Programming for Children

Lessons

Primary 4 · Science and Elementary Technology

Programming for Children

5 lessons

Lesson 1 of 5

Getting Started with Turtle Blocks

14 min

Let's begin

Gatete watches a little turtle on the laptop screen. Every time he snaps a block into place and clicks it, the turtle crawls forward and leaves a coloured line behind it. "I'm not drawing," Gatete says. "I'm telling the turtle what to draw!"

Telling a computer exactly what to do, step by step, is called programming.

What is Turtle Blocks?

Turtle Blocks (also called Turtle Art) is a program where you snap coloured blocks together to give instructions to a turtle. As the turtle moves, it draws lines. A group of blocks joined together is a program (or a stack).

Opening Turtle Blocks

On a Sugar laptop, go to the Home view and click the Turtle Blocks icon (a turtle). If you cannot see it, type "Turtle" in the search box.

The parts of the window

The canvas: the big area where the turtle moves and draws.
The turtle: it starts in the middle of the canvas, facing up.
The palettes: boxes of blocks sorted by colour and job, such as Turtle (forward, back, left, right), Pen (pen up, pen down, set colour, set pen size), Numbers and Flow (repeat, forever, if).
The main toolbar at the top has buttons to:
- show the palettes of blocks;
- run fast (the rabbit) or run slowly (the snail), so you can watch each step;
- stop the program;
- erase (clean) the canvas;
- get help, or load example projects.

Using blocks

Open a palette and drag a block onto the canvas.
Snap blocks together, one under another, so they run in order.
Click on the stack, or click the rabbit, to run it.
To delete a block, drag it back onto the palette.

Saving and closing

Give your project a clear title in the Activity toolbar. Click Stop to close Turtle Blocks. Like all Sugar activities, your project is kept in the Journal, so you can open it again later and carry on.

Tip

Drag, snap, run

Drag a block from a palette, snap it onto your stack, then run it. Use the snail when you want to see each step slowly.

✦

Try it yourself

Try each one first, then tap Show answer to check.

1

What do we call a group of blocks joined together that tells the turtle what to do?

Show answerHide answer

Answer: A program (or stack).

2

Keza wants to watch her program one step at a time. Which button should she click?

Show answerHide answer

Answer: The snail (run slowly).

3

How do you delete a block you do not need?

Show answerHide answer

Answer: Drag it back onto the palette.

4

Where can you find your Turtle Blocks project tomorrow?

Show answerHide answer

Answer: In the Journal.

Quick check

What you learned today

In Turtle Blocks you program a turtle by snapping blocks together.
The window has a canvas, the turtle, palettes of blocks and a main toolbar (run fast, run slowly, stop, erase).
Your project is kept in the Journal when you click Stop.

Sources and credits

Activities/Turtle Art, by Sugar Labs wiki contributors, Sugar Labs, CC BY 4.0, adapted by Ganzaa.

The exercises (Try it yourself and the practice questions) are written by Ganzaa. Turtle Blocks is free software from Sugar Labs.

1What is Turtle Blocks?

2Opening Turtle Blocks

3The parts of the window

4Using blocks

5Saving and closing

Try it yourself

What is Turtle Blocks?

Opening Turtle Blocks

The parts of the window

Using blocks

Saving and closing