Organizing Mails Insertion Sort Algorithm

For your next computational adventure, go algorithmic on your mailbox.

When mailman drops off mail(s), let the mail investigation game begin! It’s the Organizing Mails Insertion Sort Algorithm game!

How to Play

When mailman come over to put mails in the mailbox, invite and encourage your child to play. First of all, explain how to sort mails by name and last name. Give some examples. Your child must cluster by name and last name. If they don't: Beep them! Keep going till your child has sorted out and clustered all correctly. Next, allow him/her to put each person's mails in the big yellow envelopes on the table to find them easily in the future.

Step 1: Mails are in the mailbox!

Give your child a chance to check mailbox when mailman arrived.

When there are several mails in the mailbox -- now it's time to start the STEM game.

Encourage your child to pull all the mails out of the mailbox, and set it down on the table or the floor.

Step 2: Sort out/cluster by last names

Let your kid start with last names. Have your kid sort out mails by last names and put apart same last names in the box.

Get them thinking about categories. Ding them if they get any wrong.

Help them understand categorization. Try not to give the right answer, but scaffold them if they have any questions or need any help.

Step 3: Sort out by first names and then use yellow envelopes

Are you ready? Let's sort out by first and last names. It's not about just last names anymore. Now, it's about first and last names! Your little one has to re-sort out, based on the first and last name.

Again, have them talk it through -- and ding them if they get the sort out wrong. Put the same first and last name mails in the big envelope with big written names.

For example, Mom’s mails are in the envelope of yellow with Mom’s name written. Father’s mails are in the envelope of yellow with Father’s name written. Sibling’s mails are in the envelope of yellow with sibling’s name written. Now, it is time to use the Insertion Sort Algorithm.

Let your child put the first yellow envelope in the middle of the table, then take the second and compare it to the first, inserting it either to the right or to the left. Picking up the third yellow envelope, keep on doing the same repetitive action until he/she finds the right order. Repeating this process, gradually all of the yellow envelopes would end up sorted on the table and the task is done.

Step 4: Prioritize your mails

When you are done this activity, allow your child apply the same process for important mails versus commercial mails.

Okay, one last sorting out. Ask your child: What's the most important and less important mails to check out?

it's probably the sorting out of 'important mails' or 'commercial mails'.

They can keep name and last name sorting out, but now time to differentiate important mails and commercial mails. Ask them how they decide mail whether important or not?