Ordering Positive and Negative Numbers Worksheet

By sixth grade, students are expected to place any rational number on a number line and compare values that sit on both sides of zero. This ordering positive and negative numbers worksheet targets that standard directly: students arrange mixed sets of integers from smallest to largest, plot values on a number line, and explain in writing why a number like -11 is less than -6. The big idea is that order follows position, not size — the further left a value sits on the number line, the smaller it is, which is exactly the reasoning that trips students up when negatives first appear.

This printable 6th grade ordering numbers worksheet is a no-prep, three-part page you can hand out as soon as your integer unit begins. Part A gives five mixed sets of six integers to rewrite from smallest to largest. Part B pairs a labeled number line running from -10 to 10 with a box of five integers to plot and then order, so the abstract list is anchored to a picture. Part C moves into the real world with record low temperatures in degrees Celsius and a short constructed response that asks students to justify their thinking. Use it as a diagnostic before teaching, as guided practice after a mini-lesson, as homework, or as a quick exit check. A full answer key is included, including a sample response for the written item.

What’s Included

• 1 print-ready PDF worksheet
• Answer key
• 5 order-the-set integer problems (six values each)
• 1 number line plotting and ordering activity (-10 to 10)
• 2 real-world temperature items, including a written explanation

Three things make this ordering positive and negative numbers worksheet effective. First, it separates the two skills students confuse — reading the size of a digit and reading its position relative to zero — and gives practice at both. Second, the number line in Part B turns an abstract comparison into something students can point to, which is the model the standards ask them to reason from. Third, the written explanation in Part C moves students past answer-getting and into the justification that middle-school assessments actually score.

Teachers and parents can extend this lesson in a few minutes. Write integers on index cards and have students physically arrange themselves along a rope number line taped to the floor. Pull real weather data for a week and order the daily lows. Talk about elevation, using places below sea level such as Death Valley alongside mountain heights. Play a quick two-card game where each player flips an integer and the smaller value wins, which forces the negative comparison every round. Finish by asking students to write their own set of six integers that a classmate must order, then trade and check each other’s work against a number line.

Related Resources

• Ordering Numbers Worksheet
• Ordering Sets of Numbers Worksheet
• Ordering Fractions, Decimals, and Whole Numbers Worksheet
• Greater Than Less Than Inequalities Song by Have Fun Teaching