Susan Working
Mathematics Professor
Email: susan.working@gcccd.edu
Phone: 619-644-7290
This is a great warm-up for students who have just learned about the Cartesian coordinate system and how to plot ordered pairs.
Applicable Courses:
Pre-Algebra
Beginning Algebra
Materials Needed:
Grids
Pencil or pen
How to Play:
You play this game just like battleship. The students need to pair up and hide their grid from each other. They need to plot at least one “ship”. I normally have them plot a ship which contains 3 ordered pairs in a row – either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Have them draw around their ordered pairs to make it look like a “battleship”. Some examples are below.
Next they take turns calling out ordered pairs looking for their partners ship. If the ordered pair that has been called out is part of the ship, then the student says “hit”, if not, then they say “miss”. They continue back and forth calling out ordered pairs until one student has “sunk” the other ones battleship by finding all 3 ordered pairs. Each student must keep track of what ordered pairs they have already called out. They can do this by making a mark with a colored pencil at each point they have already called. When they get a hit, they can mark it with an “X”. They can use the same grid with their ship or the second grid on the paper.
This exercise takes under 10 minutes.
Susan Working
Mathematics Professor
Email: susan.working@gcccd.edu
Phone: 619-644-7290
8800 Grossmont College Drive
El Cajon, California 92020
619-644-7000
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