'Negative numbers' tutor notes

The aim of the module is to revise negative numbers in practical contexts.

Please let us know what you think of the factsheets and worksheets at skillswise.feedback@bbc.co.uk

How does this tie in with the new curriculums?

• England N1/L1.2 - Recognise negative numbers in practical contexts.
• Wales
  As England.
• Northern Ireland
  As England.
• Scotland
  See www.aloscotland.com for details of the Scottish curriculum.

In the Skillswise module you'll find:

Negative numbers factsheets
There are eight factsheets in this section which can be printed out and kept.

• Factsheet 1 - What are negative numbers?
• Factsheet 2 - Why do negative numbers 'get bigger'?
• Factsheet 3 - Negative numbers - practical examples
• Factsheet 4 - Freezing point of water
• Factsheet 5 - Reading a thermometer
• Factsheet 6 - Temperature increase and decrease
• Factsheet 7 - Storing frozen food
• Factsheet 8 - Negative numbers glossary

Negative numbers worksheets
There are two worksheets in this section.

• Worksheet 1 - Reading the weather
• Worksheet 2 - Storing frozen food

Negative numbers game
The game involves putting a mixture of postive and negative numbers into order. There are three levels of difficulty. You can print out the results page at the end of each game.
To play the game you will need to have Flash Version 5 plug-in for you browser. If you are not sure just give it a go. If it doesn't work then see the 'Technical help' section below on this page on how to get the Flash plug-in.

Technical help:

To get the most out of this topic area you need the following 'plug-ins':

• Flash
  The game in this topic section uses Flash. This is free to download and should only take a few minutes. You can follow the BBC WebWise instructions to download it to your machine.
  Find out more.

If you don't have Flash the same learning points are covered in the quiz and in the worksheets and factsheets.
If you are new to the web, why not try the BBC WebWise online course, Becoming WebWise? It's free, you can do it in your own time from any computer and it will take you through everything you need to know to use the web successfully in your teaching.
Get WebWise.

You can find out more about the technical requirements for Skillswise in our Help - Technical Information section.

Taking it further:

Here are some suggestions of other places on the web you might find useful for teaching negative numbers:

• BBC Weather
  Look at the latest weather forecasts for the UK, World or find your town.
• Temperatures
  From the Adult Basic Skills Resources Centre, mapped to N1/L1.2, some online activities for ordering temperatures and looking at temperature difference.
• Food safety
  The Food Safety Authority of Ireland website has a publications section from which you can print out a Safe Food to Go leaflet with tips for storing and freezing food.

Please note that the BBC is not responsible for the content of other websites.

Do you know of any great online resources for practising negative numbers? Tell us about them!

Don't forget to visit Lesson plans and Teaching inspirations for more ideas for teaching negative numbers.