Lesson Plan Math

{Days One and Two}
Students will:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Plot points on a coordinate plane when given a coordinate pair.

Identify coordinate pairs on a coordinate plane.
Identify the four quadrants, the x-axis, the y-axis, and the origin.
Differentiate between x-coordinates and y-coordinates.
Differentiate between negative and positive coordinates on the coordinate plane.
Identify what happens when you increase or decrease the x-coordinate and y-coordinate
of a point.
Reflect points across the x-axis and the y-axis.
Materials:
Computers with internet access for BrainPOP and the online game
Vocabulary:
Coordinate plane, quadrant I, quadrant II, quadrant III, quadrant IV, x-axis, y-axis, origin, point,
positive number, negative number, coordinate pair, x-coordinate, y-coordinate, vertical line,
horizontal line, increase, decrease, reflect.
Preparation:
Game Over Gopher is a fun, fast-paced game that helps establish the fundamentals of plotting
functions on a grid. We recommend using the game to introduce students to the graphing topic or
to help them develop fluency with coordinates. The game helps students read coordinate pairs,
plot values on a graph, differentiate negative coordinates from positive coordinates, and identify
the four quadrants of a coordinate plane.
Familiarize yourself with the basics of game play prior to introducing the game to students.
Game Over Gopher is a tower defense game similar to Plants vs Zombies. To defend your prize
carrot, you must select various tools to feed the space gophers who are trying to eat the carrot.
The first few levels of the game are very simple in order to teach the mechanics of game play.
You will find numerous visual clues to assist you in recognizing the coordinate plane and guide
you in placing points on the plane using the x-coordinate and the y-coordinate. For example, the
x-axis and all other cues associated with x-coordinate are red. Everything associated with the yaxis is blue.
As the levels progress, the number of tools available increases, the level of math vocabulary
increases, the scale of the grid changes, and you are asked to expand your mastery of the grid by
reflecting points across axes. As a break between gopher-feeding sessions, you can play bonus
treasure hunt levels where you navigate the grid and decipher hints to buried treasure.
Please note that this lesson was intended to be a multi-day lesson spanning several class periods.
You can lengthen or shorten the time allotment by providing additional or less time for game
play, and by extending or simplifying the follow-up activity. If students play the game over
multiple class periods, introduce them to the "cheat" which will allow them to start at the level
where they finished the last time they played: press the shift + C keys on the level select screen.
Portions of this lesson plan have been adapted from Math Snacks, the game developer's website.
Be sure to check out their site for more teacher support resources and additional math games.
Lesson Procedure:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Display a coordinate grid example for the class to see, but don't tell them what it's called.
As a warm up, have students talk with a partner and share what they already know about
the grid displayed. You can assess prior knowledge by listening to students' discussions.
Are they using key vocabulary terms such as coordinate grids and x and y coordinates?
Can they distinguish between the type of information conveyed by the x axis and the
information conveyed by the y axis?
Tell students that they will have the opportunity to explore more about coordinate grids
through a game called Game Over Gopher. Allow students to play the game
independently or in pairs.
After approximately twenty minutes, ask students to pause their game play and reflect on
it in a whole class or partner discussion. What do they like about this game? What are
some things that make this game challenging? Can anyone give classmates hints about
how to play the game? What math do they see in this game so far? What is their favorite
tool for feeding the gophers? What do they notice about the x-axis and all of the xcoordinates? (Answer: Red) What do they notice about the y-axis and all of the ycoordinates? (Answer: Blue)
Provide an additional 20 minutes of game play time. If you are not able to provide this
time in the same class period, introduce students to the "cheat" which will allow them to
start at the level where they finished the last time they played. The cheat for this game is
to press the shift + C keys on the level select screen.
Engage students in a follow-up discussion. How does the game get more challenging as
they advance levels? What strategies did they use to master each level? You may also
want to ask students to explain what is different about the scale for the x-axis and the yaxis in later levels. Are there any hints they can give other students about passing the
bonus levels?
Display the BrainPOP Coordinate Plane movie but don't press play. Tell students the
movie explains coordinate planes in 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Challenge students to
work with a partner or group do the same!
Project the Vocabulary words used in the BrainPOP movie and ask students to include
those terms in their explanations (as well as any other vocabulary you want them to be
familiar with.) Offer students choice in determining how to share their information: they
could use an app like Show Me to narrate and draw their coordinate plane explanations.
They could also create a video, podcast, reader's theater script, poster (digital or paper)
with verbal presentation, and so on.
Provide time for students to create their explanations and present them to the class. Talk
about the key information that each group included. You may want students to write those
important points down in their math journals or notebooks.
9.
Afterward, play the BrainPOP movie for the class. Compare the information Tim and
Moby presented to the information students included in their explanations. Encourage
students to reflect in writing on which presentation (from a group or the BrainPOP
movie) was most effective in summarizing important information about coordinate grids
and planes. If they were teaching this topic to other students, which presentation would
they choose?
Teacher technology: Smartboard with interactive coordinate grid

Student technology: Game Over Gopher
{Day Three}
Students will:
1. Create their own Go Home Gopher game using the information they learned from the two
previous class periods.
Materials:
1. Poster board
2. Ruler
3. Colored pencils
4. Markers
Procedure:
1. First, the students will start off by creating their own grid, making sure it is as neat and straight
as possible.
2. Then they will make their own game to which one of their classmates will try to play. They
will interact together and try to get their classmate to win.

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{Days One and Two}

Plot points on a coordinate plane when given a coordinate pair.

Teacher technology: Smartboard with interactive coordinate grid

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