Games, maps and spreadsheets all use grids, and every square needs a name. In Grid Garden, Year 2 coders name squares with a letter and a number — B3, D5 — and work out where a sprite lands after a set of moves.
What your child will learn
- Name a square by its column letter and row number
- Know that moving left or right changes the letter
- Know that moving up or down changes the number
- Follow and plan a route between two squares
Across, then up
Find the letter first by going across, then the number by going up: B3 is column B, row 3. A move to the right goes to the next letter (B3 to C3); a move up goes to the next number (B3 to B4).
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. In the square name D5, what does the number tell you?
- How many moves it takes
- Which row it is in
- How many squares there are
- Which column it is in
Show answer
Answer: Which row it is in. The number tells you how far up to go.
2. On a grid, letters go across and numbers go up. You start on A1 and move 1 square up. Where are you now?
- A2
- A3
- B1
- B2
Show answer
Answer: A2. Moving up changes the number: 1 becomes 2.
3. On a grid, letters go across and numbers go up. Which square is in column B, row 3?
- A3
- C2
- B2
- B3
Show answer
Answer: B3. Letter first, then number: column B, row 3 is B3.
Tips for grown-ups
- Play a guessing game on squared paper: hide a “treasure” square and guess by name.
- Label a chessboard or a tiled floor and call out squares to jump to.
- Give each other routes: “Start on A1. Right, right, up. Where are you?”