Math lesson plan · 6th grade (Year 7 in England) · 45 minutes
Put integers in order
Number sense
CCSS 6.NS.C.7.AEngland: KS3 Number
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Put integers in order.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Compare integers, including two negatives
Leads to: the next skill in this area.
Materials: Place value chart, Base-ten blocks or a number line, Mini whiteboards and pens, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 5 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Compare integers, including two negatives). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Choose the sign: −5 __ −12 (< / >) → >Prompt: Both numbers are negative. Which one is further left on the number line?
- It is −18 °C in a freezer and −6 °C in a cold store. Which is colder? (a freezer / a cold store) → a freezerPrompt: Colder means a lower temperature.
- Zara writes: 12 > −7. Is Zara right? (Yes, it is true / No, it is false) → Yes, it is truePrompt: Picture both numbers on a number line.
Hook · 5 min
- Show a number in the news or a price tag and ask what each digit is worth.
- Share the objective: Put integers in order. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 10 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Winter morning temperatures: Montreal −5 °C, Helsinki −3 °C, Reykjavik −19 °C, Anchorage −20 °C. Which city is coldest?
- Step 1: The least temperature is −20 °C: Anchorage.
- Answer: Anchorage
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 10 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Winter morning temperatures: Ulaanbaatar 2 °C, Montreal −7 °C, Anchorage −5 °C, Helsinki −9 °C. Which city is coldest? (Ulaanbaatar / Montreal / Anchorage / Helsinki) → HelsinkiPrompt: The coldest city has the least temperature.
- Winter morning temperatures: Anchorage −16 °C, Montreal −10 °C, Oslo −11 °C, Reykjavik −3 °C. Which city is coldest? (Anchorage / Montreal / Oslo / Reykjavik) → AnchoragePrompt: The coldest city has the least temperature.
You do: independent practice · 10 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 5 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Winter morning temperatures: Reykjavik 2 °C, Montreal −3 °C, Helsinki −19 °C, Anchorage 0 °C. Which city is coldest? (Reykjavik / Montreal / Helsinki / Anchorage) → HelsinkiPrompt: The coldest city has the least temperature.
- Winter morning temperatures: Anchorage 2 °C, Ulaanbaatar −1 °C, Helsinki −14 °C, Oslo −4 °C. Which city is coldest? (Anchorage / Ulaanbaatar / Helsinki / Oslo) → HelsinkiPrompt: The coldest city has the least temperature.
Watch out for
- Reading 1,045 as one thousand four hundred five: point to each place and say its value.
- Thinking a longer number is always bigger, even with decimals (0.45 vs 0.5).
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Compare integers, including two negatives.
- Use concrete materials: place value chart.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/math/grade-6.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder