The Bubble Sort and Sort Dance Activities

Have the class act out an array and gradually work out how to sort it efficiently. 
Students act as an array of values to be sorted, with others as loop variables. Together you gradually work out a sort algorithm, Bubble Sort, that works by doing lots of passes over the array. The students also work out how to improve the algorithm, and you explore how much faster the improved version is. You develop the code as the algorithm is developed.

Learn about:

  • sort algorithms
  • Bubble Sort
  • efficiency of algorithms
  • computational thinking
  • programming algorithms

Resources

See our Bubble Sort videos playlist on our YouTube channel.

This session comes with slides and simple props, a linked activity sheet  that you can download is in preparation:

This activity works well on its own but can naturally be used with the Divide and Conquer Sorting Activity.

More Activities on Sort Algorithms

Back to activities

4 thoughts on “The Bubble Sort and Sort Dance Activities”

  1. Hello: I can’t click on the link to the slides titled Bubble Sort (using a Mac). I’d like to review the workshop I attended. Thanks.

  2. Pingback: Computer Science Activities – ZiZoInDaHouz!

  3. Pingback: CS4FN Advent – Day 3 – woolly hat: warming versus cooling – cs4fn

Comments are closed.