Positive and Negative Numbers
5 min
Teacher Prep
Setup
Narrative
The purpose of this Warm-up is to introduce students to temperatures measured in degrees Celsius, which will be useful when students read thermometers using the Celsius scale in a later activity. Many students have an intuitive understanding of temperature ranges in degrees Fahrenheit that are typical of the city or town in which they live, but many are unfamiliar with the Celsius scale.
While students may notice and wonder many things about these images, the idea that there are different scales for measuring temperature is an important discussion point.
Launch
Arrange students in groups of 2. Display the image for all to see. Ask students to think of at least one thing they notice and at least one thing they wonder. Give students 1 minute of quiet think time, and then 1 minute to discuss the things they notice and wonder with their partner.
Student Task
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Sample Response
Students may notice:
- The weather is different in the two cities.
- There are two temperatures for each city.
- The temperatures have different letters.
- The times are different.
- There is a minus sign on one of the temperatures.
Students may wonder:
- Where are these two cities located on a map?
- How far are either of these cities from us?
- What do the two temperatures mean?
- Why isn’t it snowing in the colder city?
- What is the minus sign doing there?
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)
Ask students to share the things they noticed and wondered. Record and display their responses without editing or commentary. If possible, record the relevant reasoning on or near the image. Next, ask students, “Is there anything on this list that you are wondering about now?” Encourage students to observe what is on display and respectfully ask for clarification, point out contradicting information, or voice any disagreement.
Explain to students that temperatures are usually measured in either degrees Fahrenheit, which is what they are probably most familiar with, or degrees Celsius, which may be new for them. Tell them that many other countries measure temperature in degrees Celsius and that scientists often use this temperature scale. One thing that is special about the Celsius scale is that at sea level, water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100 degrees.
Standards
- 6.NS.5·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.
- 6.NS.6·Understand a rational number as a point on the number line. Extend number line diagrams and coordinate axes familiar from previous grades to represent points on the line and in the plane with negative number coordinates.
- 6.NS.C.5·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.
- 6.NS.C.6·Understand a rational number as a point on the number line. Extend number line diagrams and coordinate axes familiar from previous grades to represent points on the line and in the plane with negative number coordinates.
10 min
20 min
Knowledge Components
All skills for this lesson
No KCs tagged for this lesson
Positive and Negative Numbers
5 min
Teacher Prep
Setup
Narrative
The purpose of this Warm-up is to introduce students to temperatures measured in degrees Celsius, which will be useful when students read thermometers using the Celsius scale in a later activity. Many students have an intuitive understanding of temperature ranges in degrees Fahrenheit that are typical of the city or town in which they live, but many are unfamiliar with the Celsius scale.
While students may notice and wonder many things about these images, the idea that there are different scales for measuring temperature is an important discussion point.
Launch
Arrange students in groups of 2. Display the image for all to see. Ask students to think of at least one thing they notice and at least one thing they wonder. Give students 1 minute of quiet think time, and then 1 minute to discuss the things they notice and wonder with their partner.
Student Task
What do you notice? What do you wonder?
Sample Response
Students may notice:
- The weather is different in the two cities.
- There are two temperatures for each city.
- The temperatures have different letters.
- The times are different.
- There is a minus sign on one of the temperatures.
Students may wonder:
- Where are these two cities located on a map?
- How far are either of these cities from us?
- What do the two temperatures mean?
- Why isn’t it snowing in the colder city?
- What is the minus sign doing there?
Activity Synthesis (Teacher Notes)
Ask students to share the things they noticed and wondered. Record and display their responses without editing or commentary. If possible, record the relevant reasoning on or near the image. Next, ask students, “Is there anything on this list that you are wondering about now?” Encourage students to observe what is on display and respectfully ask for clarification, point out contradicting information, or voice any disagreement.
Explain to students that temperatures are usually measured in either degrees Fahrenheit, which is what they are probably most familiar with, or degrees Celsius, which may be new for them. Tell them that many other countries measure temperature in degrees Celsius and that scientists often use this temperature scale. One thing that is special about the Celsius scale is that at sea level, water freezes at 0 degrees and boils at 100 degrees.
Standards
- 6.NS.5·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.
- 6.NS.6·Understand a rational number as a point on the number line. Extend number line diagrams and coordinate axes familiar from previous grades to represent points on the line and in the plane with negative number coordinates.
- 6.NS.C.5·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.
- 6.NS.C.6·Understand a rational number as a point on the number line. Extend number line diagrams and coordinate axes familiar from previous grades to represent points on the line and in the plane with negative number coordinates.