Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Mathematics/2015 December 25

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December 25

Good introductory book on algorithms for a middle-school kid?

My son is in middle school, and I'm trying to teach him how to code. Here's the problem: I can't quite figure out how to teach him to think algorithmically, or to visualize the algorithmic path to solving the problem. To me, visualizing an algorithm or a pseudocode before I write the actual code is completely natural, so I don't really make a conscious effort of doing so. But how do I teach someone to do this??? Telling him what the right algorithm is is doesn't really teach him anything. So how do I teach him to figure the algorithm out for himself? Are there any good books - books of Martin Gardner or Raymond Smullyan style and level - that could teach a smart middle schooler to "think in pseudocode"? Any recomnedations are most welcome. Happy Holidays! All the best, --Dr Dima (talk) 20:15, 25 December 2015 (UTC)

Perhaps Programming Pearls by Jon Bentley, but that probably doesn't get down to the introductory level you need. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 01:31, 26 December 2015 (UTC)

I might start with a simple example, such as searching for an item on a list, which may or may not be on the list. Start with a simple search through the whole list. Then show how you can stop the search if the item is found. Then consider a linear search on sorted list - show that you can stop the search if the item is found or if you get to a certain point in the list and it hasn't been found. Then binary search. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 19:17, 27 December 2015 (UTC)