teacher note Teacher note: Group by Zodiac signs

This “unplugged” activity will give students practice on “tracing through” elif statements.

Summary

Twelve students stand in line side-by-side holding up signs with zodiac sign dates on them. The rest of the students start at one end of the line, and, for each sign, check to see if their birthday falls within that zodiac sign period. If it does, the student stops and stands behind that sign. At the end, all the students will be grouped according to their zodiac signs!

Zodiac Sign

Date

Sign characteristics

Aries

March 21 - April 19

Active, Demanding, Determined, Effective, Ambitious

Taurus

April 20 - May 20

Security, Subtle strength, Appreciation, Instruction, Patience

Gemini

May 21 - June 20

Communication, Indecision, Inquisitive, Intelligent, Changeable

Cancer

June 21 - July 22

Emotion, Diplomatic, Intensity, Impulsive, Selective

Leo

July 23 - August 22

Ruling, Warmth, Generosity, Faithful, Initiative

Virgo

August 23 - September 22

Analyzing, Practical, Reflective, Observation, Thoughtful

Libra

September 23 - October 22

Balance, Justice, Truth, Beauty, Perfection

Scorpio

October 23 - November 21

Transient, Self-Willed, Purposeful, Unyielding

Sagittarius

November 22 - December 21

Philosophical, Motion, Experimentation, Optimism

Capricorn

December 22 - January 19

Determination, Dominance, Perservering, Practical, Willful

Aquarius

January 20 - February 18

Knowledge, Humanitarian, Serious, Insightful, Duplicitous

Pisces

February 19 - March 20

Fluctuation, Depth, Imagination, Reactive, Indecisive

from http://www.whats-your-sign.com/zodiac-sign-dates.html

To prepare

if birthday falls between March 21 to April 19:
    Your sign is Aries
elif birthday falls between April 20 to May 20:
    Your sign is Taurus

And so on.

else:
    Your sign is Pisces

Directions

  1. Have 12 volunteers line up side by side.

  2. Give each volunteer a sign, making sure the leftmost student has the if sign, and the rightmost student has the else sign. It’s best to keep the elif signs in the correct order.

  3. Have each student start at the if sign, to check if his birthday falls within the dates on the sign.

  4. If it does, have that student stand behind the student holding the sign.

  5. Otherwise, have the student step (right) to the next sign, to check if his birthday matches that one.

  6. Let him keep going until he finds a sign that matches his birthday.

Wrap up questions

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