Create Your First Program with Scratch

Proof required

Share the public Scratch URL of your favourite completed tutorial project (it should open to the actual project, not just your profile). In 40+ words total: describe what the project does, what you had to figure out to make it work, and what you want to try next.

What gets checked

• Scratch URL opens to a working project — not a blank editor, not a profile page — and the project has at least one sprite that moves or reacts to something
• Description explains in the student's own words what the project does and one specific thing they learned or had to solve — 'I clicked through the tutorial' is not enough
• 40-word combined minimum is met across the description — bullet lists or one-word answers do not count toward the word target

Common mistakes

• Choosing a tutorial that is too complex for a first session and stopping after getting stuck — the easiest path is to start with the 'Animate a Character' tutorial because it requires no setup and produces visible results in 10 minutes
• Saving the project but not sharing it — Scratch projects are private by default; you must click 'Share' on the project page before the URL is publicly viewable
• Skipping the 'try it yourself' steps inside the tutorial and only clicking through — understanding comes from changing the code and seeing what breaks, not from following steps to the letter

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Open the Scratch URL in a browser and click the green flag to run the project — if the flag does nothing, the project is either not shared or is empty; ask for the share URL from the project page itself (not just the editor URL)
• This is a K12 outcome: accepted verifiers are the student's peers, a teacher, or a parent — no specialist credentials required
• Check that the description uses the student's own words and meets the 40-word minimum — a one-sentence answer does not satisfy the reflection component

Proof required

Share the public Scratch URL of your original project. In 40+ words total: describe what your project does, one feature you added that you figured out yourself (not from a tutorial), and one thing you would change or add if you had more time.

What gets checked

• Project has at least one interactive element — something that responds to a click, key press, or timer — not just a static image or looping animation the user cannot interact with
• Description names a specific original feature the student added themselves — 'I added a sound when the sprite is clicked' is specific; 'I made it more fun' is not
• Project URL is from the student's own Scratch account — a remix is acceptable only if the description clearly names what was added or changed beyond the original

Common mistakes

• Trying to make something too complex in the first original project — a 2-sprite game with a score counter is a genuinely impressive first project; a 20-sprite RPG with multiple levels is not a milestone 2 project
• Remixing a tutorial and submitting it with no changes — the milestone requires at least one feature the student decided to add themselves
• Not planning before building — starting by dragging random blocks without a picture of what you want to make usually results in frustration and an abandoned project; take 5 minutes to draw on paper what you want to happen when you click the flag

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Click the green flag and try to interact with the project — press keys, click sprites, wait for timers — to confirm the project is genuinely interactive and not a static animation
• This is a K12 outcome: accepted verifiers are the student's peers, a teacher, or a parent — no technical expertise required; the question is 'did this student make something original and can they explain what they added themselves?'
• If the project is a remix: compare to the original — the description must clearly name what was added or changed for the remix to qualify as original work
• The 40-word minimum covers both fields combined — check that at least one specific self-directed feature is named in the student's own words

Proof required

Submit: (1) the public URL of your shared original project (the green flag must work and the project must be visible without logging in), and (2) the URL of your remix — the remix page must show the name of the original project you built on and at least one visible change you made.

What gets checked

• Original project URL is public — when opened without a Scratch account, the green flag is clickable and the project runs; a project set to 'Not shared' does not pass
• Remix URL shows the original creator's name and project — this confirms the student used the Scratch remix system rather than copying code without attribution
• At least one visible change in the remix — a different character, a new level, a sound replacement, or an additional block of code; an identical copy of the original without modification does not count as a remix

Common mistakes

• Sharing the project but not clicking the Share button on Scratch — a project that opens only when logged into the creator's account is not public and cannot be verified by anyone else; click Share on the Scratch project editor to make it accessible to all
• Submitting a remix that is identical to the original with no changes — Scratch's remix system allows copying, but the milestone requires at least one change; a remix that is a perfect copy fails the quality bar
• Sharing a project without an interactive element — a project that plays a looping animation with no user input is not interactive; if the project from milestone 2 had no clickable or pressable elements, add at least one before sharing

Resources

What a verifier looks for

• Open the shared project URL without logging in to Scratch — if it says 'This project is not shared' or asks for a login, the student has not completed the Share step; direct them back to the Scratch project editor to click Share
• Open the remix URL and compare it to the original listed on the remix page — confirm at least one visible change; if the projects look identical, ask the student: 'what did you change in your remix?' and check the code view for any differences
• This is a K12 elementary outcome: accepted verifiers are a peer, a teacher, or a parent — no technical expertise is required; the questions to ask are 'is it public?' and 'can you show me what you changed?'
• The 40-word minimum for this milestone covers the submission note explaining the remix change — check that the student names at least one specific thing they modified