Grade 6 Math Flashcards: Integers — Key Words, Rule Cards and Practice Cards

How to Present

• Print on card. Use the key-word cards when you teach each word, put the rule cards on the wall, and use the practice cards for warm-ups, pair quizzes or a "quiz, quiz, trade" activity.

Games & Speaking Activities

• Quiz, quiz, trade: each student gets a practice card, asks a partner, then they swap cards and find a new partner.
• Put the 4 rule cards on the wall for the whole unit.

Teacher Tips

Most mistakes in this unit are sign mistakes, not number mistakes. Teach a two-step habit: first find the number, then decide the sign — and say the rule out loud ("different signs, so negative"). When a student gives a wrong answer, ask "Is the number right? Is the sign right?" instead of "Try again." Also say "negative five" for −5 and "minus" only for subtraction, and write brackets: 4 + (−6), never 4 + −6.

Learning Objectives

• Use integers to describe real situations — temperature, sea level, floors and car park levels, money in and out — and explain what 0 means.
• Place and read integers on a number line, and find the opposite and the absolute value of any integer.
• Compare and order integers using < and >, and explain the answer with a number line or thermometer.
• Add and subtract integers using a number line, zero pairs and the rules (subtracting = adding the opposite).
• Multiply and divide integers using the sign rules.
• Solve real-life problems with integers and write the number sentence.

Differentiation

Support
Give every student a number line (Teacher Resources p. 4) and the rule cards to keep on the desk. Use two-color counters or the zero pairs mat before the rules. Keep numbers between −10 and 10 at first. Pair a stronger student with a weaker one for the real-life problems and let them say the answer before they write it.

Extension
Use the challenge problems in the Teacher Resources (two integers with a sum of −3 and a product of −10, (−1) multiplied by itself 25 times, and more). Students write their own real-life problem with the answer −12, and try negative decimals such as −2.5 + 1.

Assessment

Use the practice cards as a quick oral check; the answers are on the strip at the bottom of each page.

What's Included

• 7-page flashcards file (DOCX + PDF): 12 key-word cards, 4 rule cards, 16 practice cards with answer

Additional Files

• Grade 6 Math Flashcards: Integers — Key Words, Rule Cards and Practice Cards (DOCX)

Teacher Reviews