Kindergartners Study Algorithms
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Kindergartners Study Algorithms
John F. Kennedy Elementary School kindergartners learned about the importance of algorithms during a lesson in technology and enrichment teacher Courtney Waldmann’s class.
To introduce the complex concept to the school’s youngest learners, Waldmann compared it to algorithms that students use every day, including washing their hands, brushing their teeth and walking to school. During the lesson, she encouraged the students to verbally describe the steps they use to brush their teeth and discuss how to give specific details, such as “put toothpaste on brush and squeeze paste.” Then, the students were provided with cards containing instructions for each step and used their critical skills to reorder the steps and glue them in the correct order. At the end of class, the students gathered on the rug to review what they learned.
“From this lesson, I hope that my students take away the understanding that an algorithm is a list of steps and that we use algorithms every day,” Waldmann said. “Having established this foundation with my students, they will rely on this information when we start our coding units using our robots and our computer programs. During our coding unit, the students will need to create various algorithms for either our robot or computer to follow.”
PORT CHESTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS
