Hands-on Activity
Write an algorithm
Participants write instructions for recreating a picture, then watch a partner draw something else entirely.
Setup
Each participant gets a simple printed picture — a shape, a house, a face — which their partner must not see. They write instructions precise enough for someone else to reproduce it.
Running the activity
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Choose a picture
Each participant takes a printed shape or simple picture and keeps it hidden.
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Write the instructions
Step-by-step instructions for drawing it — no sketching, words only.
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Exchange
Partners swap instructions and follow them exactly as written.
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Compare
Put the drawing next to the original. The gap between them is the lesson.
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Discuss
Identify which instructions were unclear and rewrite those steps.
Debrief questions
- How close was the drawing to the original?
- Which instruction caused the biggest difference?
- Where did you assume your partner would know what you meant?
- Which steps needed more detail?