with a Purpose“Students will get more deeply involved in projects when they feel a sense of purpose – when they become engaged with issues that are meaningful to them, and to others.” Students can use Scratch to connect to the people, communities, and world around them.
See our “Imagine a World” or "Build the Change" resources for examples of an activity that encourages learners to imagine what they want to see in the world.
Learn MoreScratch Day Organizer Toolkit and Media KitScratch Day is a global network of events where people come together to celebrate creativity, coding, and learning through hands-on activities. Whether you're an educator, parent, community leader, or simply a Scratch enthusiast, you can host your own Scratch Day and bring the joy of creative computing to your community! Scratch Day events can take many forms. (Learn more here.)
Our Organizer Planning Toolkit includes a variety of resources to get started. And use our Media Kit to download Scratch Day logos, images, and social media templates to promote your event.
Learn MoreScratchJr Family Day Planning ChecklistScratchJr Family Day is a hands-on, interactive event where young learners and their families come together to explore creative coding with ScratchJr! This event provides a welcoming space for children and their caregivers—parents, grandparents, siblings, and extended family members—to collaborate, experiment, and create their own projects using ScratchJr.
Learn MoreLevel Up with Scratch: Make Some Music with ScratchUsing sound in a game, animation, story, or interactive project can add depth and emotion. The Scratch sound library is full of a variety of sound effects, instrument notes, and music loops, or there is an option to upload your own sound clips. And by adding the music extension blocks, you can use the sounds of a variety of instruments and actual notes with customizable beat lengths to create digital instruments, songs, and more! Join us to explore some of the ways you can use sound and add another element of creativity to Scratch projects.
The Scratch Foundation is grateful to AT&T for its support of this workshop series. We have teamed up with The Achievery from AT&T to provide free beginner and intermediate creative coding lesson plans on a variety of topics for educators, caregivers, and learners. Sign up (for free!) by using our custom code "SCRATCH" when you register to support our work at theachievery.com.
Workshop Series Sponsor:
Learn MoreLevel Up with Scratch: Create Interactive Art with ScratchMake art come alive by creating interactive art pieces that are unique each time a Scratch project is run. Create art by stamping images on the stage or drawing with your voice or your nose! Or reimagine a famous artist's work that can speak or change color or dance. Join us to make art in unique and fun ways with code.
The Scratch Foundation is grateful to AT&T for its support of this workshop series. We have teamed up with The Achievery from AT&T to provide free beginner and intermediate creative coding lesson plans on a variety of topics for educators, caregivers, and learners. Sign up (for free!) by using our custom code "SCRATCH" when you register to support our work at theachievery.com.
Workshop Series Sponsor:
Learn MoreLevel Up with Scratch: Super-Charge Your Game DesignReady to level up a simple Scratch game? Join us to explore how to first create a game, and then, add layers of complexity involving concepts like gravity and a player health bar to challenge young coders who want to level up their game design, as well as make the game more engaging for players. We'll also investigate alternate ways to control the player sprite beyond just arrow keys, including controlling the object using your face or the volume of your voice, making your project more accessible and a fresh take on the usual keyboard games.
The Scratch Foundation is grateful to AT&T for its support of this workshop series. We have teamed up with The Achievery from AT&T to provide free beginner and intermediate creative coding lesson plans on a variety of topics for educators, caregivers, and learners. Sign up (for free!) by using our custom code "SCRATCH" when you register to support our work at theachievery.com.
Workshop Series Sponsor:
Learn MoreLevel Up with Scratch: Squash “Bugs” and Conquer Challenges: Creative Problem-SolvingAs Scratchers begin exploring computational concepts that are common in many programming languages (sequence, loops, parallelism, events, conditionals, operators, and data), they may run into common errors that will challenge their problem-solving skills and reinforce the importance of iteration and a growth mindset. As facilitators, we want to support playful learning and tinkering mindset values, so that participants can experiment, share, and celebrate ideas, as well as develop a mindset that is comfortable with the discomfort of getting stuck and thinks critically about strategies for getting unstuck. Join us to see some examples of coding and debugging challenges you can explore with your learners, as we discuss debugging strategies and where they can look for help and inspiration on the Scratch platform.
The Scratch Foundation is grateful to AT&T for its support of this workshop series. We have teamed up with The Achievery from AT&T to provide free beginner and intermediate creative coding lesson plans on a variety of topics for educators, caregivers, and learners. Sign up (for free!) by using our custom code "SCRATCH" when you register to support our work at theachievery.com.
Workshop Series Sponsor:
Learn More