Compare integers

💡 How it plays and why it helps

A winter forecast of −11 degrees feels colder than −3, and that feeling is the key to this game. Compare integers asks which of two numbers is greater, each between −20 and 20, with new numbers on every card. Your child taps one of the two. Ten cards make a round in this Grade 6 game, every tap is checked, and a hint is ready on each card.

On a number line, values grow toward the right, whatever their sign. The hint asks your child to picture that line, and it settles every pair: −3 sits to the right of −11, so −3 is greater. Some cards pair a positive and a negative, which is quick; others pair two negatives, such as −18 and −19, where the habit of comparing digits points the wrong way.

Bigger digits pull the eye. For −3 or −11, tapping −11 trusts the 11 and forgets the sign. Ask, "Which is warmer, 3 below zero or 11 below?" The thermometer answer is the math answer. Close with, "You read the sign before the digits."