Setting up the stage

Description

In this activity, learners explore Weavly’s “background selector” and “Custom background design” to set the scene for their programs.

The different options available can inspire learners to create plans for adventure in these digital worlds. By considering the objects and/or characters, learners can create programs to make their stories come true. For example, take the submarine in the Deep Ocean background to reach the treasure chest. Or use the wall tiles to draw a maze on your scene and then build a program to help your character escape the maze.

Here are a few stories that you can use as a starter to get learners thinking of adventures: https://www.education.com/game/the-missing-dragon-level-i/
You can find more books for this activity here: https://www.education.com/stories/

Steps

• Work with the learner to pick a story and read the story together.
• Engage the learner in a conversation about identifying a beginning, a middle and an end.
• Engage the learner in creating a story and start by opening the world selector to pick a background and set the scene.
• Find items in the available backgrounds, or use the custom design background feature to modify these backgrounds, or create a whole new background from scratch for your story.
• Build a program to move your character on your background.

Tips

• Guide learners with a framework of beginning, middle, and end for their stories (i.g. starting at the top of the ocean, dive deeper in search of treasure and find the treasure)
• Start with a very simple story that has a clear beginning, middle, and end with the least number of objects/characters and gradually build complexity (i.e. while diving deeper avoid the jellyfish and sharks on our way to the treasure chest in the Deep Ocean background)

Skill Development

• Communication (i.e. narrative skills)
• Creativity
• Planning
• Spatial
• Sequencing

Level Up!

Encourage learners to come up with their own story that uses multiple backgrounds in the world selector.