Max Maths, Year 5, Practice, Calculating a rise or fall in temperature

The Max Maths Year 5 workbook offers a practical approach to understanding positive and negative numbers through the context of temperature changes. In Practice 4, students are tasked with various activities to deepen their comprehension of these concepts. The first activity requires students to visually place various temperatures on a thermometer, ranging from positive values like 20°C to negative ones such as -13°C. This exercise helps them to visually associate numerical values with their correct positions on a temperature scale, thereby reinforcing their understanding of positive and negative numbers in a real-world context.

Subsequent activities involve comparative and computational exercises. Students must use the appropriate comparative word to describe temperature differences, such as determining whether 13°C is warmer or cooler than 16°C. These comparisons further solidify the concept of temperature scales and the meaning of positive and negative values. Additionally, students are asked to calculate temperature changes, such as the rise or fall in degrees when the temperature shifts from one value to another. This not only enhances their arithmetic skills but also their ability to interpret temperature changes. Placing numbers on a number line and identifying correct statements involving inequalities are other engaging ways the workbook uses to help students grasp the concept of positive and negative numbers in a temperature context.