Offline Code Academy- Creating an Algorithm on a Checkerboard

Your children can learn about creating an algorithm as when the explore this offline activity. It is part of a series that is called Offline Code Academy. Children will have fun creating mazes with checkers. Then they can work on creating an algorithm that will connect one corner of a checkerboard to another. This activity requires children to work with a partner. The partner could be a parent or another child.

Before walking through the directions for this creating an algorithm activity, you may want to read your children a book about coding. Below you will find several of my favorite books.
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Getting Reading for the Creating an Algorithm Activity

Supplies Needed

Checker Game (I found checker games at Dollar Tree that I am using.)
White Counting Chips
Sharpie Permanent Marker
Paper
Pencil

Getting the Counting Chips Ready

You will need to draw an arrow onto each of the white counting chips with a Sharpie marker. If you wanted to, you could have your children draw the arrows on the counting chips.

Directions for the Creating an Algorithm Activity

First, your children will need to decide where the starting square on the board will be and where the ending square will be. You will notice we used the bottom left-hand corner as the starting place. The ending place we used as the top right-hand corner.

Second, one person will need to arrange twelve checkers on the board. They will need to use them to create walls or corners their partner will have to create an algorithm around. You may want to remind them that they don’t want block their partner from getting across the board totally.

Third, the person who did not build the walls will create a path using the arrow chips that will begin at the start square and end at the end square. The arrow on each chip should point the direction that you will need to move from that square to the next.

Fourth, both people can write the algorithm down on paper with a pencil using arrows or words.

Fifth, you can have your children look at their written algorithm and see if there are any steps that should be written as a loop. A loop is when a direction repeats itself a number of times before changing direction. Three moves to the right in a row could be written as a loop. Your children could write move right three times. They could draw a bracket facing to the right with a three above it and a right arrow in it.