Geometry and Spatial Sense, Grades 4 to 6 - EduGains

Students’ first experiences with coordinate geometry in the junior grades come in the form
of grids, commonly used in maps. A grid system uses a combination of letters and numbers
to describe a general location of a shape or an object. Because the grid system identifies an
area rather than a point, precise locations cannot be described.
Students will bring to the junior grades an understanding of grids that comes from both
classroom experiences and non-classroom experiences. The hundreds chart, social studies
maps, data management activities, and games are some examples of students’ exposure to
grids. Teachers should try to make connections with those learnings when introducing grids.
Some examples include:
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A
B C D E F G
The blue triangle
is located in B2.
• exploring location on non-labelled grids. Students may use phrases like “third from the
left and two down” to identify a square. These phrases can later be connected with labels;
• predicting new locations on the basis of a particular movement. For example, if you
started in square B1, and kept moving to the right, how would the label of each new
square change? What if you started in B1 and kept moving down?;
• exploring local and provincial maps and atlases that use similar grid identification systems;
• playing games that require the use of a grid. For example, students might play games
similar to Battleship, in which hidden shapes must be found by guessing grid positions.
Coordinate systems differ from grid systems in that they identify a point rather than an
area. In a coordinate system, the lines are labelled, rather than the area bounded by the lines.
One way to describe or label these lines is to use the cardinal directions with a numbering
system to describe the location of an object in relation to a point.
C
A
O
B
Learning About Location and Movement in the Junior Grades 6