This cross-curricular lesson was designed to give students an understanding of the relationship between the coordinate grid in math and latitude and longitude in science.

Rational Numbers

Type of Unit: Concept

Prior Knowledge

Students should be able to:

Solve problems with positive rational numbers.
Plot positive rational numbers on a number line.
Understand the equal sign.
Use the greater than and less than symbols with positive numbers (not variables) and understand their relative positions on a number line.
Recognize the first quadrant of the coordinate plane.

Lesson Flow

The first part of this unit builds on the prerequisite skills needed to develop the concept of negative numbers, the opposites of numbers, and absolute value. The unit starts with a real-world application that uses negative numbers so that students understand the need for them. The unit then introduces the idea of the opposite of a number and its absolute value and compares the difference in the definitions. The number line and positions of numbers on the number line is at the heart of the unit, including comparing positions with less than or greater than symbols.

The second part of the unit deals with the coordinate plane and extends student knowledge to all four quadrants. Students graph geometric figures on the coordinate plane and do initial calculations of distances that are a straight line. Students conclude the unit by investigating the reflections of figures across the x- and y-axes on the coordinate plane.

Students draw a figure on the coordinate plane that matches a written description.Key ConceptsOrdered pairs name locations on the coordinate plane. The first coordinate tells how many units to go left or right of the origin (0,0) along the x-axis. The second coordinate tells how many units to go up or down from the origin along the y-axis.Goals and Learning ObjectivesDraw a figure that matches a description of a figure on the coordinate plane.Give coordinates of points on the coordinate plane.Write descriptions of figures on the coordinate plane.

Students revise their work on the assessment task based on feedback from the teacher and their peers.Key ConceptsConcepts from previous lessons are integrated into this assessment task: the opposite of a number, integers, absolute value, and graphing points on the coordinate plane. Students apply their knowledge, review their work, and make revisions based on feedback from the teacher and their peers. This process creates a deeper understanding of the concepts.Goals and Learning ObjectivesApply knowledge of the opposite of a number, integers, absolute value, and graphing points on the coordinate plane to solve problems.Track and review a choice of strategy when problem solving.

This task is from Tools 4 NC Teachers. Given a situation, students explore a task with a pattern, extend the pattern, and represent the pattern on the coordinate plane.