Flowchart Lesson Plan

When I started to write computer programs there was a strong trend toward teaching basic flowchart construction so that the programs would follow a logical path. Teachers often want their students to learn logical thinking and again construction of flowcharts can help. Imagine that you give students a set of labels with the elements of flowcharts, then give students a problem to flowchart, and then have them construct a flowchart to fit the problem. They may have to draw connecting lines between the elements.

There are many problems that teachers could make into a flowchart. Suppose the problem is: "Entering The Classroom"; "Washing the Dog"; "Washing the Car"; "Baking a Cake" etc. This can take the form of a computer program or could even be made into a Power Point Presentation (TM). Students could watch a video tape of a task and then change it into a flow chart.

In the case of washing the dog: Enter The Task, Determine the Dog Needs a Bath, Get The Dog, Put the Dog in The Tub, etc. The trick is to come up with a list of tasks (processing steps) and some statements that may require decision statements such as "Is the Dog Wet" then you would have a "Yes" or "No" path from the Decision Diamond.

For a teacher such flowcharts could be made into large poster size elements. So the teacher could have Decision Diamonds, Start, End, Processing and other elements in very large forms that could then be put on the board. Since some dry erase boards are metallic on the underside, these flow chart elements might stick to the board if they had magnetic material on their back side. If these large elements were laminated the teacher could write on them with dry erase markers and then erase them as needed. Each student could have a set of laminated patterns to put on their desk to work out a pattern to solve a processing task.

You could even have small groups of students work on a project together. It is a good idea to work out potential flowcharts to a particular problem before giving the task to students, just to be certain they can do what is expected. This can be a great deal of fun in a classroom especially if the task is something that they can actually do later in the classroom. Every time we use a set of instructions it is essentially a flow chart. When you build a model the instructions have Step 1; Step 2 etc.

Teachers do this all the time, but seldom flowchart the process. I would tell students as you enter the classroom get your folder, then go to your seat and put your books under the desk and face front. Think of all the flow chart elements are in that sequence. Everyone will have many problems to solve throughout life and understanding how to plan a solution is a valuable skill that students can practice early. The graphic is just a rough template.