6.2.B
The Standard
identify a number, its opposite, and its absolute value
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Mathematics
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Given a point or value, students name its signed value and the value the same distance across zero. They also state how far the value lies from zero.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can see -7 and name 7 as its mirror value and 7 as its distance from zero. The student handles 0 correctly and explains why distance from zero is never negative.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often think a negative sign means the absolute value must be negative. They may treat 0 and -0 as different values or confuse opposites with reciprocals.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: For -8, 0, and 3, write each value's mirror across zero and its distance from zero. Draw a number line to justify one answer.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Tape a floor number line, give students integer cards, and have partners stand at mirror points and count each distance from zero.
Ask students to explain why -9 and 9 have the same absolute value but are not the same number.
Play a card match game pairing each signed number with its opposite and absolute value, including zero.
Use temperatures above and below 0°C to compare direction from zero with total distance from zero.
Keep exploring
Related Standards
- 2.2.F
name the whole number that corresponds to a specific point on a number line
- 2.2.E
locate the position of a given whole number on an open number line
- 2.9.C
represent whole numbers as distances from any given location on a number line
- 6.2.C
locate, compare, and order integers and rational numbers using a number line
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