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Integers and Absolute Value

Sixth graders extend the number line below zero into negative numbers, learn how opposites balance around zero, and measure a number's distance from zero as its absolute value.

Grade 6Integers and Absolute Value50 minutes1 class periodGradual ReleaseExplicit teaching4 StandardsCommon Core
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Define integers.
  • ✓Place them on a number line.
  • ✓Identify opposites.
  • ✓Find absolute value.
Essential Question

Temperatures drop below zero, elevators go underground, and bank balances go negative. How do we count and compare numbers on both sides of zero?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Angle Explorer · Interactive

Explore Integers

Project this and open each card to explore integers, from positive and negative numbers to opposites and absolute value.

🌡️ Explore integers and absolute valueTry it

The Lesson · Gradual Release (I Do · We Do · You Do)

50 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Hook — Below Zero

5 min

A thermometer reads -5 degrees and an elevator goes to level -2. What do the minus signs mean?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show a thermometer.
  • Ask what negative means.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Think.
  • Share.
  • Get ready.
2

Use — Explore Integers

12 min

Students explore integers and absolute value.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Explore Integers.
  • Open each card.
  • Note the ideas.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Explore.
  • Read.
  • Note it.
3

Modify — Place and Compare

13 min

Students order integers on a line.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Place integers on a number line.
  • Find each one's opposite.
  • Compare with < and >.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Place.
  • Find.
  • Compare.
4

Create — Distance from Zero

15 min

Students find absolute values.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Pick five integers.
  • Mark each on the line.
  • Write each absolute value.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Pick.
  • Mark.
  • Write.
5

Reflect — Opposites and Distance

5 min

Students reflect on absolute value.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • What is the opposite of -7?
  • Why is absolute value never negative?
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Say it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.

CCSS
6.NS.C.5

Understand that positive and negative numbers describe quantities with opposite directions or values.

CCSS
6.NS.C.6

Understand a rational number as a point on the number line; recognize opposite signs as locations on opposite sides of 0.

CCSS
6.NS.C.7

Understand ordering and absolute value of rational numbers.

CCSS
MP.2

Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Integer cards + a number line.
  • Sentence frame: “The opposite of ___ is ___ .”
  • Place one integer at a time.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with a vertical thermometer line.
  • Use real examples (temperature, floors).
  • Find opposites before absolute value.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Order integers and rational numbers.
  • Compare absolute values of negatives.
  • Apply integers to real-world change problems.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 🌡️Number-line / thermometer
  • 💻Explore Integers
  • 🖼️Integer cards
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

integera whole number that can be positive, negative, or zeropositive numbera number greater than zeronegative numbera number less than zero, written with a minus signzerothe integer at the center of the number line; neither positive nor negativeoppositea number the same distance from zero but on the other side, like 3 and -3absolute valuethe distance of a number from zero, always zero or positivenumber linea line on which numbers are placed in ordersignthe + or - that tells whether a number is positive or negative
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What is an integer?
A whole number that is positive, negative, or zero (no fractions or decimals).
QUESTION 2
What is the opposite of -7, and how far is each from zero?
The opposite of -7 is 7; both are a distance of 7 from zero.
QUESTION 3
What is the absolute value of -9, and why is it not negative?
|-9| = 9, because absolute value is a distance from zero, and distance is never negative.

Create: measure distance from zero.

Have students pick five integers, mark each on a number line, and write its absolute value as its distance from zero. A printable integers worksheet is in the Mathematics library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Integers and Absolute ValueFlip
Card 1
Term
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Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Integers and Absolute ValueQuiz
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Question 1
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Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Integers and Absolute ValuePrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: absolute value, integer, negative number, number line, opposite, positive number, sign, zero
  1. the integer at the center of the number line; neither positive nor negative
  2. a number the same distance from zero but on the other side, like 3 and -3
  3. a line on which numbers are placed in order
  4. the + or - that tells whether a number is positive or negative
  5. a number less than zero, written with a minus sign
  6. the distance of a number from zero, always zero or positive
  7. a whole number that can be positive, negative, or zero
  8. a number greater than zero

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What is an integer?
  2. What is the opposite of -7, and how far is each from zero?
  3. What is the absolute value of -9, and why is it not negative?
Answer key — Part A: 1) zero · 2) opposite · 3) number line · 4) sign · 5) negative number · 6) absolute value · 7) integer · 8) positive number
Part B: 1) A whole number that is positive, negative, or zero (no fractions or decimals). 2) The opposite of -7 is 7; both are a distance of 7 from zero. 3) |-9| = 9, because absolute value is a distance from zero, and distance is never negative.