Activity
Trash or Treasure: Grid coordinates activity
Exciting way to teach and support math concepts, tactile skills, grids and coordinates!
“Happiness is adapting inaccessible digital activities so that our kiddos can participate with their peers!” shares TSVI Smita Saxena. Her student’s class did an inaccessible digital math activity where students clicked on various grid coordinates to find treasures or trash. Smita created a similar tactile activity with an xy graph using an upside-down cardboard box, a xy graph in braille, string, small toys and paperclips.
Materials
- xy graph: Start with graph paper from APH. Lbel both the x-axis and y-axis 0-7. (Stick on APH braille and print numbers works well.)
- Add a small foam dot to represent the coordinate of where these numbers are locate don the graph: leave coordinate (0,0) blank.
- Take a box that is slightly bigger than the graph; turn the box upside-down. Glue the graph to the box.
- Poke a small hole through the graph paper and box in every coordinate on the grid. The stylus (from a slate and stylus) works well to poke the holes.
- Starting with coordinate (0,0), pull a string through the hole. Put a knot at the top and pull the string down so that only the knot shows on the top of the graph.
- Repeat adding the knotted string to other random coordinates. The example shows 9 coordinates with strings.
- It is recommended to space the strings out and not have strings on two side-by-side coordinates.
Image 1: Top-down view of the box with labeled graph paper and string knots at 9 coordinates:
- Cut 2 holes in the front of the box to allow the student’s hand to slide into the box to find the treasure or trash.
Image 2: Picture taken from the front to show the front and top of the box. The front of the box has two rectangular holes cut out that look like “doors” into the box.
- The strings dangle down inside the box.
- Tie tiny toys/objects (treasures) to three strings.
- Treasures used in the example were a finger light, squeeze toy and small counting bear.
- Tie paper clips (trash) to the rest of the strings.
- Tie tiny toys/objects (treasures) to three strings.
Image 3: Picture taken from the underside of the box looking up. Strings are dangling down with either a treasure or trash tied to each string.
Trash or Treasure activity
If needed, review how to systematically find a coordinate point on the graph.
There are several variations of game play!
Find the coordinate
- Ask the student to think of a coordinate pair using numbers from 0 – 7, and then find that coordinate pair on the tactile xy graph.
- Did the coordinate have a string?
- Give the student coordinates for the student to find.
- Find a knot and give the coordinate.
- Pre-make braille cards with a different coordinate on each card. (Index cards work well; if desired, cut the index card in half. Be sure to clip the top right corner for orientation purposes.)
- This works well with two students taking turns and encourages independence!
Find the trash or treasure
- When the student finds the correct coordinate, pull the string up as far as it will go.
- Use one hand to hold the top of the string. Reach through the hole in the box to find the trash or treasure that is along the top of the box.
- Note: All other treasures and trash will be dangling lower in the box.
The student should keep track of the coordinates by writing down the coordinate and noting whether that coordinate held a treasure or trash.
Repeat game play
Does your student need more practice with coordinates?
- Move the knotted strings to new coordinates.
- Add or change the treasures.
- Place knotted strings in every coordinate – without a treasure or trash. When the student finds the correct coordinate, the student can pull the string out from the box, leaving that coordinate open.
- Are you creative? Think of a shape or smiley face made from the knotted strings. Give the student the coordinate cards (braille coordinates on index cards) and have the student remove the strings at those coordinates. When all the desired strings are removed, the knots which are left make the shape or smiley face! Can the student identify the shape or smiley face?
- Note: Every coordinate does not need a string. There should be enough knotted strings to start with, so the student is not able to identify the shape until the desired strings are removed.
Teacher hint: Smita shared that if she created this activity again, she would sew small buttons or beads instead of knotting the top of the string.
Editor’s note: Besides being fun and fully accessible, I love how this activity helps to teach foundational concepts that are crucial before using a digital graph.
I would encourage the student to develop a mental map of the grid and where various coordinates will be located. In this grid, the 0 in the x-axis is far left, 4 is in the center and 7 is far right. The 0 in the y-axis is at the bottom, 4 is halfway up, and 7 is at the top.
Written by Diane Brauner, content by Smita Saxena.
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