Negative numbers and temperature – Year 5 maths lesson

Lesson 6 of 39 in the Year 5 maths course

UK version. UK school years, UK spelling and pounds (£). · US Math Department

A complete 45-minute lesson for Year 5 (ages 9–10) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is marked straight away, with a worked explanation.

Time: 45 minutes + 20 min homework
Year: Year 5 (ages 9–10)
You need: Paper, a pencil and this page
Marked: 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 marked straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to mark 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

We are learning to 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	Marked by Classfern
Teaching input	10 min	Not assessed, self-checked
Worked examples and guided practice	9 min	Not assessed, marked by Classfern
Independent practice	15 min	Marked by Classfern
Plenary and exit ticket	6 min	Marked by Classfern, self-checked

Starter, "your turn", practice and exit ticket are marked 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 marked instantly.

More practice

Year 5 place value testMarked instantly

All Year 5 maths lessons and tests · Maths Department

More Year 5 maths lessons

Curriculum

National Curriculum for England, Year 5: “interpret negative numbers in context, count forwards and backwards with positive and negative whole numbers, including through 0”

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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