SILO 2.4 (DRAFT)Year 2, Term 4: AlgorithmsFocus: Algorithms Scope and sequence: Algorithms |
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Learning
intention: Students
explore number patterns as an introduction to algorithms.
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NSW Syllabus
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Australian Curriculum
(version 9.0)
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"A student describes, follows and
represents algorithms to solve problems." (ST1-3DP-T)
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"Students learn to recognise,
describe and create additive patterns that increase or decrease
by a constant amount, using numbers, shapes and objects, and
identify missing elements in the pattern." (AC9M2A01)
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An algorithm is a set of steps used to complete a specific task. Although this word is often used in relation to technology, it can have a wider application in every day use. For example, an algorithm for preparing to go home at the end of a school day would involve packing up, clearing desks, and so on. The following video (2:30) provides an excellent overview of algorithms.
Number guessing game
The game is played again with a student running the game.
The next stage with this activity is to contrast good guesses such as "Is it lower than 50?" with random guesses such as "Is it 87?" This can then be used as an introduction to algorithms where the aim is to narrow down the options. This is also a good way to introduce the word 'strategy'. A useful website for playing this game is https://toytheater.com/hundreds-chart/. On this site you can eliminate the numbers which have been ruled out using different colours. For example, the mystery number was 14 and the yellow shading was in response to the question, "Is it bigger than 50?". The blue shading was in response to the question, "Is it even?"
Number activity
https://davidwees.com/content/patterns-and-algebra/
The following video (4:58) explains algorithms using a
counting example and pseudo code.