Lesson 7

Workshop: Place Value Concepts

Est. Class Sessions: 2

Summarizing the Lesson

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Ordering numbers from smallest to largest is a transition activity that can continue to be done after this lesson. For example, it can be used to organize students when transitioning from lunch, library, or recess, for example.

Bubble Sort with Ten Students. Give each student a card from one of the prepared sets of Number Representation Cards. Ask ten students to line up in the front of the room with their card and face their classmates but not in numerical order. Tell students they are going to look at their neighbors' card and decide if their card shows a larger or smaller number. See Content Note. Decide which end of the line is going to show the smallest number and which is going to show the largest number.

You can serve as the leader or you can choose an additional student to help lead the activity. The sorting begins when the leader says, "Compare." At the command, pairs of adjacent students compare their cards. There are two important rules for this activity: You can talk only with the two people on either side of you, and you can trade places only with a person who is next to you. The student with the smaller number moves toward the place of the smallest number. The student with the larger number moves toward the other end of the line. If a pair of students is already in order, they stay in their places. Remind students that they are just comparing and switching with the student next to them until the leader says, "Compare" again. Repeat the procedure until no more switches need to be made.

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The Bubble Sort. A bubble sort is a method for putting a list of items in order. For example, the items could be numbers or names. The Bubble Sort compares each item of the list with the item next to it and swaps them if they are not in the correct order. The big items rise to the top like bubbles in water. There are faster sorting algorithms, but this is one of the first that computer science students study because it is simple to describe and program.

Ask the rest of the students to join the ten students already standing in front of the room. Repeat the activity with all the students in the class.

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As students engage in the Bubble Sort, note constructive things that they say to one another that helps in the sorting. Highlight comparative communication that uses the phrases more than, less than, and about the same to assist students in their own development of mathematical communication.

Adventure Book:
Student Activity Book:
Master: