7.NS.A.1 lessons
Apply and extend previous understandings of addition and subtraction to add and subtract rational numbers, on a horizontal or vertical number line: opposite quantities combine to make 0, p + q is the number |q| from p in the direction of q's sign, subtraction is adding the additive inverse, and the distance between two numbers is the absolute value of their difference.
The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics code 7.NS.A.1 asks students to: “Apply and extend previous understandings of addition and subtraction to add and subtract rational numbers, on a horizontal or vertical number line: opposite quantities combine to make 0, p + q is the number |q| from p in the direction of q's sign, subtraction is adding the additive inverse, and the distance between two numbers is the absolute value of their difference.” These Fieldbook lessons teach it hands-on, with everyday materials, a printable teacher guide and a student sheet.
Below Zero: Integers in the Real World Grades 6–7
- How much did the temperature change? 50–60 min
Teams play a temperature-swing dice game on a thermometer number line and model each move with two-colour counters, then work out real record swings, including a town where the temperature rose 27 degrees in two minutes. Students add and subtract integers, explain zero pairs, and discover why subtracting a negative number makes the answer bigger.
- Are we in the red? 50–60 min
Teams keep the books for a class lemonade stand, tracking every purchase, sale, fee and refund as a positive or negative integer. They find that a stand that took in $64 still ended $3 in the red, then plan how to break even. Students add and subtract integers in a real context, including subtracting a negative, and explain a balance with zero pairs.
More Common Core standards for Grade 7
All standards we teach · Curriculum alignment by state and province
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