Maryland Math 6.NOS.C.6.b
The Standard
- 6.NOS.C.6
- Represent a rational number as a point on vertical or horizontal number lines. Represent points on a number line with negative numbers.
Locate and interpret the positions of rational numbers on a number line.
Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for Mathematics (2025) · APPLY AND EXTEND PREVIOUS UNDERSTANDING OF NUMBERS TO THE SYSTEM OF RATIONAL NUMBERS.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students place positive and negative fractions and decimals on a number line. They use the positions to tell which number is greater and how far each is from zero.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student marks equal intervals and places -1.5, -0.5, and 0.75 correctly. They can explain why -0.5 is greater than -1.5, even though 1.5 is greater than 0.5.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may put -0.75 to the right of -0.25 because 75 is greater than 25. They may also divide the space between 0 and 1 into uneven parts or place a negative fraction on the positive side.
How to Assess It
- Ask students to plot -1.5, -0.5, and 0.75 on a number line from -2 to 1. Have them explain which negative number is closer to zero.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Make a masking-tape number line on the floor and have students place cards labeled -3/2, -0.25, and 3/4.
Ask students to draw a number line and explain why -1/4 is to the right of -3/4.
Play a card-placement game: partners draw a number card, mark it on a number line, and check each other's placement.
Use a thermometer marked in half degrees to place -1.5°C, -0.5°C, and 0.5°C, then identify the warmest temperature.
Free download
Printable 6.NOS.C.6.b Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 6.NOS.C.6.b, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- 6.NOS.C.8
Order and identify the absolute value of rational numbers.
- 6.NOS.C.6.c
Recognize and locate opposite signs of rational numbers as indicating locations on opposite sides of 0 on the number line.
- 6.NOS.C.6
Represent a rational number as a point on vertical or horizontal number lines. Represent points on a number line with negative numbers.
- 6.NOS.C.7.b
Locate and interpret the positions of rational numbers on the Coordinate Plane, including how changes in the signs of ordered pairs reflect their location into ...
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson