Max Maths, Year 5, Learn together, Positive and negative numbers

Within the Max Maths Year 5 curriculum, students explore the concept of positive and negative numbers, using a temperature scale as a practical example. The lesson introduces a visual temperature scale ranging from +20°C to -20°C, with zero degrees serving as the pivotal point between positive and negative values. The positive temperatures are indicated above zero on the scale, demonstrating warmth, while the negative temperatures, representing cold, are listed below zero.

The learning activity encourages students to engage with the temperature scale by verbally articulating the temperatures from +20 degrees to -20 degrees, and then to count sequentially upwards from zero and downwards from zero. This exercise is designed to help students notice the pattern and symmetry in the numbering of positive and negative numbers around the zero mark. The zero degree is highlighted as the neutral point that separates the positive and negative numbers, providing a clear and tangible way for students to understand the concept of temperatures rising above and falling below zero.