Look at the photo. Before you cross a busy road, what steps do you follow? Could you write them down as a list, in order? That list is the plan for an activity, and today you will turn a plan like that into a Scratch scene with two characters.
Image source: File:Children Crossing (155438422).jpg (Wikimedia Commons)
.jpg){kind=link}
In this post:
- Listing the main steps of an activity
- Planning a scene for two characters: steps, speech, costumes and backdrops
- Exploring a finished two-character Scratch project
- Naming and renaming sprites and backdrops
- An ordering activity, a block-matching activity, your own project and a quiz
Step 1: list the main steps
Every activity can be broken into steps. Here are the main steps for crossing a road safely. (In Trinidad and Tobago, cars drive on the left, so traffic in the nearest lane comes from your right.)
- Find a safe place to cross, such as a pedestrian crossing.
- Stop at the edge of the pavement.
- Look right, look left, then look right again, and listen.
- Wait until the road is clear, or until the cars have stopped.
- Walk straight across. Don’t run, and keep looking and listening.
Step 2: plan a scene for two characters
Lots of activities involve two people: buying something from a shop, asking for directions or, as in our project, a friend warning you before you cross. Before you build a scene in Scratch, plan it:
| Plan | Questions to answer |
|---|---|
| Characters | Who are the two sprites? What are their names? |
| Backdrop | Where does it happen? Does the place change? |
| Steps | What happens first, next and last? |
| Speech | What does each character say, and when? |
| Costumes | When does a character change how it looks (walking, waving, surprised)? |
| Start | Which event starts the scene? (Usually when green flag clicked.) |
Step 3: see it in Scratch
Click the green flag to watch Cat Crossing the Street! Then click See inside on the Scratch website to read the scripts.
Scratch project: Cat Crossing the street! by kunge.
Here is what each character does, second by second. Notice how the wait blocks take turns, so the two characters never talk at the same time:
| Time | Cat | Dog |
|---|---|---|
| 0–2 s | Goes to its start position and says “Hi, I’m gonna cross the street!” | Goes to its position and waits |
| 2–4 s | Waits | Says “Wait!” |
| 4–6 s | Says “What?” | Waits |
| 6–8 s | Waits | Says “Look Both ways before you cross!” |
| 8–9 s | Switches costume, waits 1 second, switches again | – |
| 9–11 s | Says “Crossing now!” | – |
| 11–13 s | Broadcasts the message Walking, then glides across the street in 2 seconds. Its second script receives Walking and repeats a costume change 10 times, so its legs move. | – |
Naming sprites and backdrops
- Rename a sprite: click it in the Sprite pane (below the stage) and type a new name in the Sprite box. In this project, the cat is still called Sprite1 and the dog Dog2. Clear names like Cat and Dog make scripts easier to understand.
- Rename a backdrop: click the Stage on the right, open the Backdrops tab, choose the backdrop and type a new name in the name box. This project has two: backdrop1 and Urban.
- Change the backdrop in a script: use switch backdrop to … from the Looks blocks, for example when the scene moves to a new place.
Watch: making a story in Scratch
This tutorial from the Scratch Team shows how to make a story with characters, speech and backdrops.
Video: How to Make a Story in Scratch – Scratch Team – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv8mbL-MC58
Activity: put the scene in order
Try it: the order of the scene
Put the events of Cat Crossing the Street! in order, then click Check.
▲ First
- Cat: “Hi, I’m gonna cross the street!”
- Dog: “Wait!”
- Cat: “What?”
- Dog: “Look Both ways before you cross!”
- The cat switches costume twice
- Cat: “Crossing now!”
- The cat glides across the street while its costumes switch
▼ Last
Activity: what does each block do?
Try it: match the block to its job
Choose what each block does in this project.
| when green flag clicked | |
| go to x: -167 y: -126 | |
| say Wait! for 2 seconds | |
| wait 2 seconds | |
| broadcast Walking | |
| glide 2 secs to x: 41 y: -17 |
Your project: a two-character scene
Plan and build your own scene with two characters. Ideas: buying doubles from a vendor, asking a police officer for directions, or a teacher reminding a student to bring their homework. Fill in a plan like this first, then build it in Scratch:
| Step | Character 1 (name: ______) | Character 2 (name: ______) | Backdrop / costume change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 5 |
- Give both sprites and the backdrop clear names.
- Use say and wait so the characters take turns.
- Use at least one costume change and, if the place changes, a switch backdrop block.
- Share your project with your class and ask a partner to check that the steps make sense.
Self-check quiz
Click the best answer. You get feedback straight away; only your first click counts towards your score.
1. Why is it useful to list the steps of an activity before building it in Scratch?
2. In the Cat Crossing project, why does the dog wait before speaking?
3. How do you rename a sprite?
4. Which block changes where the scene takes place?
5. What does a broadcast block do?
6. In Trinidad and Tobago, which way should you look first before crossing?
Related posts on islandclass.org
Next: Reading a Computer Spec Sheet
Syllabus link: Forms 1–3 ICT curriculum, Module 5, Objectives 5.6 and 5.7 – list the main steps in an activity for a program; demonstrate an activity in a program.
Attributions to media used in this post:
- Children Crossing (155438422).jpg – Justin Doub – CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
- Video: How to Make a Story in Scratch – Scratch Team (YouTube)
- Scratch project: Cat Crossing the street! – kunge (Scratch)
Updates
2026/10/21
– Fixed the activity code so its buttons keep working.
© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.