Data structures for searching (unit) is part of a CS Unplugged unit about organising data so it is quick to search. You act out a tree on the ground and walk through it.
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Is it for me?
It is for older children, about 11-13 and up, who have already tried the searching games, with a grown-up or teacher. It is an Intermediate activity.
Grown-ups: children often mix up binary search and binary search trees. They are related, but not the same.
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How to start
Draw a big tree on the ground with chalk or tape.
Pick a target number and walk the tree, turning over nodes.
Compare with searching a sorted list.
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How much time?
Plan about 55 minutes at a time over about 5 sessions. (estimate)
55 min per session5 sessionsestimate
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A plan you can follow
Day 145 minWalk through the tree.
Day 230 minBuild your own tree with new numbers.
Week 130 minCompare with the sorted list game.
Times are estimates. Go at your own speed.
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From the list: uccser/cs-unplugged · License: CC-BY-SA-4.0 · CS Unplugged: Data structures for searching
Lesson from CS Unplugged, University of Canterbury CSER Group, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes were made: translated and level-tagged by Open Cosmos, with AI. Shared under the same license.