Start the sample family first — it takes one click and everything in it is fictional.

Refresher · Signed numbers · about 12 min Pending teacher review

Left and right: direction and order

Goal: Move left and right from any starting point, and compare and order integers using position ("less than" means "to the left").

Before this: Builds on Number-line meaning: find 0, read positions, distance from 0.

Step 1 · Launch (≈5 min)

Start at $2$. Move $5$ to the left. Where are you?

Now start at $-4$ and move $6$ to the right.

Notice: moving left can take you past zero into the negatives, and moving right from a negative can take you past zero into the positives. Zero is not a wall.

Step 2 · Practice (≈10 min)

Pick the level that fits today. Hints are allowed — each one is recorded as assisted practice, which never changes an independent status.

Start at $3$ and move $7$ to the left. Where do you land?

Answer

Start at $-5$ and move $8$ to the right. Where do you land?

Answer

Which comparison is true?

A$-7 > -3$B$-3 > -7$C$-3 < -7$

Order from least to greatest: $\;3,\;-5,\;0,\;-1$

A$-1,\;-5,\;0,\;3$B$-5,\;-1,\;0,\;3$C$3,\;0,\;-1,\;-5$

Show me how it works — worked explanation

Direction turns a number line into a map. **Right = greater, left = less** — for every number, negative ones included.

To move: put a finger on the start, then step one tick at a time in the named direction. Pass through 0 like any other tick.
To compare: the number on the right is greater. $-2 > -5$ because $-2$ is to the right of $-5$.
To order from least to greatest: read the line from left to right.
Watch the trap: $-7$ is a "bigger-looking" number than $-3$, but it is farther LEFT, so it is less.

Step 3 · Wrap-up (≈5 min)

On the number line, less means left and greater means right. Moving left or right is just counting ticks, and zero is a tick like any other — you pass right through it.

Step 4 · Independent check

4 fresh problems on this skill, done alone: no hints, no worked solutions, no feedback until the end. This is what moves the skill's status.

You can start the check any time, but the wrap-up is worth reading first.

Parent guide (for the adult)

What to notice

Does your learner stop at 0 when a move should pass through it?
When comparing negatives, do they pick the one with the bigger digit as "bigger"?
Do they move the correct direction for "left" and "right" without hesitating?

What to ask

"Which direction is greater on a number line?"
"Is −7 to the left or right of −3? So which is less?"
"If you keep walking left from 1, what comes after 0?"

Common errors — and a question that separates a slip from a misconception

Treats the bigger digit as the greater number
Looks like: Says −7 > −3
Ask: "Put both on the line. Which is on the right?" If they then fix it, it was a habit; if they insist −7 is bigger "because 7 is bigger", that is the misconception to work on.
Stops at zero
Looks like: 3 moved 7 left → answers 0
Ask: "You moved 3 steps to reach 0 — how many steps are left to take?"
Moves the wrong direction
Looks like: −4 moved 6 right → answers −10
Ask: "Point to the right. Which way did you move?"

When to show an example

If the comparison problems go wrong, draw one number line and place every number from the problem on it before deciding — the picture does the comparing.

Complete solutions (keep closed during the independent check)

Show practice solutions

Support

Three steps left from 0: $-3$.
From 1: 0, −1, −2. Land on $-2$.
$-6$ is farther left (6 steps left of 0 versus 2).

Core

Seven steps left from 3 lands on $-4$.
Eight steps right from $-5$ lands on $3$.
$-3$ sits to the right of $-7$, so $-3 > -7$.
Reading the line left to right: $-5,\;-1,\;0,\;3$.

Extension

$-2 \to 4 \to -5$.
Distance 8; halfway is 4 steps right of $-7$: $-3$.

Repeat or move on?

Move on when the check is clean. If ordering was the only problem, one more day on the core set is usually enough.