First quadrant coordinate grid (free printable)
A coordinate grid with only the first quadrant: axes from zero up, numbered at every step, with large squares to plot on. Choose how far to count and print.
To save a PDF, choose Print, then “Save as PDF” as the printer. Only the sheet prints.
About this sheet
Students meet the coordinate plane in the first quadrant, where every number is positive and the origin is in the corner. That is the right place to learn the idea that a point has two numbers and that the order matters: go across, then up. This page draws only that quadrant, so the squares are as large as the page allows, and the axes are numbered at every step. The numbers can run as far as twenty, though ten or twelve is a good place to begin. It suits plotting points, drawing pictures from lists of pairs, graphing real data such as a table of heights, and simple line graphs. Use the four-quadrant page once students have met negative numbers.
Grades: 4, 5, 6. Best in: October, November, January, February.
How to use it
- Set the largest number to the range you need. Choose one large grid or four small ones for short plotting tasks.
- Model one point on the board: start at zero, go across to three, then up to five. Say the pair aloud as you plot it.
- Ask students to plot a list of points, join them in order and name the shape they have made.
Five ideas for class
- Give students a secret picture as a list of ordered pairs, and have them plot and join the points to reveal it.
- Play a hidden-ship game in which a partner guesses ordered pairs to find a ship drawn on the grid, and you say hit or miss.
- Graph real data, such as the height of a plant each week, with the week on the x axis and the height on the y axis.
- Use the grid to show the same fact in a table and a graph, and ask what each makes easier to see.
- Have students write ordered pairs for the corners of a rectangle and a triangle, and check each other's by plotting them.
Related
Questions
Why first quadrant only?
It is where students meet the plane, and it needs only positive numbers. The squares are also larger than on a four-quadrant grid of the same size.
Which comes first, x or y?
The x number comes first: across, then up. A common rhyme is that you walk before you climb, or run to the door and then go up the stairs.
Can I change the number of squares?
Yes. Set the largest number from three to twenty and the grid redraws with that many squares along each axis.
How do I save it as a PDF?
Choose Print, then pick “Save as PDF” as the printer. Only the sheet prints: the page around it is hidden. You can also save a sheet as a PNG image under the preview.
Can I print it in black and white?
Yes. Switch to Black and white beside the sheet: fills turn white and lines turn black, so it saves ink and photocopies cleanly.
Is what I type saved or sent anywhere?
Your edits are kept in this browser so they are there next time, and are never sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.
More from math printables
Nothing you do here is sent to us. Names and wording stay in this browser. Free for classroom use. No sign-in, no ads.