Objective
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to apply arithmetic skills to play a game of Battleship.
Materials and Prep
- Battleship game board (can be drawn on paper)
- Two sets of Battleship ships (can be drawn on paper or use small objects like coins)
- Pencil and eraser
Before starting the lesson, make sure you are familiar with the rules of Battleship.
Activities
- Explain the rules of Battleship to the student. Emphasize the importance of using arithmetic skills to strategically place and guess the locations of the opponent's ships.
- Draw a Battleship game board on a piece of paper or use a printable template. Label the rows with numbers 1 to 10 and the columns with letters A to J.
- Using the two sets of Battleship ships, take turns with the student placing them on the game board. Encourage them to use addition and subtraction to calculate the coordinates for placing the ships.
- Once the ships are placed, start the game by taking turns guessing the locations of each other's ships. Use addition and subtraction to communicate the coordinates of the guesses.
- Continue playing until one player successfully sinks all the opponent's ships. Encourage the use of mental math and arithmetic strategies to make educated guesses.
Third Grade Talking Points
- "In Battleship, we use arithmetic skills like addition and subtraction to place and guess the locations of ships."
- "We can use numbers and letters to identify the coordinates of the game board."
- "When placing ships, we need to calculate the coordinates by adding or subtracting numbers."
- "To guess the location of the opponent's ships, we need to use arithmetic to communicate our guesses."
- "By using mental math and arithmetic strategies, we can make smarter guesses and have a better chance of winning the game."