Integers and absolute values

A negative balance is a debt, and the bigger the debt, the more negative the balance. That reversal sits at the center of 6.NS.C.7.d: −$7,253 is less than −$5,000, yet Angela owes more. The cinema table relies on 6.NS.C.7.c, absolute value as the size of a change: February's −5,000 is a smaller change than April's −10,000 or May's +10,000.

The grades table is a plain comparison with no negatives at all, a gentle breather between the integer stories.

Earlier pages of the series pay off here, because each answer needs both the sign and the distance from zero.

Picture your child at the bank table, reading three balances that all start with a minus sign. Some children pick Charles, thinking −$5,000 is the biggest debt because it is the greatest number. Ask, "If everyone paid it all back, who would hand over the most?"

For the cinema, cover the signs with a finger and say, "Which change is smallest, up or down?" February wins with 5,000.

The answer page agrees on all three: February, chemistry and Angela. It misspells the month and the science subject, so check the meaning, not the spelling.

Play Monopoly and, when a player cannot cover the rent, write the shortfall as a negative number. Compare two shortfalls with absolute value: who is deeper in debt? At home, look at an allowance record together and ask which month changed the most, up or down.

On a road trip, a sign showing an elevation below sea level gives another real negative to compare.

Tell them which move impressed you: "You checked the size before the sign." Next comes operations with integers, starting with adding integers with different signs.