Posted in Elementary School Math, Number Sense

How to scaffold algebraic thinking in teaching integers

One way to make algebra make sense to students is to show where those mathematics objects (e.g. algebraic expressions/equations/formula) come from. It will even makes sense more to students if they themselves can generate those objects. As John Mason puts it,

The mechanics of algebra (algebraic manipulation) are concerned with studying the effects of combining, undoing and otherwise relating expressions. These make little or no sense unless learners have themselves gained facility in generating expressions so that they know how they arise.  – from Actions and Objects by John Mason.

Generating expressions helps develop algebraic thinking. There are many ways of of embedding this in your teaching. For example with equations, you can ask the students to find as many equations given a solution. Read the post on how to teach the properties of equality on how this can be done. My post about teaching algebraic expressions also shows an example of a task that generates several equivalent algebraic expressions from the same problem situation. Generating formulas by deriving it from other expressions can also be a good activity.  Examples of these is deriving the formula of the area of the triangle from parallelogram/ rectangle and then from these deriving the area of trapezoids. These type of activities help develop students algebraic thinking skills.

Now, how can we do this generating expressions in earlier grades? Let me describe a lesson I taught to a class of year 6 students. This lesson is a continuation of the lesson on teaching integers via the number line with a twist. In that lesson, instead of asking student to arrange numbers, I asked them to arrange number expressions. From there we were able to extend the numbers they know (whole numbers) to now include the negative numbers. The main aim of that lesson is to extend the students’ concept image of negative number from a number that can be used to represent situation (see post on a problem solving approach for introducing integers) to a number that results when you take away a bigger number from a smaller number.

In this lesson with negative numbers, zero, and positive numbers on the number line, I can now proceed to defining integers or perhaps compare integers. But what will the students learn from that except that they are called integers? If I ask them to compare the numbers what good is that at this point? Where will they use that knowledge? So the task that I gave  them in this lesson was to make as many number expressions whose answer corresponds to the numbers in the number line. Note that this task is an open-ended problem solving task. Below is a sample student solution.

When I asked the class to share their answers I was surprised that they did not restrict themselves to addition and subtraction operation.

With the data shown on the board (pardon my handwriting) I asked them to make some observations and generalizations. They gave the following:

1. It is easy to make number expressions when the answer should be positive.

2. You always get a negative if you subtract a bigger number from a smaller number.

3. You always get a zero if you subtract equal numbers. (If you think this knowledge easily transfer to negatives, you’re wrong. I did try my luck when I asked them “is it also true to -7 – (-7)?”. I got blank stares. Clearly the expression it is still beyond them.

If these are not powerful mathematics to you especially #2 and well, #3, I don’t know what they are. Anyway, the point of my story here is that it is good practice to ask students to generate expressions. It is like asking them to think of a problem given the solution, a highly recommended  mathematics teaching practice.

Posted in Elementary School Math, Number Sense

Teaching negative numbers via the numberline with a twist

One popular way of introducing the negative numbers is through the number line. Most textbooks start with the whole number on the number line and then show to the students that the number is decreasing by 1. From there, the negative numbers are introduced. This seems to be something easy for students to understand but I found out that even if students already know about the existence of negative numbers having used them to represent situations like 3 degrees below zero as -3, they would not think of -1 as the next number at the left of zero when it is presented in the number line. They would suggest another negative number and some will even suggest the number 1, then 2, then so on, thinking that maybe the numbers are mirror images.

Here is an alternative activity that I found effective in introducing the number line and the existence of negative numbers.  The purpose of the activity is to introduce the number line, provide students another context where negative numbers can be produced (the first is in the activity on Sorting Situations and the second is in the task Sorting Number Expressions), and get them to reason and make connections. The task looks simple but for students who have not been taught integers or the number line the task was a problem solving activity.

Question: Arrange from lowest to highest value

When I asked the class to show their answers on the board, two arrangements were presented. Half of the class presented the first solution and the other half of the students, the second solution. Continue reading “Teaching negative numbers via the numberline with a twist”

Posted in Elementary School Math, Number Sense

Who says subtracting integers is difficult?

Subtracting integers should not be difficult for most if they make sense to them. In first grade, pupils learn that 100 – 92 means take away 92 from 100. The minus sign (-) means take away or subtract.

After two or three birthdays, pupils learn that 100 – 92 means the difference between 100 and 92. The minus sign (-) means difference. The lucky ones will have a teacher that would line up numbers on a number line to show that the difference is the distance between the two numbers.

After a couple of birthdays more, pupils learn that you can actually take away a bigger number from a smaller number. The result of these is a new set of numbers called negative numbers. That is,

small numberbig number = negative number

The negative numbers are the opposites of the counting numbers they already know which turn out to have a second name, positive. The positive and the negative numbers can even be arranged neatly on a line with 0, which is neither a positive nor a negative number, between them. The farther left a negative number is from zero the smaller the number. Of course, the pupils already know that the farther right a positive number is from zero the bigger it is. It goes without saying that negative numbers are always lesser than positive numbers in value. This is easier said than understood. When I tried this out, it was not obvious for many of the learners I have to give examples of each by comparing the numbers and defining that as the number gets further to the left the lesser in value.

Now, what is 92 – 100 equal to? The difference between 92 and 100 is 8. But because we are taking away a bigger number from a smaller number, the result must be a negative number. That is 92 – 100 = -8. Notice that the meaning of the sign, -, before 8 is different from that between 92 and 100.

What about -100 – 92? Because -100 is 100 units away from the left of 0 and 92 is 92 units away from the right of 0, the total distance or difference between them is 192. But because we are taking away a bigger number, 92, from a smaller number, -100, the answer must be negative (-). That is, -100 – 92 = -192.

And -100 – -92? Easy. Both are on the left of 0. The difference or distance between them is 2 but because -92 is bigger than -100, the answer should be a negative number. That is, -100 – -92 = -8.

We  shouldn’t have a problem with 100 – -92. These numbers are 192 units apart and because we are taking away a small number from a bigger number, the answer must be positive. That had always been the case since first grade.

Who says we need rules for subtracting integers?

Click the links for other ideas for teaching integers with conceptual understanding

Posted in Elementary School Math, High school mathematics, Number Sense

Teaching positive and negative numbers

A popular approach for teaching numbers is to use it to describe a property of an object or a set of object. For example, numbers are used to describe the amount or quantity of fruits in a basket.

In introducing integers, teachers and textbooks presents integers as a set of numbers that can be used to describe both the quantity and quality of an object or idea. Contexts involving opposites are very popular situations to show the uses and importance of positive and negative numbers and the meaning of its symbols. For example, a teacher can tell the class that +5 represents going 5 floors up and -5 represents going five floors down from an initial position.

Mathematics is a language and a way of thinking and should therefore be experienced by students as such. As a language, math is presented as having its own set of symbols and “grammar” much like our spoken and written languages that we use to describe a thing, an experience or an idea.But apart from being a language, mathematics is also a way of thinking. The only way for students to learn how to think is for them to engage them in it!  Here’s my proposed activity for teaching positive and negative numbers that engages students in higher-level thinking as well.

Sort the following situations according to some categories

  1. 3o below zero
  2. 52 m below sea level
  3. $1000 net gain
  4. $5000 withdrawal from ATM machine
  5. $1000 deposit in savings account
  6. 3 kg weight loss
  7. 2 kg weight gain
  8. 80 m above sea level
  9. 37o above zero
  10. $2000 net loss

The task may seem like an ordinary sorting task but notice that the categories are not given. Students have to make their own way of grouping the situations. They can only do this after analyzing each situation, noting commonalities and differences.

Possible solutions:

1.  Distance vs money (some students may consider the reading the thermometer under distance since its about the “length” of mercury from the “base”)

2. Based on type of quantities: amount of money, temperature, mass, length

3. Based on contrasting sense: weight gain vs weight loss, above zero vs below zero, etc.

The last solution is what you want. With very little help you can guide students to come-up with the solution below.

Of course, one may wonder why make the students go through all these. Why not just tell them? Why not give the categories? Well,  mathematics is not in the curriculum because we want students to just learn mathematics. More importantly, we want our students to think critically and creatively hence we need to give them learning experiences that develops good thinking habits. Mathematics is a very good context for learning these.

Here are my other posts about integers: