The Merge Sort Algorithm Birthday Party

Stand in a circle!

Friends and family members at the awesome birthday party for little one for celebration! For your next computational thinking adventure with your young kids, have fun with friends and family members while celebrating birthday party. Figure out how to arrange and order things (or, in this case, party guests) by comparing ages. It’s the, “The Merge Sort Algorithm Birthday Party."

How to Play

Your child is already familiar with, “Who is the tallest person in your family?” If you want to check out this activity or brush up, it is the best time before starting “The Merge Sort Algorithm Birthday Party” game. Have everyone at the party stand in a circle. The birthday kid stands in the middle of the circle to compare the ages of guests, divide people in clustering several pairs. This is called, “Merge Sort Algorithm.”

Step 1: Rehearsal Party With Family Members on!

A few days before the birthday party, make rehearsal with family members.

First of all, make sure your child know how to read numbers in order to compare family members’ ages in the right order.

Give your kid a pen, pencil or marker and blank sticker to create a number tag for each family member, including him/her.

Let your birthday boy or girl write age of each family member clearly across the center of the blank sticker. Ages should be large enough so that it can be readable by him/her and family members as well.

Place each of you number tag on the center of your chest so it helps easily to be seen by each family member.

Step 2: Experimenting Merge Sort Algorithm

Require number tag from your child to place it on the center of your chest. Have everyone stand in a circle of birthday party. Afterwards, let your child compare numbers. Listen carefully and ask leading questions.

After this first experiment, let your child explain how she/he make decisions. For instance, he/she makes decision based on numbers or assumptions. Did he/she compare everybody at the same time or pairing two or several family members first and then decides.

Let’s get started to introduce, “Merge Sort Algorithm.” Explain your child what is the “Merge Sort Algorithm.” Take ample time to explain how it works explicitly.

The Merge Sort Algorithm based on the principle of divide things in a cluster, in our example, people and it has two people for each cluster. For example, let’s say there are 16 guests at the birthday party, decompose them in two groups and continue decomposing those groups in halves, and halves again until there are 16 people of 1 person. Afterwards, you compose the people in person again but this time, sort them in ascending order.

Step 3: Let's Get the Birthday Party Started

Birthday parties are so much fun to celebrate your friends and family members. Here are some fun things to do together while applying Merge Sort Algorithm.

You already had a rehearsal, therefore, your child knows how to play this fun and educational game.

Let your child compare numbers (ages) of family members and friends.

Observe whether he/she swap family members in a pair clustering over if they are in the wrong order. Pay close attention to how your little one tackles the ordering problem.

Step 4: Debriefing The Birthday Party

Tell your child to explain who is the oldest or youngest person in the family members and friends.

Allow him to explicitly elaborate how he/she tackled this problem. Did he compare all of them at the same time, did he/he cluster or scaled.

And then ask is the bubble sort algorithm or merge sort algorithm is the most effective way to use. Which one is better than another sorting algorithm, Bubble Sort Algorithm? Why or why not?