Data Structures: Trees & Graphs
Implement traversals and shortest paths, then benchmark the trade-offs.
Materials
5 materials1
Warm-up prompt card
2
Guided notes
2
Traffic-light self-check slip
3
Sorting cards
4
Reflection slip
Lesson plan
4 phases, 85 minGoal
Students can implement tree and graph traversals and compare their time complexity.
1
Hook & warm-up
Spark curiosity with a quick prompt that connects data structures: trees & graphs to what students already know.
11 min
class
Warm-up prompt card
2
Direct instruction
Introduce the core ideas with a guided walkthrough and clear worked examples.
27 min
class
Guided notes
Traffic-light self-check slip
3
Guided practice
Students apply the concept in pairs or small groups while the teacher circulates and confers.
36 min
pair
Sorting cards
4
Wrap-up & check
Consolidate the big idea and check understanding with a short exit ticket.
11 min
single
Reflection slip
Interactive materials open in a read-only preview before purchase.
Ratings & comments
My students loved the hands-on part. The exit ticket gave me exactly the formative data I needed. Highly recommend.
Great question — I ran it with 28 and just added a third station to keep group sizes down. Worked fine.
A year down worked for me with the reading swapped for the summary version.
Clear, classroom-ready, and the materials list is accurate. My only tweak was adding a few more minutes to the practice phase.
This is now a staple in my unit. The progression from hook to wrap-up feels natural and easy to follow.
Yes! The materials tab has a printable. Look under the practice phase.
The extension is optional in the plan, but I mark it for the students who choose it.
Students who normally disengage were arguing about the data by minute ten. I will take that.
Noted, I will add a timing warning to the description.
Totally agree, the wrap-up is the strongest part.
Setup was about ten minutes for me once the materials were out on the bench.
It works fine without the lab kit — I demoed the tricky step at the front and the rest is paper-based.