Slideshow by Kristi Brown

Understanding Positive & Negative Numbers

kbrow211 — 2025-09-16 17:35:40 UTC

TN Standard 6.NS.C.5

Standard Statement

kbrow211 — 2025-09-16 17:39:47 UTC

“Understand that positive and negative numbers are used together to describe quantities having opposite directions or values (e.g., temperature above/below zero, elevation above/below sea level, credits/debits, positive/negative electric charge); use positive and negative numbers to represent quantities in real-world contexts, explaining the meaning of 0 in each situation.

Learning Objectives

kbrow211 — 2025-09-16 17:47:24 UTC

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Explain what positive, negative, and zero mean in context (temperature, elevation, finance, etc.)
Show situations where positive and negative numbers describe opposite directions or values
Represent real-world quantities with positive, negative numbers, with zero as a neutral point

What are Positive and Negative Numbers?

kbrow211 — 2025-09-16 17:49:47 UTC

Define “positive number” (greater than zero)
Define “negative number” (less than zero)
Zero as the boundary or neutral value

Real-World Contexts

kbrow211 — 2025-09-16 17:51:10 UTC

Temperatures above / below zero
Elevation above sea level vs below sea level
Bank balances: credits vs debits
Directions: up/down, east/west, north/south

Meaning of Zero

kbrow211 — 2025-09-16 17:51:41 UTC

In each context: e.g. 0°C = freezing point; 0 elevation = sea level; 0 bank balance = neither owing nor owning; 0 direction = origin or start point

Plotting examples on number line

kbrow211 — 2025-09-16 17:53:08 UTC

Tell me on your boards which numbers are above zero and which are below zero.

Example: −5, −2, 3, 7 plotted
Example: context: altitude: −200 ft, +300 ft

Real World Positive and Negative Numbers

kbrow211 — 2025-09-16 17:54:55 UTC

Explaination

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When temperatures reach above zero, we call them positive numbers.

When temperatures reach below zero, we call them negative numbers.

kbrow211 — 2025-09-19 23:30:24 UTC

Land can be below sea level.

kbrow211 — 2025-09-19 23:37:08 UTC

kbrow211 — 2025-09-19 23:38:06 UTC

kbrow211 — 2025-09-19 23:41:25 UTC

kbrow211 — 2025-09-19 23:43:02 UTC