🌟 Phase 1 · Getting Started
🟢 Beginner
MODULE 04
Create a Story
Your progress in Phase 1100%
🎯 What you'll learn: How to use multiple sprites together, how to change backdrops for different scenes, and how to use the powerful Broadcast system to coordinate your characters — making a real interactive story!
Section 1
Planning Your Story
Great Scratch stories start with a plan! Before touching the computer, think about your story in scenes. Each scene has a different backdrop (background) and might have different characters doing things.
🌳
SCENE 1
The Forest
Cat and dog meet in the forest. They say hello!
🏰
SCENE 2
The Castle
They discover a mysterious castle. The dragon appears!
🌟
SCENE 3
The Ending
The dragon is friendly! They all become friends. The End!
✨
Story Planning Template
Scene 1: Who is here? Where are they? What happens?
Scene 2: What's the problem or adventure?
Scene 3: How does it end? Happy or cliffhanger?
Scene 2: What's the problem or adventure?
Scene 3: How does it end? Happy or cliffhanger?
Section 2
Backdrops — Change the Scene
A backdrop is the background image behind all your sprites. In a story, you switch backdrops to show different locations — just like a stage play changing sets between acts!
Backdrop Blocks — in Looks Section
SCRATCH BLOCKS
switch backdrop to [Forest] → Instantly change background switch backdrop to [Forest] and wait → Change AND broadcast message next backdrop → Go to the next backdrop in list
🖼️
How to add backdrops
Click the Stage (bottom right corner of the screen). Then click the Backdrops tab at the top. Click the ➕ button to browse Scratch's backdrop library — there are forests, cities, space, castles, and much more!
Section 3
Broadcast — The Secret Signal System
The Broadcast system is Scratch's most powerful tool for coordinating multiple sprites. It works like a radio signal — one sprite sends a message, and other sprites can listen for it and respond!
HOW BROADCAST WORKS
Sprite 1: when 🚩 clicked
→
say "Hello!" for 2 secs
→
broadcast [scene2]
when I receive [scene2]
→
switch backdrop to [Castle]
→
Sprite 2 appears and speaks!
Broadcast Blocks — Events Section
SCRATCH BLOCKS
broadcast [message1] → Send a signal to all sprites broadcast [message1] and wait → Send signal AND wait for response when I receive [message1] → Listen for the signal and act
📡
Think of it like a walkie-talkie!
One sprite says "Over!" (broadcast) and all other sprites hear it. Any sprite with
when I receive [message] will react — even if it's hidden or far away on stage. Super useful for story scenes!Section 4
Build: Three-Scene Story
Let's put it all together! Here's the full code for a 3-scene story with 2 sprites and 3 backdrops.
1
Set up your project
Add 2 sprites and 3 backdrops. Name your backdrops "Scene1", "Scene2", and "Scene3" so they're easy to find in the broadcast blocks.
2
Create your messages
You'll need 3 broadcast messages: "scene2" and "scene3" (scene1 starts automatically when the flag is clicked).
3
Code Sprite 1 (the hero)
Sprite 1 controls the story flow — it starts each scene and broadcasts to trigger scene changes.
4
Code Sprite 2 (the companion)
Sprite 2 listens for broadcasts and reacts when their scene arrives.
Sprite 1 (Hero) — Full Story Code
SCRATCH BLOCKS
── SCENE 1 ────────────────────────────────── when 🚩 clicked switch backdrop to [Scene1] go to x:(-100) y:(0) show say [I'm going on an adventure!] for (2) secs play sound [Jungle] until done broadcast [scene2] and wait ── SCENE 3 (triggered by broadcast) ───────── when I receive [scene3] switch backdrop to [Scene3] say [We made it! What a journey!] for (3) secs say [THE END 🌟] for (3) secs
Sprite 2 (Companion) — Scene 2 Code
SCRATCH BLOCKS
── START HIDDEN ───────────────────────────── when 🚩 clicked hide ← invisible at start ── APPEAR IN SCENE 2 ──────────────────────── when I receive [scene2] switch backdrop to [Scene2] go to x:(100) y:(0) show say [I found something amazing!] for (2) secs say [Look at this castle!] for (2) secs broadcast [scene3]
Section 5
Lesson Summary
✅Backdrops are the background images of the stage. Add them from the Stage → Backdrops tab.
✅Broadcast sends a signal to all sprites. Any sprite with
when I receive will react.✅Use
broadcast and wait when you need the story to pause until the next scene is ready.✅Use
hide and show to control when sprites appear on stage.✅Great stories have 3 parts: Set-up → Problem/Adventure → Resolution.
🏅
Phase 1 Complete!
You've mastered the basics of Scratch — sprites, talk, sound, and stories. You're now ready to dive into Animation Skills in Phase 2!
🧩 Knowledge Check — Lesson 4
Final quiz for Phase 1 — 5 questions!
1. What is a "backdrop" in Scratch?
2. What does the "broadcast" block do?
3. Which block makes a sprite invisible without deleting it?
4. Where do you add backgrounds (backdrops) in Scratch?
5. What is the difference between "broadcast" and "broadcast and wait"?
Scratch Challenge — Lesson 4
Phase 1 Final Project · Beginner Level
This is your Phase 1 final project — your best work yet!
Challenge: Your Own Mini Cartoon 🎬
Create a 3-scene interactive story with the following requirements:
✅ At least 3 sprites in total across all scenes
✅ At least 3 different backdrops (one per scene)
✅ Use broadcast to switch between scenes
✅ Each sprite must say at least 2 lines of dialogue
✅ Include at least 2 sound effects or background music
✅ Use hide/show to control when characters appear
Theme ideas: Space Adventure · Fairy Tale · School Day · Sports Game · Superhero Story
Create a 3-scene interactive story with the following requirements:
✅ At least 3 sprites in total across all scenes
✅ At least 3 different backdrops (one per scene)
✅ Use broadcast to switch between scenes
✅ Each sprite must say at least 2 lines of dialogue
✅ Include at least 2 sound effects or background music
✅ Use hide/show to control when characters appear
Theme ideas: Space Adventure · Fairy Tale · School Day · Sports Game · Superhero Story
💡 Show hints if you're stuck
- Plan your scenes on paper first — who says what and when!
- Name your broadcast messages clearly: "scene2", "scene3", "theend"
- Start all sprites with
when 🚩 clicked→hideexcept Sprite 1 in Scene 1 - Use
broadcast and waitat the end of each scene's code - Test each scene one at a time before connecting them all
Finished this lesson?
Mark it complete to track your progress.
Module 04 of 16Phase 1 — Getting Started