Place value - Negative Numbers - Worksheet

The worksheet "Negative Numbers" is designed to enhance Year 6 students' understanding of negative numbers, especially their application in real-world contexts such as temperature. The National Curriculum objective is for students to interpret negative numbers in various scenarios and to practice counting forwards and backwards, including through zero. To support this learning, differentiated worksheets and teaching slides are provided, along with key vocabulary such as 'negative numbers', 'difference', and 'minus'. Students are encouraged to use negative numbers in context and to differentiate between terms like "negative four" and "minus four".

Throughout the lesson, students engage with a number line to visualize and solve problems involving negative numbers. They begin with simpler tasks, like placing numbers on a number line with intervals and solving word problems, before moving on to more complex activities with number lines lacking intervals. The lesson includes reasoning and problem-solving exercises where students must determine the truth of statements and order numbers from smallest to greatest. These activities are designed to deepen their conceptual understanding and to help them recognize patterns and relationships involving negative numbers. For example, they may be asked to show the difference in temperature between two rooms on a number line or to calculate the new temperature after a rise or drop in degrees. The worksheet offers a structured approach to mastering the concept of negative numbers, with a gradual increase in difficulty to challenge students at different levels of proficiency.