This resource links to both the Fractions progression document published by the Common Core Writing Teams in June 2011 and the Module posted on the Illustrative Mathematics website.
The purpose of the task is for students to compare signed numbers in a real-world context.
In this Cyberchase video segment, the CyberSquad locates the Cyberchase Council by using negative numbers.
Rational Numbers
Type of Unit: Concept
Prior Knowledge
Students should be able to:
Solve problems with positive rational numbers.
Plot positive rational numbers on a number line.
Understand the equal sign.
Use the greater than and less than symbols with positive numbers (not variables) and understand their relative positions on a number line.
Recognize the first quadrant of the coordinate plane.
Lesson Flow
The first part of this unit builds on the prerequisite skills needed to develop the concept of negative numbers, the opposites of numbers, and absolute value. The unit starts with a real-world application that uses negative numbers so that students understand the need for them. The unit then introduces the idea of the opposite of a number and its absolute value and compares the difference in the definitions. The number line and positions of numbers on the number line is at the heart of the unit, including comparing positions with less than or greater than symbols.
The second part of the unit deals with the coordinate plane and extends student knowledge to all four quadrants. Students graph geometric figures on the coordinate plane and do initial calculations of distances that are a straight line. Students conclude the unit by investigating the reflections of figures across the x- and y-axes on the coordinate plane.
Whole numbers are no better than any others! Practice plotting values on the number line as a passionate activist rises up and demands equity for all numbers, including fractions and decimals.
Navigate the number line while diving amidst shipwrecks and sunken ruins. Will you find a pearl, or an old boot? Watch out for the electric eel! Pearl Diver teaches properties of numbers, how to plot numbers, how to visualize quantity on the number line, how to order numbers, and how to use the number line as a visual model for mathematical operations.