How To Effectively Teach Adding Integers for Seventh Grade Math

Do you have students that are struggling to add integers?

Today's article will show you a math intervention lesson on adding integers using integer chips that will take your students from beginning to mastery in no time flat.

This article is part one in a four-part series of helping struggling students through the addition of integers and the full scaffolded learning progression.

7.NS.A.1b Understand p + q as the number located a distance |q| from p, in the positive or negative direction depending on whether q is positive or negative. Show that a number and its opposite have a sum of 0 (are additive inverses). Interpret sums of rational numbers by describing real-world contexts.

• Add integers using counters

• Add integers using number lines

• Integer addition rules

• Add integers

In this first step, you will be learning how to teach your students how to add using integer chips.

This lesson contains six sections. We'll be walking through each one

1. Introduction

2. Guiding Question

3. Teacher Modeling

4. Independent Practice

5. Assessment

6. Teacher Tip

Introduction

Review academic vocabulary

As the teacher, you can begin this lesson with a review of the academic vocabulary:

• integer

• positive

• negative

• sum

Discuss

Then give each student a set of 10 integer counters. Explain to the students that the red side is negative and that the yellow side is positive. If there's any confusion with that, you can take a permanent marker, write plus/minus on each of them for the positives and negatives. It does help.

Display one negative counter in the top box of the ten frame, display four positive counters at the bottom of the ten frame, then explain how pairs of counters counteract or cancel one another out to form zero pairs.

Ask the students

• If the zero pair is removed, what is the remaining counterbalance?

Integer Chip Ten Frame

Guiding Question

"How do zero pairs help visualize integer addition?"

Let the students talk and share ideas based on the previous knowledge of addition and subtraction and how a number minus its opposite equals zero.

Teacher Modeling

Say: "I'm going to model an addition sentence with integers, -4 + 2 =?

" I will represent each number with counters as I go. Show. Place four integer counters red slide up in a row. Place two yellow counters directly below them.

Say: "A pair made of one positive counter and one negative counter has a zero value.

Show: Because pairs of positive and negative counters have a value of zero, you can remove each pair from your model. Two negative counters should be left in your model.

Say: "The answer to this problem, -4 + 2 = -2."

Ask: What do you think or know about positive and negative integers after seeing this demonstration?

Listen: Students may respond with words like they cancel each other out or they make zero pairs.

Say: "I'm going to model another edition sentence with integers, 4 + -2 = ?" This time you will represent each number with counters as I go.

Listen and observe: Students should place four integer counters yellow side up in a row and place two red counters directly below them. Once their model has been established, they should indicate that canceling or creating zero pairs by removing them from the table. The remaining integer counters should be two positive counters.

Repeat with the following addition sentences:

-3 + 4 = 1

4 + -3 = 1

5 + -3 = 2

This model is going to require a little additional explanation as there's no canceling or zero pairs, so you'll want to make sure to put some clarity on that if some of your learners are struggling.