Seventh grade students are concluding their foundational exploration of integers. Students used hands on manipulatives to gain understanding of positive and negative numbers and what happens when they add, subtract, multiply and divide them.
Through their exploration using red (-) and yellow (+) chips and number lines, they were able to discover the patterns or rules for working with integers. They gained fluency of the rules by playing games such as integer war, and practice on IXL.
They were able to see how integers are applied in real world situations and word problems. The unit was concluded with students completing a mystery packet, where they had to show fluency working with integers to find the clues.
This unit of integers was just the beginning and foundation for students. Upcoming units of study will require them to apply their knowledge of integers and connect them to skills they already know such as adding fractions and decimals. They will have to add positive and negative fractions and decimals and solve equations too.
