You Sank My Battleship! And other Fun Activities with Coordinate Planes

Students in Mr. Joslin’s 5th grade Accelerated Math class got the opportunity to test their knowledge of Coordinate Planes in a fun and imaginative ways as they participated in a Scavenger Hunt around the school and played a game of life-sized Battleship.

The class had just finished Unit 6.3, which involves plotting points in all four quadrants of the coordinate plane, identifying quadrants, and finding distances between points in the coordinate plane.

Students first put these skills to the test by deciphering math clues that revealed the X and Y coordinates to individual points that groups then had to find on a map of the school overlaid onto a coordinate plane.

Next they moved from fun and games to all out war, or at least a war game.

It all began with a letter, a letter drafting the students into either the US Navy or into the Alien Navy and assigning them to their ships.  Students were ordered to report for duty and mission briefing, where each group learned of the dire conflict to come, and how the game would be played.  Carriers would have three shots, Battleships would have two shots and Destroyers would have a single shot.  Each shot would be made by identifying the Quadrant, then giving the X and Y coordinates of the shot.  Any shot where the Quadrant didn’t match the X and Y coordinates, was a misfire.

Using sheets to divide his classroom, Mr. Joslin created two identical playing boards with all four quadrants of the coordinate plane.  Students located their ships and then placed them in the coordinate plane.  Then the battle began.

The Aliens struck first and wasted no time locating and sinking the US Aircraft Carrier Yorktown.  The US Navy responded by sinking the Alien Battleship Hydra, but it soon became clear they were fighting a losing battle.  In the end, the Aliens won a narrow victory!

It was a lot of fun, and a great way to review what we learned.  Here is what some of the students thought:

“I really liked the Scavenger Hunt because we got to find stuff and look all around the school.” – Jenna W.

“I liked playing Battleship.  It was big and interactive.  It wasn’t normal.” – Nia C.

“I enjoyed both things a lot.  I found them interactive and involving.  I wish the Battleship was for more than one day.” – Jack O.

“I liked both, Battleship and the Scavenger Hunt a lot.  I think we should do it again.” – Gerio F.

“What I liked about the Scavenger Hunt and Battleship was that it helped us learn how a coordinate grid could be used in the real world.” – Aniket J.