Installing ScratchJr
ScratchJr is available as a free app for iPads, Android tablets, and Chromebooks There is also an emulator that can be used on Macs and PCs. ScratchJr is installed and saves locally to individual devices. Once installed, students do not require an internet connection to work.
Tablet Installation
Ipad Installation
Go to the App Store and search for ScratchJr [Direct link to App Store]
Android Tablet Installation
Go to the Google Play Store and search for ScratchJr. [Direct link to Play Store]
Amazon Tablet Installation
Go to the Amazon Appstore and search for ScratchJr [Direct link to Appstore]
Desktop or Laptop Installation
ScratchJr also offers an emulator that can be used on the computer. Note: ScratchJr file sharing is not available on the emulator.
Chromebook Installation
Go to the Google Play Store and search for ScratchJr [Direct link to Play Store]
Mac / Windows Installation
Visit ScratchJr for Desktops to download the emulator
Getting Started
Once ScratchJr is installed, simply open the app to get started. Click the home icon to begin creating projects. Click the question mark icon to view sample programs and an introductory video. Click the gear icon to change the language and view ScartchJr guides.
Creating a Project
Click the home Icon to access your Project page. Choose the plus sign to begin creating a new Project.
See the Scratchjr-interface-guide.pdf and the paint-editor-guide.pdf to learn more about the tools available to you in a project.
Block Descriptions
You can read more about the types of blocks available to students below and view a full description of each individual block in block-descriptions.pdf.
| Description | ScratchJr Blocks |
Sequence | A sequence is the specific ordering of instructions in a program. Accurate sequencing is an essential skill for effective programming. Multiple sequences can run in parallel in ScratchJr. | |
Control Blocks (orange) | Control structures in programming guide the “flow” of a program. Here we have the wait, stop, change speed, and repeat loop blocks.
A loop is a programming structure that repeats one or more commands (to program patterns). |
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Events Blocks (yellow) | Events are circumstances that cause, or trigger, some code to run in a program. | |
Movement Blocks (blue) | Moves a character in different ways |
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Appearance Blocks (purple) | Show text that a character says, make characters larger and smaller, hide/show a character | |
Sound Blocks (green) | Sound and recordings | |
End Blocks (red) | End program, loop forever (will repeat the code attached to it until the user stops the program), go to another page |
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Sharing Files and Projects
See Viewing ScratchJr Sample Files or Sharing ScratchJr Projects to learn more about using files in ScratchJr.
Still have questions? For more information about ScratchJr, see scratchjr.org. See CodeHS Elementary Curriculum to learn more about our elementary options or contact our team at hello@codehs.com to learn more about using ScratchJr with CodeHS!