For two weeks Year 6 have taken readings at 9am from the school weather station: rainfall from the gauge in millimetres, temperature, cloud cover in eighths of the sky and wind strength on the Beaufort scale. Over two lessons, pairs type the readings into four Scratch lists and code a presenter sprite that steps through the days, showing the date and each value in a speech bubble. The weather on screen is driven by the numbers: the more rain in the list, the more raindrop clones fall, cloud sprites appear in proportion to the cloud cover, and the trees sway harder as the Beaufort number rises, while the presenter chooses what to advise, such as wellies or a sun hat, from rules the pair writes. Pairs test the logic by changing one reading to an extreme value to check the animation responds, then add one idea of their own, such as a frost layer when the temperature is below 2°C. Children work on teacher-managed Scratch accounts with projects unshared, and through the following week a different pair adds each morning's reading and runs their report on the board.
This page is one of a growing set of PICRAT examples by cell, subject and grade. Page maintained by Andy Perryer.