Maryland Math 6.NOS.C.7.b
The Standard
- 6.NOS.C.7
- Intersect perpendicular number lines at the point (0,0) as the x-axis and y-axis to introduce the four quadrants of the Coordinate Plane. Represent points on the plane with positive and negative coordinates.
Locate and interpret the positions of rational numbers on the Coordinate Plane, including how changes in the signs of ordered pairs reflect their location into different quadrants.
Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for Mathematics (2025) · APPLY AND EXTEND PREVIOUS UNDERSTANDING OF NUMBERS TO THE SYSTEM OF RATIONAL NUMBERS.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students plot ordered pairs with negative numbers, fractions, and decimals in all four quadrants. They read coordinates from a graph and explain how changing a sign moves a point across an axis.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student places (−1.5, 2) left of the y-axis and above the x-axis, in Quadrant II. They predict that (1.5, 2) is across the y-axis and (−1.5, −2) is across the x-axis.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may swap x and y when plotting a point. They may think changing the x sign moves a point across the x-axis, rather than the y-axis.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Plot (−1.5, 2), (1.5, 2), and (−1.5, −2). Label each quadrant and name the axis crossed for each change from the first point.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Tape axes on the floor and mark half-unit steps; students place coordinate cards at (−1/2, 2) and (1/2, −2).
Ask students to explain why changing (−2, 3) to (2, 3) moves the point across the y-axis.
Play coordinate match: students pair cards showing ordered pairs with points on a four-quadrant grid.
Draw a town map with the school at (0, 0); plot a clinic at (−2, 3) and a store at (2, −3).
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Related Standards
- 6.NOS.C.7
Intersect perpendicular number lines at the point (0,0) as the x-axis and y-axis to introduce the four quadrants of the Coordinate Plane. Represent points on th...
- 6.NOS.C.6.c
Recognize and locate opposite signs of rational numbers as indicating locations on opposite sides of 0 on the number line.
- 6.NOS.C.6.b
Locate and interpret the positions of rational numbers on a number line.
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