Learn To Program With Scratch: A Visual Introduction To Programming With Games, Art, Science, And Math Read Free Books and Download eBooks
Scratch is a fun, free, beginner-friendly programming environment where you connect blocks of code to build programs. While most famously used to introduce kids to programming, Scratch can make computer science approachable for people of any age. Rather than type countless lines of code in a cryptic programming language, why not use colorful command blocks and cartoon sprites to create powerful scripts?In Learn to Program with Scratch, author Majed Marji uses Scratch to explain the concepts essential to solving real-world programming problems. The labeled, color-coded blocks plainly show each logical step in a given script, and with a single click, you can even test any part of your script to check your logic. You'll learn how to:Harness the power of repeat loops and recursionUse if/else statements and logical operators to make decisionsStore data in variables and lists to use later in your programRead, store, and manipulate user inputImplement key computer science algorithms like a linear search and bubble sortHands-on projects will challenge you to create an Ohm's law simulator, draw intricate patterns, program sprites to mimic line-following robots, create arcade-style games, and more! Each chapter is packed with detailed explanations, annotated illustrations, guided examples, lots of color, and plenty of exercises to help the lessons stick. Learn to Program with Scratch is the perfect place to start your computer science journey, painlessly.
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: No Starch Press; 1 edition (February 23, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1593275439
ISBN-13: 978-1593275433
Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 7 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #20,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #7 in Books > Computers & Technology > Games & Strategy Guides > Game Programming #12 in Books > Children's Books > Computers & Technology > Programming #40 in Books > Children's Books > Computers & Technology > Entertainment & Games
Age Range: 9 and up
Grade Level: 6 - 12
I've taught Scratch programming to 9 to 13 year-olds for a Saturday morning programming class for two years, and have written three programming books for young adults. As far as I’m concerned, Scratch is the only educational tool that teaches programming in a direct but still fun way. And “Learn to Program with Scratch” is the best book I've found on the market to learn Scratch.The book covers a wide amount of ground while presenting fun projects for the reader to follow along with. Like a musical instrument, Scratch is very much a “hands on” tool that you learn through practice, and this book is a well-versed guide. There’re plenty of web tutorials and videos that teach Scratch piecemeal, but this is THE manual that Scratch has been needing for a while. At 250 pages, it is thorough while still being a light-read; it’s easy to just jump into any chapter and follow along.The one downside is that this book is probably best for teenagers and may be too verbose for kids around 10 or younger. But it makes an excellent book for parents or teachers to read through with their child (and a great way to introduce adults to Scratch programming as well). Otherwise, younger readers might like No Starch Press’s other Scratch book, “Super Scratch Adventures” which is not as thorough but is a gentler introduction to Scratch programming.I highly recommend this book for schoolchildren to learn programming from.Full disclosure, I am currently writing a Python programming book for adults for No Starch Press.
This is a textbook for the Scratch programming environment (search for "MIT Scratch" for more information on the Scratch project). I am a big fan of Scratch and have been working with it for a while with my kids. I like this textbook very much and find that it is very useful for a wide age range. The sweet-spot for the book is probably junior high to high school, but its comprehensive approach to the topic means that adults will also find it useful without being overly juvenile. Majed Marji has included some very good sample programs with each chapter; these are a bit more advanced than the typical introductory Scratch programs such as one finds at the MIT site. Younger students may be overly challenged by some of the more complicated programming techniques in the later chapters (e.g. strings and lists), but I regard that as an opportunity for a teacher or parent to introduce new concepts. Overall, the book offers a comfortable introduction with plenty of room for students to grow.This is one of two Scratch texts published by the No Starch Press. The other is Super Scratch Programming Adventure! which is a comic book style introduction to the Scratch programming environment and one of the first Scratch textbooks on the market. I like both books, but they are for different audiences. "Super Scratch" works best, I think, for kids grades 3 to 5. Kids (and adults) who don't like comics and want a more straightforward introduction to Scratch should go with Marji's book (this book).Incidentally, the No Starch Press has a good number of high quality titles for kids who enjoy science and engineering. I'm quickly becoming a fan.
I could say, “OMG!” and only that but then this would be a very short review and a book like this deserves more than that. This book is geared to anyone whether you have any programming experience or not. In fact, I could probably teach my grandkids the basics of how to program with this book and Scratch, which is on the MIT website.I have a brother who is as sharp as a tack in some ways, but is nonetheless mentally retarded. I mention him because I wanted to see if he could use the program. He’s taking to it like a duck to water. I also told my youngest daughter about this program and sent her a link to the MIT Scratch website so she can download it and maybe her kids will want to give it a try. Later today, I’m going to send the same link to my oldest daughter because they may also wish to give Scratch a try. It would be a good experience for them. At least two of my grandkids are into computers like me, and my youngest daughter seemed to be interested when I told her about it.But don’t let the simplicity fool you. It will get you to where you need to be to program in any language you choose to use. This book will help you master Scratch, and then it’s up to you to put all that knowledge you learned to use in other programming languages. I recommend this anyone who wishes to learn programming.
I got ‘Learn to Program with Scratch’ because I had heard that Scratch was a great way to introduce kids to programming and have a 13 year old niece that I thought might benefit from it. I read the book before giving it to her and can see why teachers would love using this textbook for class. The text is straightforward, and the short chapters include concise summaries as well as problems that can be assigned as light homework.As I was reading, I found that it was easier to quickly read through a chapter before going back through to try the examples and exercises one by one. Others may not feel the same, but I found it was helpful especially when I was considering how I would explain concepts to my niece if asked.The only thing I could think of that would improve this book was organizing it so that the chapters would be project-based on the cool games and illustrations that can be made using Scratch rather than by programming subjects; perhaps this is an idea for a supplementary book.
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