Year 4 Mathematics · AC9M4SP02
Grid references identify positions consistently. A system must define how letters, numbers or coordinates are read, and pathway instructions must use a fixed orientation…
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Grid references identify positions consistently. A system must define how letters, numbers or coordinates are read, and pathway instructions must use a fixed orientation and clear sequence.
Learning routine: Orient grid → Read horizontal reference → Read vertical reference → Locate cell/point → Follow ordered directions → Verify endpoint
N 2 E 3 S 1 W 2 endpoint?
1. Landmark grid Create a 6 × 6 map with a key and at least eight landmarks, then write references for each. A B C D E 5 Tree 4 3 Pond 2 Cafe 1 Hall
2. Route exchange Write a route using compass directions and cell counts; a partner follows it and reports the endpoint. N 2 E 3 S 1 W 2 endpoint?
3. Convention comparison Compare cell references such as B3 with point coordinates and explain why the systems cannot be mixed casually. System What is located B3 cell an area/square (2,3) coordinate a point under a defined convention
The content description and elaborations below show the curriculum ideas taught in this unit. Items marked as teaching context support lesson planning.
Core idea: Grid references identify positions consistently. A system must define how letters, numbers or coordinates are read, and pathway instructions must use a fixed orientation and clear sequence.
Read the topic guide and use the teacher slide for instruction. Students can then use the worksheet for written work, open Practice for supported feedback, or take the Test when they are ready.
Grid references identify positions consistently. A system must define how letters, numbers or coordinates are read, and pathway instructions must use a fixed orientation and clear sequence.
Learning routine: Orient grid → Read horizontal reference → Read vertical reference → Locate cell/point → Follow ordered directions → Verify endpoint
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Use the park model below: letters A–E run left to right, row numbers 1–5 increase upward and north is up. Gate A1 to Cafe B3 is one cell east and two north. Cafe B3 to Tree C5 is one east and two north. State a start, the ordered movements and a finish reference. Grid references identify cells; if two objects share a cell, add a within-cell description. A turn changes facing but does not move the traveller.
Spreadsheet row numbers normally increase downward. Enter Object in A1 and Count in B1. Observe three object types and enter their names in A2–A4 and matching counts in B2–B4. Save a screenshot and read back each cell reference. Moving up from B3 reaches B2 here, whereas north on our park map increases the row number. Inspect the actual cell entries and headings, not merely a paper plan.
Draw a bird’s-eye scene with two benches and a tree. Ask a partner to locate a bench from an ungridded description. Add a transparent labelled grid and repeat using its cell reference plus a within-cell description if needed. Record which wording was clearer and why. The grid supplies shared labels without changing the objects; it does not guarantee one object per cell or an exact distance.
Draw a small picture on a 3 by 3 grid of 1 cm squares. Copy it to corresponding cells in a 3 by 3 grid of 2 cm squares. The new drawing is twice as wide and twice as high. A point halfway along an edge stays halfway along the matching edge. Mark corresponding points to check proportion. Enlarging width alone stretches and distorts the picture; do not introduce coordinate-plane algebra as the target.
On the park grid, a robot at B3 facing east moves three cells forward to E3, turns left to north, then moves one forward to E4. Record B3,C3,D3,E3,E4 and the turn. Act this out with a token before running a toy robot. If C3 is blocked, north one,east three keeps clear and finishes E4. Check every visited cell rather than only the finish. Ask why a left turn from south faces east, not west.
Must teach creating and reading labelled cells, directions and pathways, spreadsheet entry, overlay comparison, grid enlargement and route simulation. Prerequisites are row/column language and simple turns. Distinguish map rows from spreadsheet rows; do not replace cell references with Cartesian-coordinate algebra, bearings or formal scale-factor notation.
Support: locate one named cell using a finger along the column and row. Core: trace and write a two-stage route and enter observed data in cells. Extend: debug a route around a blocked cell and compare two legal paths.
Make a labelled map, locate two landmarks and act out a route with a turn. Enter three observations in specified spreadsheet cells and enlarge a small picture cell by cell.
Expected evidence and reteaching: Inspect actual map, movement record, spreadsheet and paired drawings. Reteach column-before-row, row direction or equal relative position in enlarged cells according to the observed mistake.
The cell in column B,row3. It contains the cafe; it is a region, not an exact point.
No. Add a movement and a number of cells after the turn to change position.
Its row numbers increase downward. Check each grid’s labels before following directions.
Both width and height double; the arrangement and relative positions in matching cells remain. Review both dimensions if the image is stretched.