Negative numbers and temperature – Grade 6 math lesson

Lesson 10 of 26 in the Grade 6 math course

US version. US grades, US spelling and dollars ($). · UK Maths Department

A complete 45-minute lesson for grade 6 (ages 11–12) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is graded right away, with a worked explanation.

Time: 45 minutes + 20 min homework
Grade: Grade 6 (ages 11–12)
You need: Paper, a pencil and this page
Graded: Instantly, with explanations

For parents: how to use this lesson

You don't need to know this topic yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, one tidy step at a time. Every answer is graded straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to grade anything.

Read what your child will learn and the big ideas together.
Press Start the lesson below and sit with your child for the teaching and the worked examples (about 19 minutes).
Let them do the practice on their own. They choose Getting started, On track or Challenge – start on On track and move up after a few right in a row.
Finish with the exit ticket and the talk question: “Is −10 °C colder than −2 °C? How do you know?”
Later that day or the next day: the homework (20 minutes), then a practice test.

Watch out for

Thinking −8 is warmer than −3. On a thermometer, higher is warmer: −3 is higher.
Forgetting to count through zero. Split the jump at zero: count to 0, then on.

Tip for home: Check the weather forecast for very cold places and compare the temperatures.

What your child will learn

Learning goal: use negative numbers in context, such as temperatures.

Success looks like

I can order negative numbers.
I can find rises and falls in temperature.
I can find the difference across zero.

Key words

negative: less than zero
rise: go up
fall: go down
difference: how far apart two numbers are

What to have ready

Paper and a pencil
This page on a computer, tablet or phone
For the hands-on part: Draw a large thermometer or vertical number line from −10 to 10 and move a counter up and down for rises and falls.

The big ideas (for the adult)

Negative numbers are less than zero. On a thermometer they are below 0.

To find a rise or fall in temperature, count the steps on a number line, going through zero when you need to.

The difference between −4 and 6 is 10, because it is 4 up to zero and then 6 more.

The lesson, step by step

45 minutes in 5 parts
Part	Time	How it is checked
Starter: quick recall	5 min	Graded by Classfern
Teaching input	10 min	Not assessed, self-checked
Worked examples and guided practice	9 min	Not assessed, graded by Classfern
Independent practice	15 min	Graded by Classfern
Closure and exit ticket	6 min	Graded by Classfern, self-checked

Starter, "your turn", practice and exit ticket are graded by Classfern. Worked examples and teaching are not assessed. The hands-on task and the reflection are self-assessed. Explanations in talk are judged by the parent and not recorded.

The lesson

It runs here on the page. No sign-up and no names – progress is kept only in this browser.

Homework and practice at home

20 minutes: 10 practice questions, 3 multiple-choice questions and 2 to remember from earlier work, then a short reflection. New questions every time, all graded instantly.

More practice

Grade 6 Math: The Number System Practice TestGraded instantly

All Grade 6 math lessons and tests · Math Department

Curriculum

Common Core State Standards 6.NS.C.5: “Understand that positive and negative numbers are used together to describe quantities having opposite directions or values (e.g., temperature above/below zero, elevation above/below sea level, credits/debits, positive/negative electric charge); use positive and negative numbers to represent quantities in real-world contexts, explaining the meaning of 0 in each situation.”

Our lessons and questions are our own. They are not written or endorsed by any government department, testing agency or exam board.