Learning Strategies for Teaching Flowcharts to Students
- Describe the Purpose: Study a flowchart to understand the purpose of the illustrated program. Write a short paragraph that describes what the program does.
- Make a Recipe: Transform a flowchart into a numbered list similar to a food recipe. Provide a written description about what is happening at each step.
- Fill-in-the-Blanks: Read a program description. Then study the flowchart that illustrates each step. Complete the blank shapes to finish the sequence of instructions. To simplify the task, the missing instructions can be provided with students placing them into the correct spot.
- Connect the Shapes: Draw lines with arrows to direct the sequence of instructions in a flowchart. Label the lines with identifiers such as yes or no.
- List the Variables: Study a flowchart to identify the variables that are needed to store, calculate, or manipulate data. Create a list.
- Transform a Recipe into a Flowchart: Take a numbered list of steps in a program and transform it into a flowchart. Use the correct shapes to illustrate each action or process.
- Code Connection: Map code snippets to steps in a flowchart.