The development of Scratch-Jr: programming learning in early childhood as a new literacy

This article describes the work done by the author and her team on the development of the free programming language, ScratchJr, for children from 5 to 7 years old. Then, it details her pedagogical approach called "Code as Another Language" (CAL-Coding as Another Language), which understands the teaching of programming not only as problem solving but as an expressive activity that allows individuals to manipulate a socially situated symbolic system, with its grammar and syntax, to communicate ideas and to create shareable artefacts. The article describes ScratchJr and CAL as a playground where children learn by playing, inventing, creating and socializing.