Visualizing With Makey Makey and Scratch

For this project, students will make a scene from a novel or a story and then use the Makey Makey and Scratch to tell what is going on in the scene. This is a great way to help students visualize while integrating coding in!

Supplies

-A novel or a book with a scene to create

-Play-doh

-A Makey Makey

-Computer that can access Scratch

-Paper and pencil

Step 1: Read a Book and Be Prepared to Visualize

Have students read a book or a chapter from a novel and draw a sketch of what they are visualizing. In addition, have then write why they included each part in the sketch. Next, give students Play-doh and ask them to recreate the scene. Also ask them to write a 3-5 sentence summary about what they created. They should be prepared to say something about each component of the scene they created.

Step 2: Start Coding With Sratch

Students will go to scratch.mit.edu and hit start creating.

Step 3: Put Your Code Into Scratch

Students will do a recording for each part that they included in their scene.

Start with adding a "when space key pressed" code block which can be found under events.

Then go to sound and add a "play sound until done" code block.

Step 4: Add Recording to Your Code

Click on the pink "Play Sound Meow until done" code block and from the drop down menu select "record".

Pick one component of the Play-doh scene to talk about.

Students will hit record button and talk about one of the what they sculpted. For example, they might say something like "In this chapter, the main setting was a river so that is why I sculpted a river. During the chapter, Serafina hid in the bushes near the river."

After the recording is finished hit save.

You can also change the name of the recording to river for example if you want. After the recording is finished, go back to the code and select the name that you have given it.

Step 5: Add More Code and Recording

Drag over another event "When space key pressed" block and add a play sound code. From the drop down menu, hit record and record yourself talking about another part of the scene that you made out of Play-doh. My scene has three parts so I did three separate recordings.

Step 6: Plug in Your Makey Makey

During this step you want to plug the Makey Makey into your computer.

For each event of your code, make sure you have different keys.

For example, my code used the space bar, the up arrow, and the down arrow.

Here is a link with the code: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/389932699/

Attach one of the alligator clips in the space slot and then attach the other end of the clip to the Play-doh creation that fits with that key.

Attach the rest of the alligator clips to the corresponding Play-doh creations and then plug them into the correct Makey Makey slots that fit with your code. See the video for more specific guidance.

Step 7: Complete the Circuit

In order for the Makey Makey to work, it needs a complete circuit. Make a ball of Play-doh and stick an alligator clip inside of it and attach the other end of the alligator clip to Earth.

Step 8: Test Out the Coding and Learn About the Scene!

Make sure that the different Play-doh parts do not touch.

Then put one finger on the Earth ball of Play-doh and another one on a part of the scene.

When a part is touched, then the recording in Scratch will play.

See the video for a demo of how it works!