Hello parents and teachers! Are you ready to take your child’s coding skills to the next level? Today, we are diving into one of the most exciting features of ScratchJr: making characters talk to each other! By the end of this guide, you will know exactly how to program a conversation between two characters using message blocks.

In this session, we will create a lovely scene where a teacher interacts with a kitten. It is a brilliant way to teach children about sequencing and cause-and-effect in programming. Let’s get started!

Setting the Scene

First things first, we need to set up our classroom. Open up your project and follow these simple steps to prepare the stage:

• Change the Background: Tap the background icon at the top of the screen and select the classroom scene.
• Position Your Characters: Move the Kitten character to a suitable spot, perhaps sitting on the floor ready to learn.
• Add a Teacher: Tap the ‘Plus’ button on the left to add a new character. Scroll down to find the teacher (Ms Smith) and add her to the project.

Now that our actors are in place, it is time to bring them to life with code.

Coding the Teacher: Sending the Message

We want the teacher to start the conversation. To do this, we need to ensure we have selected the teacher character on the left-hand side. We will build a script using specific ScratchJr blocks to control her speech and actions.

1. Start on Green Flag: Go to the yellow trigger blocks and drag the Green Flag block into the programming area. This tells the program to start when we press play.
2. Say Hello: Open the purple looks category and drag down the Say block (speech bubble). Tap on the text to change it to: “Hi, my name is Ms Smith.”
3. Send the Message: This is the clever part! Go back to the yellow category and find the Send Message block (it looks like a closed envelope). Snap this onto the end of your script.
4. End the Script: Finish with a red End block.

At this point, if you press the Green Flag, the teacher will speak, and invisibly send a message to the rest of the program. Now, we need someone to receive it!

Coding the Kitten: Receiving the Message

Next, tap on the Kitten character. Unlike our previous tutorials where we often started with the Green Flag, this time we are doing something different. We want the Kitten to wait politely until the teacher has finished speaking.

To achieve this, we use the Start on Message block. Here is how to code the Kitten’s response:

• Start on Message: Go to the yellow category and select the Start on Message block (it looks like an open envelope). This ensures the Kitten’s code only runs after it receives the message from the teacher.
• Reply: Add a purple Say block and change the text to: “Hi, my name is Kitten.”
• Stop: Finish with a red Stop block.

Why This Is Important

When you run the project now, you will see a perfect sequence: Ms Smith introduces herself, and only after she finishes, the Kitten replies. This teaches children that code runs in a specific order and that different objects can communicate with one another.

If you are looking for more structured activities to practice these skills, be sure to explore our comprehensive collection of lessons designed specifically for young learners.

Give It a Go!

Why not try changing the colours of the messages or having the characters move after they speak? Coding is all about creativity and experimentation. Happy coding!