Negative Numbers are used in everyday life, from temperature measurement to points and penalties in games. Thus, children naturally experience negative numbers, and by the time they reach the elementary years, they are ready to use them in a variety of mathematical contexts.
Our new material, Negative Numbers, is an innovative concept aiming to demonstrate, reinforce, and maintain knowledge. As children made their way through fractions and decimal numbers during the early elementary years, they have acquired a strong experience with numbers, and comprehend that numbers may have a negative value. Negative numbers are numbers below zero, and are represented with a minus sign preceding the number. With the Negative Numbers material, children will begin to expand their knowledge and formally work with more complex types of numbers.
Materials
- 2 Cloth Charts with a Number Line from Negative 20 to Positive 20
- 41 Wooden Tiles
- 12 Large Wooden Cards With Exercises
How to Use the Materials
Children begin to formally study negative numbers on a line in Upper Elementary. They can use the bead bars from Elementary Negative Snake Game to visualize negative and positive values of numbers. For instance, to represent 12, children can place a 10 golden bead bar and a 2 green bead bar below the chart where it indicates +12. They can leave 0 with no bead bar, and place a negative ten bead bar (light gray) below -10. Children who have been introduced to the Elementary Negative Snake Game remember that we use sets of grey bars to subtract. Therefore, they are familiar with the bead bar concept.
To introduce the material, children lay out the Number Line Control Chart, and the Working Chart below. They use the numbered tiles to recreate the Number Line Control Chart. This allows children to become familiar with the layout of numbers in a linear fashion, with a zero that has negative numbers to its left, and positive numbers to its right. It is possible for children to practice numbering the line without looking directly at the control chart by putting it out of sight until needed.
After sufficient practice with the Control Chart, children are now ready to use the large wooden cards, which challenge them to organize random positive and negative numbers within the Negative Number. Another exercise included in the material is solving basic equations. Children select a large wooden card with an equation and solve it by using their finger along the line. For instance, if the equation is [+5 – 8 = ], then children begin at +5 with their finger, and skip 8 increments, westwards, to find the result.
By placing the material in the math area, with other math concepts development, you can be certain that children will be practicing this mathematical skill year round and have a solid foundation for future complex mathematical concepts. Number Line is versatile and can be used in different contexts: temperature, history BCE/CE, Negative Snake Game, etc.
We hope your learners will enjoy this novelty. Feel free to be creative and add to this material as your learners’ needs may vary. Visit our website at www.AlisonsMontessori.com for more innovative materials.
