How to Create a Thirsty Crow Story in Scratch | Animation Story in Scratch for Kids

Introduction: Thirsty Crow Story in Scratch

Watch the full tutorial here – How to create a Thirsty Crow Story in Scratch | Animation Story in Scratch for Kids | Kodex Academy

Are you looking for a fun and educational way to teach your kids coding through storytelling? In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create the classic “Thirsty Crow” story in Scratch, using simple animation, voice, and sprite actions. This is a perfect project for kids who are new to coding and want to build their own animated stories using Scratch programming.

Scratch is a visual, block-based programming language designed for beginners. By recreating this popular moral story, children will explore key programming concepts like sprites, costumes, broadcasting, loops, and text-to-speech — all while having fun with creativity and animation.

What You’ll Learn

In this hands-on tutorial, kids will not only enjoy recreating a timeless moral story, but they’ll also pick up essential coding skills using Scratch. Here’s what you’ll learn while building the Thirsty Crow animation story in Scratch:

Key Scratch Coding Skills:

How to create and customize sprites (e.g., turning a parrot into a crow)
How to build and scroll a jungle background
Using event-driven programming with blocks like when green flag clicked
Looping and conditional logic using control blocks
Creating animated subtitles and dialogue with costumes
Adding voiceovers and using the text-to-speech extension
Broadcast messages to coordinate actions between sprites
Interactive storytelling techniques in Scratch

Storytelling Elements:

Animate the crow’s journey from thirst to triumph
Drop pebbles into the pitcher using sprite actions
Show story dialogues and moral message through on-screen text and sound
Design your own ending screen to conclude the story

This project is a perfect blend of coding for kids, moral storytelling, and creative animation—making learning Scratch programming for kids both fun and meaningful. Let’s dive in and create a fun, interactive version of The Thirsty Crow in Scratch!

How to Create a Thirsty Crow Story in Scratch: Step‑by‑Step Coding

In this coding tutorial, we’ll divide into sections:

Background scrolling
Crow & animation
Subtitles/dialogue
Objects (pitcher, pebbles, water)
Sound / Speech
Broadcasts & timing
Moral / Ending

Prerequisites

Scratch account / editor open (https://scratch.mit.edu/)
Some forest image(s) for background
Sound files (you can record or use text‑to‑speech)
Basic familiarity with Scratch blocks

1. Forest Background & Scrolling Effect

Goal: Create a forest background that scrolls continuously, giving the illusion of the crow moving through the forest.

Sprites/Assets needed:

Two background sprites (“NatureOne”, “NatureTwo”) using the same forest image.

Steps:

Upload/import the forest image as a costume for a sprite. Duplicate or use two separate sprites with that image.
Rename them “NatureOne” and “NatureTwo”.
Resize / adjust costumes so they cover the screen properly. Possibly convert to vector for smoother scaling.

Block “code”:

For NatureOne sprite:

when Green Flag clicked
go to x: 0 y: 0
set size to (desired %)  // adjust so image covers screen
forever
    repeat 350
        change x by -5
        wait (0.05) seconds // adjust speed if needed
    end
    if <(x position) < -460> then
        go to x: 465 y: 0
    end
end

For NatureTwo, similar but initial position is offset so that while NatureOne is showing, NatureTwo is just to its right (e.g. x: 465). Then same loop:

when Green Flag clicked
go to x: 465 y: 0
set size as above
forever
    repeat 350
        change x by -5
        wait (0.05) seconds
    end
    if <(x position) < -460> then
        go to x: 465 y: 0
    end
end

Adjust “‑460” and “465” based on your image width.

2. Crow Sprite & Flight Animation

Goal: Animate the crow flying, moving, and customize the crow appearance.

Steps:

Choose a sprite that resembles a bird or crow. If no crow in default Scratch library, select one (e.g. parrot) and edit in Costume tab: fill color black, adjust details so it looks like a crow.
Ensure there are at least two costumes (crow flying wing up / wing down) to simulate flapping.
Resize the crow to fit screen.

Block “code” for crow flapping animation:

when Green Flag clicked
go to x: ‑179 y: 96
set size to (for example) 50% // adjust as needed
repeat 10
    switch costume to [Crow‑Wing‑Up]
    wait 0.5 seconds
    switch costume to [Crow‑Wing‑Down]
    wait 0.5 seconds
end

Later, for movements (glide etc.), you’ll add more blocks after broadcasts.

3. Subtitles / Dialogue (Text Display)

Goal: Show textual lines of the story (“One hot summer day …”, etc.) in sequence, matching narration / sound.

Steps:

Create a new sprite; paint it yourself (“Subtitles”).
In Costume tab, create multiple costumes; each costume has one line of dialogue. For example:
- Costume1: “One hot summer day, a crow became very thirsty.”
- Costume2: “He flew in search of water.”
- … etc, up to Costume11 or so.
Adjust font style (handwriting font looks good), size, position on screen.

Block “code” for Subtitles sprite:

when Green Flag clicked
hide
wait 3 seconds
switch costume to Costume1
show
wait 2 seconds
switch costume to Costume2
wait 2 seconds
switch costume to Costume3
wait 1 second
// ... continue for all costumes (dialogue lines)
wait (appropriate time)
hide

You might also want to use broadcasting to synchronize subtitle display with sound events.

4. Pebbles, Pitcher, Water Objects

Goal: Show the pitcher (or bowl), pebbles, water rising, pebbles being collected. Visual effects via costume changes or sprite hiding/switching.

Sprites needed:

Pitcher / Bowl sprite (with multiple costumes: empty, some pebbles, water rising)
Pebble sprites (maybe multiple small rock costumes)
A final moral background / sprite

Steps:

Upload or draw the pitcher sprite. Create at least two costumes:
- BowlEmpty
- BowlWithPebblesAndWater
Upload or draw pebbles / rocks. Maybe multiple rock sprites or a single one with multiple costumes (many vs fewer).
Position objects off screen initially; show them when required via broadcast / event.

Block “code” (in Pitcher sprite):

when Green Flag clicked
hide
// Listen for broadcast to show pitcher
when I Receive [Picture]
    show
    go to x: 76 y: ‑80
    switch costume to BowlEmpty

Then later:

when I Receive [Water]
    switch costume to BowlWithPebblesAndWater

For pebbles:

when Green Flag clicked
hide

when I Receive [Picture]
    show pebbles sprite(s)
    position them near pitcher

when I Receive [collect pebbles]
    // action to simulate crow collecting pebbles
    hide or change costume to show fewer pebbles

5. Sound / Voice / Text‑to‑Speech

Goal: Narrate the story either via uploaded sound files or using text‑to‑speech; sync sound with visuals.

Steps:

In each sprite, go to Sounds tab. Upload your own recording of each line OR use Scratch’s Text‑to‑Speech extension.
Label sounds clearly (Sound1, Sound2, …) matching dialogue lines.

Block “code” (in a central control sprite or crow / stage):

when Green Flag clicked
// sound playback sequence
wait 4 seconds
start sound [Dialogue1]
wait 2 seconds
start sound [Dialogue2]
wait 2 seconds
// etc.

If using text‑to‑speech:

when Green Flag clicked
// after some broadcast or timing
say [“Oh my god, I am feeling very thirsty!”] using voice [Quick]

6. Broadcasting & Timing Coordination

Goal: Use broadcast messages to synchronize when different sprites appear, change costumes, sounds play, etc.

Key Broadcast Messages to use:

Picture — for pitcher/bowl appearance
Water — to show water level rising
collect pebbles — for pebble action
collect water (if you want crow to drink)
flew away — for final flying away animation
end of story — for moral / ending screen

Definition / reference:

Broadcast blocks are in Events block category. Scratch Wiki
“Broadcast and Wait” can be used if you need script to pause until receivers finish.

Central control script (in Stage or a control sprite):

when Green Flag clicked
// Subtitle & sound start
wait 4 secs
start sound Dialogue1
wait 2 secs
start sound Dialogue2
wait 2 secs
broadcast [Picture]
wait 2 secs
broadcast [Water]
wait 2 secs
broadcast [collect pebbles]
wait 2 secs
broadcast [collect water]
wait 2 secs
broadcast [flew away]
wait 3 secs
broadcast [end of story]

7. Crow Movement Relative to Broadcasts

Goal: The crow moves / glides / changes position at relevant broadcasts.

Block “code” for Crow sprite:

when Green Flag clicked
// initial flight animation (wing flaps etc.) as earlier

when I Receive [Picture]
    glide 1 sec to x: 80 y: ‑138
    wait 1 second
    glide 1 sec back to x: 75 y: ‑80
    // etc.

when I Receive [collect pebbles]
    // crow picks up pebbles, maybe hide some pebbles sprites
    glide etc.

when I Receive [flew away]
    repeat 10
        switch costume wing up
        wait 0.5 seconds
        switch costume wing down
        wait 0.5 seconds
        move 10 steps
    end
    hide // or move off screen

8. Moral / Final Screen

Goal: At end of story, hide all other sprites, show final “moral” sprite / background.

Steps:

Create a sprite (or backdrop) that shows the moral text: “When there’s a will, there’s a way.”
When broadcast end of story is received:

Other sprites hide (crow, pebbles, pitcher, subtitles, backgrounds if needed)
Show the moral sprite, bring to front

Block “code” in Moral sprite:

when Green Flag clicked
hide

when I Receive [end of story]
    show
    go to front layer
    set position x: 0 y: 0

Maybe also set size or costume or backdrop accordingly.

9. Full Integrated Flow

Putting it all together, the project flow looks like this:

Green Flag clicked → scrolling forest starts
Crow is placed & flaps wings / flies (animation)
Subtitles start appearing after a few seconds
Sounds / voice begin narration
Picture (pitcher) appears (broadcast “Picture”)
Water level waits (broadcast “Water”)
Pebbles are collected (broadcast “collect pebbles”)
Crow moves / glides etc.
Crow flies away (broadcast “flew away”)
Moral screen appears (broadcast “end of story”)

10. Tips / Tweaks

Adjust all wait times carefully so dialogues match sound & visuals.
Use Broadcast and Wait if you need to ensure one script finishes (e.g. subtitle display) before another action starts.
Use layering / “go to front/back layer” so moral screen is visible atop others.
Resize sprites and positions to look good on the stage (account for different sizes/screens).

Summary

By building this Thirsty Crow story in Scratch, kids will pick up:

Creating animation story in Scratch
Basics of how to create a story in scratch, with moral lesson
How to make games in scratch and integrate game‑like interactions (broadcasts, sprite hiding/showing, variable counts)
Using scratch animation tutorial for kids patterns: costumes, movement, backgrounds
Integrating text to speech or own voice for narration
Sequencing and timing: waiting, synchronizing dialogues with visuals

Call to Action

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