Locate a Feature in a Grid

Supplied materials

• Original fictional map grid: columns A, B, C run west to east; rows 1, 2, 3 run south to north. A coordinate names column first, row second. Hall at A1; garden at B2; pond at C3; tower at A3. Each feature occupies the named square. No real coordinates are used.

Learn the idea

A grid divides a map into labeled spaces. The coordinate tells you which column and row meet at a square. A map must explain its naming convention: here A1 means column A, row 1. Read the column label first and the row label second, rather than treating a coordinate as a distance.

The supplied grid also tells us how rows and columns relate to direction. C is east of B, and row 3 is north of row 2. We can describe a feature’s square and relative direction without knowing the size of a square. A coordinate locates a feature; it does not by itself supply route length or travel conditions.

1. Draw three columns and three rows with the given label order.
2. Place the four feature names in their stated squares.
3. Find where column B meets row 2.
4. Describe the pond’s direction from the garden using both the row and column changes.

Check your reasoning

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Take it further

Changed map: keep column order but label rows 1, 2, 3 from north to south. Where is row 3 relative to row 2 now? Model reasoning: “South. The naming convention changed, so I read it again instead of assuming larger row numbers always mean north.”

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