Interactive Visual Programming Foundations

This unit builds foundational skills for creating interactive visual programs using MakeCode, Scratch, and App Lab. Students learn to create new projects, design user interfaces with backdrops and sprites, use basic lists and I/O, and apply systematic debugging and planning strategies to produce reliable, sound-enabled programs.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze Scratch, App Lab, and MakeCode projects to identify and document syntax, logic, and runtime errors using step-by-step debugging strategies
• Apply user-interface and input/output concepts by creating and configuring backdrops, sprites (emoji, mascot, instruments), and event-driven ‘code on start’ behaviors in new projects
• Demonstrate program structure and data use by sequencing blocks, implementing simple lists (arrays), and composing a clear ‘recipe’ for a program that produces expected interactions and sounds
• Evaluate and iterate on student projects by planning, testing, and revising program designs to meet specified behavior and readiness criteria for subsequent units