Coordinate Grids

Today the third graders learned about coordinate grids.  These consists of items plotted on a grid where students are given an ordered pair, such as (3,2) and have to find the item.  What better way to learn that to make a human coordinate grid?!?  We used chairs in our room to construct a coordinate grid.  Then the students each selected an item and randomly placed it on a chair.  Next, they had to write the correct ordered pair that would lead someone else to their item. (In coordinate grids you have to go across first and then up.)  Students took turns drawing a random slip and following the direction to see what item they were led to.  It was fun and very helpful in learning about coordinate grids!

Here the students were determining the correct ordered pair to write so that someone else could follow them to find the selected object.

More work on determining ordered pairs.

This was the ordered pair that Zoey selected.

Here is Zoey starting at zero.  The first number in her ordered pair was 4, so she is first walking across the grid 4 steps.

And she found 4 and stopped right there.  Then she turned and faced up the grid.

After taking 3 steps up, Zoey successfully found the object (an eraser) that her partner had led her to.  Way to go!