Matching Ordered Pairs for Hands-On Practice

Looking for an engaging ordered pairs or coordinate grids activity?  Look no further! Teach Starter has created a match-up activity for your students to practice graphing ordered pairs and describing the process for graphing on the coordinate grid.  

This resource includes:

• Instructional page
• 36 matching cards
• Recording sheet
• Answer key

To complete this activity, students must match three cards: the ordered pair, the coordinate grid with the plotted point, and the written description of the point’s location on the grid. Students then record their responses on the answer sheet provided.

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

If you have a mixture of above and below-level learners, check out these suggestions for keeping students on track: 

🆘 Support Struggling Students

Provide a dry-erase coordinate grid for students to plot the pairs before searching for matches. Include completed examples and notes about the vocabulary, such as x-coordinate and y-coordinate. Remove a few matches to make fewer sets.

➕ Challenge Fast Finishers

For students needing a challenge, ask them to create various shapes on a coordinate grid and name the locations of the vertices. Also, the resource can be modified to include decimal amounts in the ordered pairs.

What Is an Ordered Pair?

Here is a convenient definition for you and your students:

Written inside parentheses, an ordered pair is two values, separated by a comma, that show an x-coordinate and y-coordinate value. This can then be plotted on a coordinate grid by placing a dot at the intersection of the two values.

For example, looking at (4,6) shows that the x-coordinate value is 4, and the y-coordinate is 6. To plot this ordered pair on a coordinate grid, simply move across the x-axis to the location of 4 and then move vertically along the y-axis to the location of 6.

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

Use the dropdown icon on the Download button to choose between the PDF or editable Google Slides format of this resource. Both color and black-and-white versions are available. 

Longevity Tip: Print on cardstock and laminate for added durability. 

This resource was created by Lorin Davies, a teacher in Texas and Teach Starter Collaborator. 

Ready for More?

Don’t stop there! We’ve got more coordinate grid and ordered pair activities and resources that cut down on lesson planning time:

  [resource:4895202]   [resource:4849455]   [resource:4851484]