Bedtime Routinesĭaily routines, such as morning routines, bedtime routines, or even exercise routines are another example of algorithms in everyday life. Asking students to define the process they use to classify the objects (a flowchart of qualities they look for in each specific food to determine its food group or how they compare one block to its surrounding blocks) is an example of algorithmic thinking, or the process of developing an algorithm that can be used to replicate a process. Whether classifying foods into different food groups, sorting household items by function, or organizing blocks from smallest to largest, students can often complete these algorithms relatively simply. Classifying ObjectsĪ process for classifying objects is another great example of algorithms in everyday life. Recipes are designed to create a duplicatable outcome, or to help individuals regardless of background be able to create a specific food by following a set of detailed instructions-just as an algorithm in computer science details steps to create replicable outcomes. They illustrate a replicable set of steps to accomplish a specific goal (such as baking blueberry muffins or cooking spaghetti sauce from scratch).

Recipes are a great example of an algorithm in everyday life. Chances are that you and your students follow one of these algorithms every time you tie your shoes. There are a limited number of steps that effectively result in a traditional shoelace know (known as the “bunny rabbit” or “loop, swoop and pull” knot). A good example of this in everyday life is tying your shoes. Tying Your ShoesĪny step-by-step process that is completed the same way every time is an algorithm. Some are surprisingly simple, such as the process of pouring a glass of water.īelow, we offer 7 unique examples that students can relate to that illustrate algorithms in everyday life: 1.

For instance, deciding what to wear in the morning is (for some of us) a complex algorithm of identifying what’s clean and available, which options are suitable for the weather, which articles of clothing match (each other or our style and what we’re comfortable wearing that day, etc.). Many everyday algorithms are surprisingly complex-but they also come naturally to us. There are many types of algorithms that are used in everyday life, including linear processes that follow a specific set of steps, conditional algorithms that perform decision-making between two actions and looping algorithms that repeat a sequence for a certain number of times.

In curriculum, it can be helpful for teachers to use examples of algorithms in everyday life to make the concept more approachable. This concept can feel enigmatic for some students who haven’t yet connected how algorithms exist in daily life. Instead of providing an answer to a question-or even showing the work for how they got there-algorithmic thinking requires students to solve not for an answer, but for a replicable process to solve the answer (or complete a task). For students new to coding, the process of algorithmic thinking can be challenging.

Algorithm of life book