This ordering positive and negative numbers worksheet gives 6th graders five integer sets, a number line, and a real-world temperature task. Answer key included for fast, no-prep integer practice.
These Black and White Number Signs can be used as posters, number tracing, plus multiple other uses to support student number recognition skills.
These Color Number Signs can be used as posters, number tracing, plus multiple other uses to support student number recognition skills.
Below zero and beyond
Sixth grade opens up the whole number line. Kids work with negative numbers, finding them on a number line, comparing them and using them in real life like temperatures and elevations: -8 < -3 because -8 is farther left. They learn absolute value as distance from zero, write and read inequalities, and use prime factorization to find greatest common factors and least common multiples. The click is understanding that a bigger digit can mean a smaller number once the negative sign shows up.
Negative numbers and inequalities make sense when kids can see them. These moves help.
Tape a big number line on the floor from -10 to 10. Kids stand on numbers and compare: "Who is greater, -6 or -2?" Stepping left and right makes the order feel real.
Why it works: the U.S. Department of Education's guide for teaching elementary math recommends moving from hands-on objects to drawings to numbers.
Try it withOrdering Positive and Negative Numbers WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →A song makes the first prime numbers easy to remember, which speeds up prime factorization. Play it as a warm-up before factor trees.
Why it works: words set to a repeating melody are easier to recall than the same words spoken (Wallace, 1994).
Try it withPrime Numbers SongSongsOpen it →Write two numbers on the board and kids hold up cards with greater than, less than or equal. Mix in negatives and fractions to keep them thinking.
Why it works: pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than rereading it, one of the strongest findings in learning research (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013).
Try it withGreater Than Less Than Inequalities SongSongsOpen it →Quick games that bring negative numbers and factors to life.
Teacher favorites right now: Ordering Positive and Negative Numbers Worksheet, Prime Numbers Song and Greater Than Less Than Inequalities Song.
Negative numbers on a number line, comparing and ordering rational numbers, absolute value, inequalities, and finding greatest common factors and least common multiples.
Use real things kids know: temperatures below zero, floors below ground or owing money. A number line shows that negatives get smaller as you move left.
It is how far a number is from zero, no matter which direction. Both -5 and 5 have an absolute value of 5.
No. -2 is greater because it is closer to zero and farther right on the number line. This is one of the most common 6th grade mix-ups.
Loved by 2 million teachers & families
Printables, songs and games for every subject, Preschool through 6th. Ready to teach today, and kids beg for more.
