How to Make a Sprite Move Up, Down, Left, and Right in Scratch ?

Tutorial plan

1- What's a sprite in Scratch ?

2- Move the Cat in 4 Directions with Scratch

What's a sprite in Scratch ?

In Scratch, a sprite is any character, object, or image that performs actions in your project. Sprites are the main things you control and program using code blocks.

A sprite can be:

A character (like the Scratch Cat)

An object (like a ball, car, or apple)

Or even custom artwork you create or upload

Each sprite can:

Move, rotate, speak, change appearance, etc.

Have its own costumes (visuals) and scripts (code)

You can program sprites to:

React to keyboard or mouse inputs

Interact with other sprites or backgrounds

Follow logic like if…then, repeat, wait, etc.

Example:

In a Scratch game:

The cat sprite can be programmed to move with arrow keys.

A fruit sprite can disappear when the cat touches it.

A score sprite (text) can update the player's points.

Move the Cat in 4 Directions with Scratch

Learn how to move a sprite (like the Scratch Cat) up, down, left, and right using the arrow keys on your keyboard.

Step 1: Start a New Project

Go to scratch.mit.edu and create a new project.

Keep the Scratch Cat.

Step 2: Add Keyboard Controls

Click on the sprite, go to the "Code" tab, and use these blocks for each direction:

When you click on the up arrow, the cat points upwards and then advances 10 steps.

When you click the down arrow, the cat points down and then advances 10 steps.

When you click the right arrow, the cat turns to the right then it advances 10 steps.

When you click the left arrow, the cat turns to the left then it advances 10 steps.