This week in Year 5 maths we have begun our new unit on negative numbers, and the children have already shown great curiosity as they explored what happens when numbers drop below zero. We discussed real-life examples such as temperatures, lifts travelling underground, and money in a bank account to help the class understand how the number line continues past zero into negative values. The children practised counting forwards and backwards through zero, comparing and ordering negative numbers, and creating change stories with negative values. It has been brilliant to see so many children challenging themselves and explaining their reasoning with growing confidence.
Help at home: ask your child to explain how the number line works when it goes below zero and challenge them to give you a real-life example of a negative number.