Adding Integers: Practice at Home, Grade 7

Integers include negative numbers, and adding them is a Grade 7 skill that builds on thermometers and bank balances children already know.

What your child is working on

When two integers have the same sign, add the sizes and keep the sign: −3 + (−4) = −7, and 3 + 4 = 7. When they have different signs, subtract the sizes and keep the sign of the bigger one. This page practices the same-sign case.

Try it at home

Play “Owe and own”. Use two colors of counters: green for dollars you own and red for dollars you owe. Draw a card from a deck (numbers 1 to 9): a black card is money you gain and a red card is a debt. Add each new card to the total and say whether you are up or down overall.

A thermometer works too. If it is −3 degrees and drops another 4, where is it? Mark the move on a number line.

Where children slip

Writing −3 + (−4) = −1 by treating the signs like a subtraction. Ask: “Are we moving further from zero or closer?”

Practice online

The free Add integers with the same sign page has short sets and explanations. Next steps are on the Grade 7 skills list.