How to use the Move block: Making Your Character Come Alive!

If you’ve tackled the ‘Say‘ block, you’re ready for the next adventure! This tutorial focuses on teaching absolute beginners how to use the crucial Move blocks to make your characters move around the screen.

It’s one thing for your character to speak, but it’s a whole other kettle of fish for them to move! Let’s get stuck into how this fantastic video shows you how to programme your characters’ first actions.

1. Setting the Stage for Movement

Just like the first video, preparation is key! If you haven’t already, you’ll need to set up the familiar coding environment.

Select the Background: The video starts by quickly guiding you through selecting the Bedroom background[00:17]. This scene provides a clear visual context for the movement the kitten will perform.

2. Building Your First Movement Programme

The core of this lesson is learning how to assemble the sequence of blocks that will control the character’s movement. In this example, the goal is to make the kitten slide across the bed and jump down.

The Start and Stop Blocks

The Green Flag: As with every good ScratchJr programme, you start in the yellow section by dragging out the Green Flag block [00:38]. This acts as the “play” button for your code.
The End Block: To complete the sequence, you attach the Stop block from the red section [00:50].

The Blue Move Blocks—The Main Event!

The magic happens with the blue movement blocks, which dictate direction and distance.

The Move Blocks: Head to the blue section and select the Move Right block and the Move Down block, attaching them between the start and stop blocks [00:43].

Setting the Distance (Changing the Numbers)

This is where you tell the character how far to move. By default, the blocks have the number ‘1’ on them, meaning one square.

Customising Movement: You’ll learn to click on the number below the block to bring up a number pad [01:14].
The tutorial expertly demonstrates setting the Move Right block to 5 (to cross the bed) and the Move Down block to 2 (to jump off the bed) [01:28].

3. Running, Resetting, and Reviewing Your Code

Once your sequence is built (Green Flag > Move Right 5 > Move Down 2 > Stop), it’s time to test!

Testing Your Code: Simply click the Green Flag to watch your character perform the programmed moves [01:36].
Resetting the Character: After the programme runs, your character stays in its final position. You’ll be introduced to the brilliant Reset button (to the left of the green flag) which instantly snaps the character back to its starting spot [01:42].
The Grid Tool: For precise measurement in your coding projects, the video introduces the optional Grid button. This overlays a helpful grid onto the screen, allowing you to visually count the squares and confirm why moving 5 right and 2 down works perfectly in this scenario [02:02].

This insightful video is a brilliant next step in your ScratchJr Coding for beginners journey, demystifying the essential Move block and teaching you how to build a basic action sequence.

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