if answer = 'Ottawa'test equality
Public lesson / Scratch & Game Design
How Does a Game Decide?
The Quiz of Questionable Knowledge accepts 'moon cheese' as an answer. Should it celebrate, object politely, or ask another question? The program needs rules it can actually test.
Lesson rhythm
The idea moves toward a demonstration.
Story, problem, or provocation
Name the problem before opening the build.
Theory and concept
Make the hidden rule visible with small tests.
Guided build
Use the idea inside a working project system.
Modification challenge
Change one rule and predict the effect.
Demonstration and cleanup
Explain the result, save safely, and leave a known state.
Learning goals
What students should be able to do and explain.
- Turn a rule into a true/false question.
- Use if and if/else.
- Compare values.
- Order overlapping decisions.
- Explain why one branch ran.
Theory kernel
Small examples before the larger build.
if score > 5test a threshold
if touching dangeruse sensing in a decision
elsedefine the other path
Guided-build preview
Quiz of Questionable Knowledge
Answer useful questions while the host insists that at least one distractor involves moon cheese.
Several original questions, Answer input, Correct and incorrect branches, Score.
Conditions, Variables, Input, Messages, State.
A working version, one modification, one repaired problem, and an explanation.
Teacher checkpoints
Evidence before adding complexity.
- 1Student states the question in words.
- 2Both true and false paths can be demonstrated.
- 3The comparison uses the intended value.
- 4Only one answer scores each question.
- 5Student adds one independent decision.
Common mistakes
Pause, inspect, and test one cause.
- Using assignment language instead of comparison.
- Checking a changing condition only once.
- Two branches score the same answer.
- An else belongs to the wrong if.
Modification challenge
Three levels, one concept kept visible.
Higher levels are optional. They deepen the current idea rather than turning a beginner lesson into an unrelated advanced task.
Builder
- Add feedback for a wrong answer.
Inventor
- Accept two equivalent spellings.
Boss Level
- Choose question difficulty from score.
End-of-class demonstration
Explain the work while it is still visible.
- What question does the code ask?
- What makes it true?
- What happens otherwise?
- Can two outcomes happen together?
- What rule did you add?