Positive and Negative Numbers Lesson: What Zero Means, Grades 6-7

A golfer finishes 4 strokes under par. What number is that, and what does 0 mean in the problem? This lesson starts students on the idea that a positive and a negative number describe opposite directions, and that every situation has its own zero: sea level, par, the surface of the water, street level, 0 degrees Celsius.

What's inside

• 15 slides, with speaker notes on all 15
• Lesson plan, 2 pages: standards, materials, objective, a teacher-guided sequence keyed to slide numbers, a "Watch For" note and a 25-minute version
• Scaffolded notes, 1 page, fill-in to match the slides
• Practice worksheet, 2 pages: 17 items (8 in Part A, 6 in Part B, 3 find-the-error or explain in Part C)
• Exit ticket, 3 questions, two to a sheet
• Answer key, 2 pages, with the steps and every number line
• Print-all PDF, 8 pages, the day's lesson plan, notes, practice, exit ticket and answer key in one file

Answer key included

Want this for a different grade? Request a lesson