Curriculum › Math ›Grade 6

Grade 6 Math · Level 1, Division, Decimals & Signed Numbers

Place Rational Numbers on a Number Line

How the lesson starts: Place Rational Numbers on a Number Line

1. The circus tightrope

   Welcome to the Starlight Circus! Zed the juggler walks a tightrope marked like a number line, with 0 in the middle. The ringmaster calls out a spot, and Zed must stop at exactly the right place. Let's help Zed read the rope!

2. Whole steps first

   Positive numbers are to the right of 0, and negatives are to the left. Zed walks 7 steps left of 0 to reach −7. His friend Mimi walks 4 steps right to reach 4. Count the jumps from 0, and check which side!

3. Half steps

   Now the rope is marked in halves, so each small jump is 0.5. To reach −1.5, count 3 half jumps left of 0. To reach 1.5, count 3 half jumps right. A spot like 1.5 can also be named as a fraction: three halves, or 3/2.