Conceptual Math Idea
Common Core Learning Target:
Common Core Standard:6.NS.8 Solve real‐world and mathematical problems by graphing points in all four quadrants of the coordinate plane. Include use of coordinatesand absolute value to find distances between points with the same first coordinate or the same second coordinate.
Materials Needed:
Three Battleship game boards for each student created out of graph paper. Directions below.Following is a link to a powerpoint verison of Battlegraph:
Battlegraph.ppt
Brief description of Idea/Strategy/Lesson:
Play Coordinate Plane Battleship as a whole class and then with partners.This activity provides practice plotting and naming points on a coordinate grid.
1. Introduce students to the coordinate system: x-axis, y-axis, a point contains an x- and y- coordinate, origin, quadrants, how to locate a point, how to name a point.
2. Hand out three Battleship game boards to each student. Teacher instructions for setting up the game board: Turn a piece of graph paper sideways and draw a line down the middle. Label the left side “My Battlefield” and the right side “Opponent’s Battlefield”. On each side, draw a coordinate system going from -5 to +5 on each axis. Under each coordinate system, mark off an area and title it “Points called”.
3. Using a transparency of the game board, explain to the class how the game is played. Each student places their battleships on the coordinate grid marked “My Battleship” using a series of dots. There are five ships: one carrier (made of 5 points), two destroyers (made of 4 points each), and two submarines (made of 3 points each). Unlike the board game, the ships can be placed diagonally. Someone starts by calling a point and lists that point in the “Points called” section on the left side of the paper. The opponent writes the point in the “Points called” section on the right side of their paper and declares whether it was a hit or miss (and if the ship is sunk). The person who called the point marks the hit with an “X” or a miss with an “O” on the “Opponent’s Battlefield”. Students work in pairs until one person sinks all of the other person’s ships or time runs out. If time runs out, the person with the most hits wins.
4. Pair students and give them time in class to play a game.
5. For homework that night, have them play a game with someone at home. This is the reason that each student gets three game boards – one to use in class, and two for homework.
Which Math Practices are evident in this math idea?
Make sense of problems and persevere in solving
Reason abstractly and quantitatively
Construct arguments & critique other’s reasoning
Model with mathematics
Use appropriate tools strategically
Attend to precision
Look for and make use of structure
Express regularity in repeated reasoning
How do you differentiate for students who are struggling with the concept?Modify the lesson to include rational numbers within a limited range, perhaps beginning with a 5 X 5 grid getting progressively larger as their skill improves.
How do you differentiate for students who have already shown mastery of the concept?
Gifted learners will enjoy trying to develop specific strategies for winning. If they come up with a plan, allow them to share with others and try it out.
They also could collect data on how many attempts it took them to “sink the battleship” and use this as a measure of the efficiency of the strategy.
They could also could analyse the grid for the battleship game to see how likely it is the battleship will be in that location.