Flowcharts and Pseudocode Lesson Three

Teaching Ideas

Learning Objective: To design, use and evaluate computational abstractions that model the state and behaviour of
real-world problems and physical systems.

(From National Curriculum Computing programmes of study: key stage 3: subject content:
statement 1.)

Success Criteria: • To know how to perform an algorithm trace.

• To use inputs and outputs in flowcharts.

• To use Flowgorithm to build and test flowchart algorithms.

Context: This is the third in a series of six lessons on the topic of flowcharts and pseudocode. Keywords and
concepts are fully explained within the PowerPoint resource which will be of particular use for non-
specialist and cover teachers. The key themes in this lesson include: performing an algorithm trace by
stepping through each instruction of a process; use of input and outputs and the flowchart symbols
for inputting and outputting of data; and using the excellent free resource Flowgorithm to build
and test flowcharts and generate pseudocode. To deliver this lesson as intended you will need to
download and install Flowgorithm beforehand which is freely available from the website: http://www.
flowgorithm.org/. It is highly recommended that you run through the PowerPoint resource in advance
of delivering this lesson and practice the activities in order to gain confidence in using Flowgorithm.
There is no need to purchase a licence (individual, educational or site licence) and the software can
be used freely in schools; it is a full working version with no limitations or trial period. Full instructions
are provided on the website for installation and use. There are opportunities within the learning
activities to work in groups and pairs; such strategies are particularly effective in supporting PPI,
EAL and SEND learners. The accompanying activities are differentiated for low and middle/high ability
learners, and answers to all of the activity questions are provided. Additional homework activities
are provided and can be used at your discretion. The knowledge and skills gained in this topic will
provide excellent preparation for further study with programming languages and problem solving, and
it is highly recommended that students study this topic before learning how to code and program.
The skills learned in this topic will also provide invaluable preparation for non-examined-assessment
(NEA) at GCSE level Computer Science.

Starter
High-Low Hedgehogs
• The purpose of this activity is to enable students to recall their learning from previous lessons, in particular their understanding
of sequence and using the correct flowchart symbols to describe a simple algorithm.

• Using the PowerPoint explain the situation: the now familiar characters of Flo and Sue the hedgehogs play a guessing game
whereby one character thinks of a number between 1 and 100, and the other character has to guess the number. If a guess is
too low or too high then the responses of “too low” or “too high” are given as appropriate, until the correct number is guessed.

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• Think of a number between 1 and 100 and ask the whole class to try and guess your number. The winner (the student who
first correctly guesses your number) gets to think of the next number, and choose others who want to make a guess. Your class
will love playing this familiar game, expect lots of noise and excitement which is quite healthy in this context. Allow students to
play this game afterwards in pairs or groups. This might also be an excellent opportunity for selecting a less confident student
to have first go and thereby boosting their self-esteem and enjoyment of your lessons.

• The next focussed activity for students is to produce a flowchart algorithm that describes this game. High-Low Hedgehogs
Activity Sheets are provided as a differentiated resource in two versions: with High-Low Hedgehogs Activity Sheet MA-HA
for mid to high ability learners, students are asked to draw a suitable flowchart from scratch, whereas lower ability students
will find High-Low Hedgehogs Activity Sheet LA more accessible in that the flowchart symbols are already provided and
students are asked to fill in the gaps.

Main Activities
Algorithm Tracing
• Ask students to take another look at their answers to High-Low Hedgehogs Activity Sheet. Most will have produced quite a
long (tall) flowchart, and may have run out of room. This leads to the question: is there a better, easier, more efficient way of
drawing this flowchart?

• Using the PowerPoint introduce students to the concept of algorithm tracing, which is the process of stepping through an
algorithm (in this case our flowchart) one step at a time.

• Using the PowerPoint show the suggested improvement to the flowchart; this contains decision boxes instead of a long series
of individual steps. This is an improvement because the flowchart is much shorter, easier to follow, and more efficient.

Inputs and Outputs

• Using the PowerPoint slides demonstrate the use of flowchart input and output boxes.

• On High-Low Hedgehogs Activity Sheet students then redraw the improved flowchart, including decision, input and output
boxes.

Flowgorithm
• Introduce learners to the free resource Flowgorithm which they will use to build and test their flowcharts.

• Flowgorithm is very easy to use, and has two very useful features:
1. it is possible to execute flowcharts created in Flowgorithm;
2. Flowgorithm can convert flowcharts into syntactically perfect code for several programming languages including
pseudocode.

• It is hard to understate how useful these features are: for students who might be interested in studying Computer Science
at GCSE level and beyond, being able to test and evaluate algorithms and generate pseudocode (and code in several popular
languages such as Python) is invaluable for Non Examined Assessments (NEAs) and projects.

• Follow the step by step instructions on the PowerPoint to guide students in creating and testing a “voting age” flowchart.

• Allow plenty of time for this activity; it might also be useful to pair more able students with less able, as some students find it
difficult to follow instructions from a large screen, as what is obvious to an adult professional may be less obvious to a student.

• Very importantly: once the “voting age” flowchart has been completed, allow students a few minutes to test their own and
others’ flowcharts. Some will want to immediately experiment with the condition (age >= 18) and add their own variations.
This is excellent, and if it happens to your class then rejoice and enjoy the moment. Experimentation, intellectual curiosity and
enthusiasm are the very commodities of deep learning and progress, and your students will be thrilled if you can give them
some space to play around with Flowgorithm; make sure to celebrate and demonstrate any excellent examples.

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Source Code
• Using the instructions provided on the PowerPoint, demonstrate how Flowgorithm can be used to generate source code in a
variety of programming languages, including pseudocode. As before, allow time for experimentation and wonder.

Testing Flowcharts
• Using the instructions provided on the PowerPoint, demonstrate how Flowgorithm can be used to execute flowchart algorithms.
Allow time for experimentation and testing.

Healthy Hedgehog
• This final activity is intended to consolidate learning and knowledge. Students are given a simple flowchart containing a
decision box, and the challenge is to determine what condition (question) should be used within the decision box. This will link
to prior mathematics knowledge of operations and inequalities, however students may need to be shown the correct syntax for
operations, in this case >= means “greater than or equal to” (there are no spaces between the > and = characters).

Plenary
Let’s Bring It All Together
At the conclusion of the lesson select individual students to tell you one new thing which they have learned today. To mix things
up a bit you could use a random name picker (there are many available online, this one is worth a look: https://www.classtools.
net/random-name-picker/). Alternatively pick a student and ask them to pick someone else to give the next answer. Try to
avoid asking for hands-up; better to select those who would benefit from being challenged, however be aware of those who may
feel very anxious about voicing answers to the class. Always check your students’ pen portraits where available or discuss any
concerns with your SEND coordinator beforehand.

As a prompt, ask students to give a definition for each of the key words: algorithm trace, input, output (these definitions can later
be displayed on the final PowerPoint slides).

Rate Your Progress

Give students a few moments to look back at the learning objective and success criteria and reflect on their learning. For each
criteria they can rate their own progress using a traffic light system, whereby green light means that they feel fully confident with
this objective and understand it well; amber light means that they have understood most of the objective and are happy with their
progress; red light means that they have understood some of the objective and will think about it some more, perhaps asking a
friend or teacher for help later on.

Nailing It Down
Encourage students to download Flowgorithm at home for free (with permission from parents/guardians) at this URL: http://www.
flowgorithm.org/ and try out the example programs.

Homework
Issue the Network Login Homework Activity Sheet for students to complete at home and bring in next week. This activity is
designed to be completed without the need for access to a computer.

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