Cross-Curricular Connections: Exploring Our “Thanksgiving Feast” Unit

This month’s unit feature focuses on our “Thanksgiving Feast” module in Content Library Junior. This is a submodule that is part of our larger Seasonal Creations module, in which the activities are centered around different holidays and events throughout the year. This fun activity teaches students how to animate the food that is part of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in Scratch using block coding. Students also learn how to create a program where users can vote for their favorite food in the meal, and each type of food receives a point when chosen.

The Purpose of Creating Backdrops

The first few lessons of this mini unit walk students through how to use the Scratch editor and how to upload images to create the backdrop for their project. Many of the projects in Content Library Junior start out this way. You may wonder why we spend time working on designing backdrops when this does not involve writing code, as well as why we do so in multiple projects.

Building Technical Literacy

Let’s talk first about the former idea. While students are not writing programs when they are creating backdrops, working in the Scratch editor and learning how to use different tools to create designs contributes to technical literacy skills. Technical literacy, sometimes called technology literacy, refers to students’ ability to understand, communicate and have knowledge of how to work with various digital devices and user interfaces. Included in technical literacy skills are a variety of subskills, including content creation and adaptability, meaning one keeps themselves updated on new technology. 

When working in the Scratch editor, students develop their content creation skills. They learn how to use the tools in the Scratch editor, as well as how to download, upload and edit uploaded images in their Scratch project to use as sprites (the animated objects in a Scratch project). Many of these skills and know-hows are transferable to other programs. There are basic skills, such as learning how to use the keyboard to copy and paste, that translate to most computer programs, but there are also design concepts, such as holding down the Shift key and highlighting all parts of an object to combine as one, that can also be used in other design programs. Even if students are not yet ready to make the connection between what they learn in the Scratch editor and other design programs, simply being able to use the tools available and navigate the editor to create their desired backdrops contributes to the strengthening of technical literacy skills. What’s more, while Scratch has existed since 2007, there are continuous updates and changes made to the platform that students must learn to navigate, contributing to their technological adaptability skills.

Why Do We Set the Scene So Often?

You also may wonder why projects in Content Library Junior often focus on setting the scene and creating the backdrop, when these skills are covered in multiple units. The reason for this is threefold: 1) different skills, as well as different combinations of these skills, are emphasized in each, 2) students are likely to learn more effectively and engage in a lesson when it is of interest to them, and 3) repeating a program, or similar type of program, results in multiple benefits for the learner.

Different Projects, Different Skill Sets

While multiple projects may be similar in nature, each one incorporates a different set of skills, or a different combination of skills. There are multiple ways, for example, to create a backdrop or new sprite in Scratch. Sprites and backdrops can be uploaded, created from scratch (no pun intended!), or the programmer can incorporate a sprite or backdrop that is already part of the Scratch library. Sometimes, users upload pictures for a backdrop and use the Scratch editor to modify the original, customizing it to their project. Content Library Junior projects contain a combination of these different types of skills, so that in any one program, students are learning how to download and upload, or working with an editing tool to create content, or simply navigating a program like Scratch to select the backdrop or sprite wanted.

Students Engage in Interesting Activities

You’ve heard the popular phrase “Use or lose it.” The same goes for programming, and if you’re uninterested in something, it is unlikely that you’ll continue to practice or engage in that activity often. The same goes for students, so we want to present them with projects they have interest in and find value in so that they want to keep learning and practicing. 

Projects in Content Library Junior range from a variety of topics, from creating a Dream World to various seasonal projects, like “Thanksgiving Feast,” that are part of the Seasonal Creations unit. Within this seasonal module, there is a program that teaches students how to animate leaves falling to the ground, as well as one that teaches students how to animate a snowstorm, but they do so in different ways and the code for each project has slight differences.

The Benefits of Repetition

So, what about the pieces of the program that are repeated? What about those projects that teach a similar program to another module? In an earlier STEMPressions article, we discuss the various benefits repetition has for learning. Every time a student writes a program over again, there are new details about the program that are uncovered. Students have a better conceptual understanding of what is occurring in the program as they complete the code each time. Similar to how toddlers benefit from watching the same movie repeatedly, when students practice the same program over again, they develop logical thinking skills and a better understanding of cause and effect relationships, both needed to write a program successfully. 

Additionally, teachers and educators can use repetitive programs to challenge their students further. Many units outline the program from start to finish, providing stepping stones for students to successfully complete the activity along the way. The teacher can choose to remove certain stepping stones, challenging the student’s ability to complete a portion of the program independently. The teacher may also choose to add in challenge components to projects previously completed. (Need ideas for how to do this? Be sure to reach out and our Excalibur STEM educators can help!) 

What Students Learn in This Activity

So, we see that repeating projects and focusing on creating both backdrops and sprites to set the scene can be very beneficial for our learners. In this particular activity, students learn how to use the Scratch editor to create their own Thanksgiving table. We utilize geometric concepts, such as combining rectangles together to create a table with legs, to create this portion of the backdrop.

Because the Scratch library is limited as far as foods it contains, students also learn how to add their own sprites to their Thanksgiving dinner. Students have the freedom to create their own food items in the Scratch editor, or upload images they find online. Students can customize their backdrops and sprites as they want to using the Scratch editor tools.

Animating the Thanksgiving Meal

Now let’s move into the coding portion of this activity. (Note that the colored text corresponds to different categories of instructions in Scratch.)

In this activity, a Pilgrim hat sprite introduces the holiday of Thanksgiving. Each food item that is part of the Thanksgiving dinner is animated when clicked on by the user. For example, when clicking on the pumpkin pie, it “dances” from side to side.

 To achieve this, students need to write a program that creates two different costumes for the pumpkin pie sprite. When this sprite is clicked, students need to switch from costume a/the pie tilted to one side, to costume b/the pie tilted to the other side, with a wait instruction in between each. Additionally, to make the pie move more than once, students need to place these instructions into a loop. The sample program has this repeat (10) times, but this can be customized to how often the programmer wants these actions to repeat.

 While the programmer can use similar instructions to animate other items of the dinner, this module demonstrates a few different ways to create animation so that students learn how to do so in more than one way. For example, when clicking on the cornucopia sprite in the same program, the cornucopia spins in a circle.

To make this happen, when this sprite is clicked, the programmer needs to use a turn (15) degrees instruction, adjusting the degrees as needed, and place this within a repeat loop. With this animation, students learn more about degrees, angles and motion, whereas the previous animation taught more about switching costumes and using the Scratch editor to make this happen. Each food item that is part of the Thanksgiving dinner has a different animation and purpose. For those that have similar instructions to one another, this provides students with that beneficial opportunity to repeat and refine skills.

Choosing Your Favorite

The last aspect of this program that makes it a unique project and excellent learning experience for our elementary students is that it teaches how to create a voting program. Whenever a food item is chosen as a user’s favorite, the point value of that item increases. Students can apply this skill when creating a video game, where clicking on an object or selecting an object earns, or alternatively loses, points for the player. This skill can be applied to programs that focus on buying and selling items, and the increase or decrease of money as a result. 

Coding a program that includes point values involves the use of variables. A variable is a value that can be changed throughout a program. A player’s total score, increased point values for objects (sprites) that are selected, monetary values and more are able to be incorporated because of variables.

 In the program, the user is asked to name their favorite Thanksgiving food from the choices shown. When the user types in one of the choices, that food item receives a point. For example, let’s say the user types in “bread” as shown below.

Once the user submits the response, the point value for bread increases by 1. 

Once students learn how to do this, they can increase and decrease values by as many points as they choose. This is a simple way to begin teaching the concept of variables and the instructions needed to create a game like this. Other units in Content Library Junior incorporate variables, so students have multiple opportunities to practice throughout all of the units.

Applying Thanksgiving Feast at home

If you’re looking for an enrichment activity to keep your child occupied after school, or a meaningful activity to add to your curriculum that in season, give Thanksgiving Feast a try!  Because it’s tied into the upcoming holiday, it gives students a chance to practice coding within a theme that is familiar and fun. Don’t be nervous to try something new! Remember that we at the Excalibur Solutions STEM Academy are always around to help you implement our material if you need suggestions or help. We hope your students enjoy this unit, and we wish you a wonderful November, and a happy early Thanksgiving!