CCSS.Math.Content.6.NS.C.8
The Standard
Solve real-world and mathematical problems by graphing points in all four quadrants of the coordinate plane. Include use of coordinates and absolute value to find distances between points with the same first coordinate or the same second coordinate.
Common Core State Standards for Mathematics · The Number System
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students plot ordered pairs with positive and negative coordinates in all four quadrants. They find horizontal or vertical distances by comparing the coordinates that change and using absolute value.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students accurately plot and label ordered pairs in all four quadrants. They find horizontal or vertical distances by taking the absolute difference of the changing coordinates and include units when given.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often reverse the x- and y-coordinates or use the wrong signs in negative quadrants. They may count grid lines instead of unit spaces, or add coordinates instead of finding the absolute difference.
How to Assess It
- Give students the points A(-3, 4), B(-3, -2), and C(5, -2). Ask them to plot all three points and find distances AB and BC.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Tape a coordinate grid on the floor, then have students stand at ordered pairs and measure horizontal or vertical distances between classmates.
Ask students to explain why points (-4, 2) and (-4, -5) are 7 units apart without counting every space.
Play Coordinate Capture, where pairs draw point cards, plot them, and earn a point for correctly finding aligned distances.
Use a city map grid to locate buildings and calculate straight east-west or north-south distances between locations.
Free download
Printable 6.NS.C.8 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.Math.Content.6.NS.C.8, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetLearning progression
Where This Standard Sits
See the whole path on the The Number System progression map.
Before This Standard
If students are struggling here, check these first.
- CCSS.Math.Content.6.NS.C.6c
Students must locate rational coordinate pairs in all quadrants before using graphed points to solve problems and measure horizontal or vertical distances.
- CCSS.Math.Content.6.NS.C.6b
Knowing how coordinate signs place points in quadrants supports graphing points and interpreting horizontal or vertical distances across axes.
- CCSS.Math.Content.6.NS.C.7c
Absolute value as distance and magnitude carries over to finding horizontal or vertical distances between coordinate points across quadrants.
What This Unlocks
Mastery here sets students up for these next.
- CCSS.Math.Content.8.EE.C.8a
Graphing points in the coordinate plane supports seeing an intersection point as the ordered pair shared by both line graphs.
- CCSS.Math.Content.8.F.A.3
Plotting points on the coordinate plane supports seeing equations as graphs and recognizing a straight-line pattern for linear functions.
- CCSS.Math.Content.8.G.B.8
Students use coordinate differences and horizontal or vertical distances as the legs before finding diagonal distances with the Pythagorean Theorem.
- CCSS.Math.Content.8.SP.A.1
Plotting coordinate pairs carries over to making scatter plots, while interpretation adds association, clusters, and outliers.
- CCSS.Math.Content.8.F.B.5
Graphing and reading coordinate points supports interpreting and sketching function graphs, though distance calculations are not central.
- CCSS.Math.Content.8.G.A.1
Plotting points in all quadrants supports locating figures and checking how transformations move or preserve distances.
Keep exploring
Related Standards
- CCSS.Math.Content.5.G.A
Graph points on the coordinate plane to solve real-world and mathematical problems.
- CCSS.Math.Content.6.G.A.3
Draw polygons in the coordinate plane given coordinates for the vertices; use coordinates to find the length of a side joining points with the same first coordi...
- CCSS.Math.Content.5.G.A.2
Represent real world and mathematical problems by graphing points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane, and interpret coordinate values of points in th...
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