Coding our own games

In this term's Computing lessons we've been completing the "Programming B – Repetition in Games," unit.  This week, Year 4 students dove headfirst into the wonderful world of loops—and lived to tell the tale! Disciplinary knowledge included learning how to use count-controlled loops to repeat actions efficiently in Scratch. Instead of dragging the same block five times (ugh!), students discovered the power of the magical repeat block. It was a lightbulb moment—some may even say it was “loop-erific.”

Subjectively, pupils developed problem-solving resilience (and the occasional groan when their sprite spun into infinity). They began thinking like programmers: predicting, debugging, and improving their code. Some students even started speaking in loops: “If I do my homework three times, does that mean I level up?”

The lessons encouraged logical thinking and creativity, as students made their games more exciting—and less crash-prone—through repetition. Overall, we mastered loops, avoided endless spirals, and had a barrel of bug-fixing fun!

Coding in Year 4