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This activity is designed as a unit lesson across four sessions to give ākonga a hands-on pathway into complex programming with Scratch and real computational thinking, from simple sequencing through to conditionals, loops, and custom code blocks.
Learners will build their own chatbot in layers, starting with a sprite that counts to five in te reo Māori, teaching it to ask a question and respond, then giving it the ability to recognise a range of real answers and hold a short kōrero with the user. Along the way, learners will record their own voice, work with lists and variables, and tidy their code using custom blocks. Kia kaha te mahi!
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Sequencing blocks in a fixed order to control exactly what a sprite says, when, and in what voice
Branching the conversation with nested conditional blocks and comparison operators so a sprite’s response depends on what the user actually types
Looping input so the sprite keeps asking until it gets an output it recognises, rather than only handling a single attempt
Finding and fixing block-order and connection errors using the troubleshooting prompts, and explaining what went wrong and how it was fixed
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Building the chatbot up in stages across four sessions, testing at each stage before adding the next layer of complexity
Refining the outcome using information from testing, widening the approval list to catch spelling variants once real test answers reveal gaps
Tidying a growing, messy program into clearly labelled custom blocks, improving it for anyone else testing or extending it
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learning-languages
See ‘Te Reo Māori’ link below.
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Recording and embedding spoken te reo Māori vocabulary, including numbers, colours, and greetings, building pronunciation and word recognition through genuine use.
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Open up the sprite and backdrop library to let ākonga choose their own character and colours, helping make the finished chatbot feel more personal.
For ākonga less experienced with te reo Māori, simplify the vocabulary set to a smaller or more familiar list of kupu to help keep the coding challenge separate from the language challenge.
For less experienced or less confident ākonga, focus on Session 1 to build core sequencing and sound skills before introducing more complex elements like conditionals.
Pair ākonga for the block-assembly steps in Sessions 2 and 4, to help share the load when nested conditionals and loops get more complex to build.
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Stretch the chatbot’s vocabulary beyond numbers and colours to include categories like animals, whānau terms, days of the week, or others, to grow its conversational range.
Build a “no” pathway, so the chatbot can respond meaningfully rather than only handling a “yes” answer.
Challenge more confident ākonga to work toward a longer kōrero by repeating the ask-and-respond pattern several times in a row, so the chatbot holds an extended exchange rather than only answer a single question.
Layer in Broadcast messages between sprites to create a chatbot with more than one interactive character.
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Teachers should consider:
Scratch account permissions, including obtaining the necessary parent/guardian permissions for ākonga to register and use a Scratch account, or setting up the Scratch Offline Editor application on classroom devices in order to facilitate the activity without the need for user accounts or internet connection.
Saving and sign-in arrangements, to confirm that ākonga are able to save and revisit their work, whether through a Scratch account or offline local file.
Device & microphone access, including checking devices are charged, that Scratch is accessible, and that microphone permissions are already enabled before ākonga start.
Session pacing, given this project builds in complexity across four sessions, including allowing extra time at Sessions 2 and 4, where conditional logic and Boolean operators tend to be sticking points.
A quiet recording space, since Session 1 has ākonga recording themselves saying numbers in te reo Māori, including finding a reasonably quiet spot so recordings come out clear.
Te reo Māori pronunciation support, including having a fluent speaker, audio reference, or other reliable modelling available before ākonga record, since what they record here is what the chatbot will say back.
See Digital Safety & Wellbeing guidance below for more on managing audio recordings.
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Scratch runs in a browser and needs an internet connection. Recording sound requires microphone permission in the browser and website, and the first recording attempt will prompt for this if it’s not already setup. Anyone under 16 needs parent/guardian permission to register a Scratch account. There is also the option to build and save project without an account using the Scratch Offline Editor application, which doesn’t send anything to the Scratch Team unless a project is later uploaded to the public site.
Before the activity
Make sure each student or group has access to a Scratch account or the Scratch Offline Editor.
Remind ākonga to handle devices with care and to consider what is appropriate to include in their project during design, recording, and programming.
Remind ākonga of your school’s digital use agreement before beginning any lesson that involves digital devices, digital platforms, or the internet.
During the activity
Set clear expectations around safe and purposeful device use at the start of each lesson.
Supervise and actively support device use throughout.
Discuss openly what is and isn’t appropriate to include in a ScratchJr project, as well as support ākonga to re-record a take rather than feel stuck with it.
Support ākonga to know that if they encounter content that feels inappropriate, confusing, or upsetting that they can flag this with kaiako without concern.
After the activity
Decide with ākonga if projects will be shared beyond the classroom or published to the public Scratch site.
If devices are shared between classes have ākonga sign out of their Scratch account so the next user can’t see or edit their work, or if projects will stay within the Scratch Offline Editor, then agree who’s responsible for keeping track of or clearing digital projects and related files so no one’s project or audio recordings get lost, mishandled, or deleted by accident.
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>>> y4-6 | Y4-6 | 2 Lessons (Guided, Limited Build)
This year level band uses Sessions 1-2 of the guide only, stopping before loops, Boolean logic, and custom blocks so the coding load stays manageable.
Session 1: Sprite Setup & Sequencing — Guide ākonga through creating a new project, choosing and customising a sprite, and sequencing “say” and “start sound” blocks to make the chatbot count to five in te reo Māori.
Set up the project and sprite — Create a new Scratch project, delete the default cat, and choose a new sprite from the library.
Build the click-and-speak trigger — Attach a “say ___ for __ seconds” block under “when this sprite clicked” from Events, and test it by clicking the sprite.
Sequence the count to five — Drag five more “say” blocks underneath, and change each one to a number from one to five in te reo Māori.
Record and layer the audio — Record a sound clip for each number in the Sounds tab, then add a matching “start sound” block before each corresponding “say” block.
Session 2: Questions & a Simple Answer — Introduce the “ask and wait” block and a single if/then/else block so the sprite responds to “yes” or anything else, without going further into nested conditionals.
Add the question — Drag “ask ___ and wait” from Sensing so it’s the first block after “when this sprite clicked”.
Build the yes/else split — Drag an if/then/else block from Control below the ask block, moving the count-to-five code inside “then”.
Set the condition — Slot an “=” operator into the if condition, add “answer” from Sensing, and type “yes”, then add a simple “say” block in “else” for any other answer.
Test and discuss — Try both a "yes" and a different answer with ākonga, and talk through why the sprite’s response changes.
>>> y7-8 | Y7-8 | 4 Lessons (Full Build)
This year level band covers all four sessions of the guide, to the completion of the full chatbot program build.
Session 1: Sprite Setup & Sequencing — Guide ākonga through creating a new project, choosing and customising a sprite, and sequencing “say” and “start sound” blocks to make the chatbot count to five in te reo Māori.
Set up the project and sprite — Create a new Scratch project, delete the default cat, and choose a new sprite from the library.
Build the click-and-speak trigger — Attach a “say ___ for __ seconds” block under “when this sprite clicked” from Events, and test it by clicking the sprite.
Sequence the count to five — Drag five more “say” blocks underneath, and change each one to a number from one to five in te reo Māori.
Record and layer the audio — Record a sound clip for each number in the Sounds tab, then add a matching “start sound” block before each corresponding “say” block.
Session 2: Questions & Conditionals — Introduce the “ask and wait” block and a nested if/then/else structure so the sprite responds differently depending on whether ākonga answer “yes”.
Add the question — Drag “ask ___ and wait” from Sensing so it’s the first block after “when this sprite clicked”.
Build the first branch — Drag an if/then/else block from Control below the ask block, moving the existing count-to-five code inside the “then” section.
Set the yes condition — Slot an “=” operator into the if condition, drag in “answer” from Sensing, and type “yes”, then add a “say” block in “else” for any other response.
Nest a second choice — Drag a second if/then block into the else section, change the question to ask about numbers or colours, and build matching say/switch-backdrop blocks for each answer.
Session 3: Lists & Randomisation — Have ākonga build a greetings list and use “pick random” so the sprite varies its greeting, then extend the conditional logic to recognise a whole list of ways to say yes.
Create and populate a list — Make a new list called “greetings” in Variables, then use “add ___ to greetings” blocks under a “when flag clicked” event to add several options.
Randomise the greeting — Nest “item ___ of greetings” inside a “say” block, then drop a “pick random 1 to [list length]” block from Operators into the item number.
Build a “saying yes" list — Create a second list, and add several ways someone might type yes, including likely spelling mistakes.
Restructure the conditional — Move the counting-to-five question into an if/then/else using “saying yes contains answer?” from Variables as the condition, with the numbers/colours question now sitting in the else section.
Session 4: Loops, Booleans & Custom Blocks — Guide ākonga to use a “repeat until” loop with an “or” operator so the sprite keeps asking until it gets a recognised answer, then tidy the program using My Blocks.
Add the loop — Wrap a “repeat until” block from Control around the numbers/colours question-and-branch code sitting in the else section.
Build the Boolean condition — Drag an "or" block into the repeat until condition, with an “=” block either side, to read “answer = numbers or answer = colours”.
Test the loop — Try a misspelled answer and talk through with ākonga why the sprite keeps asking until it gets a match.
Tidy with custom blocks — Use My Blocks to create a “numbers” block and a “colours” block, moving each branch’s say/sound code into its matching definition.