3rd Grade Reading Coordinates on a Map Worksheet: Find the Places

A map grid tells you where things are with two numbers. This 3rd grade reading coordinates on a map worksheet has two grids, numbered 1 and 2, with axes from 0 to 9. In item 1, your child writes the ordered pair for a hospital, a game store, a bakery and a bookshop. A church sits on the grid too, but nobody asks about it. Item 2 works the other way round, because the pairs are given and your child must find the places on the second grid. Your child reads the pairs (8, 1), (4, 2) and (5, 7), then names the place at each one. A post office is there as well, so your child must check carefully. A red dragon and a princess wait beside item 2. Page two shows every answer, with dotted guide lines in pink.

Seven answers on two grids

The answers to item 1 are hospital (2, 5), game store (9, 9), bakery (9, 6) and bookshop (6, 7). In item 2, the hotel is at (8, 1), the gift shop is at (4, 2) and the supermarket is at (5, 7). All the answers in the key are right.

The first number of an ordered pair always goes across, along the x-axis. The second number goes up, along the y-axis. So (8, 1) and (1, 8) are two different places. The key explains this for the hospital, and it is a good worked example to read together. Coordinate grids are usually taught in fifth grade, so this page is a challenge for a third grader.

At the table: walk, then climb

Tell your child to start at 0, like at the door of a building. First they walk along the bottom, then they climb up the stairs. Walk first, climb second. A finger on the grid helps a lot. When they reach the place, they say the two numbers aloud.

The text has a few slips. The instruction says "Find the coordinate of the following", but "the coordinates of these places" is right. On page two, "then I unit upward" should read "then 1 unit upward". The key also says "Let's start at O" with the letter O instead of zero. On the first grid, the gap between 4 and 5 is a little narrower, but every point is still easy to read.

After the page: a map of the room

Draw a big grid on paper and mark a bed, a door and a toy box on it. Then give your child two numbers and ask what is there. Next, swap roles, so your child gives you the pairs. Finally, check the seven answers with the answer key on page two.