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Negative Numbers: Counting Below Zero with Pip the Penguin

Negative Numbers: Counting Below Zero with Pip the Penguin

Learn what negative numbers are, read temperatures below zero and count through zero, helping Pip the penguin on number lines, thermometers and ice.

  • Ages 8–10
  • About 40 min
  • Some thinking
  • Numbers
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What you'll learn

  • What a negative number is and how the minus sign shows it
  • Where negative numbers sit on horizontal and vertical number lines
  • How to read a thermometer showing temperatures below 0°C
  • Why −8°C is colder than −3°C
  • How to count forwards and backwards in ones through zero
  • How to count in 2s, 5s and 10s past zero

Chapter by chapter

  1. Negative numbers: numbers below zero on a number line Free to try

    Year 5 maths · 1

  2. Negative numbers in context: temperatures, lifts and sea level

    Year 5 maths · 1

  3. Counting forwards and backwards through zero

    Year 5 maths · 1

  4. Counting in steps through zero: 2s, 5s and 10s

    Year 5 maths · 1

  5. Final challenge: negative numbers (10 questions)

What the chapters cover in the national curriculum in England:

  1. Year 5 maths: Interpret negative numbers in context, count forwards and backwards with positive and negative whole numbers, including through 0

About this adventure

Negative Numbers is an interactive maths game that teaches children aged 8–10 what negative numbers are, how to use them in real life and how to count forwards and backwards through zero. It follows the Year 5 maths curriculum for England.

Children join Pip the penguin to hop past zero on a number line, drag a thermometer down to −5°C, compare which snowy place is colder and ride a lift down to floor −2 in an underground car park. Along the way they learn that a negative number is less than zero and is written with a minus sign, and that zero itself is neither positive nor negative.

Every instruction is read aloud. Children answer by tapping, choosing or typing on a keypad with a minus key, and gentle hints help with common slips such as skipping zero or forgetting the minus sign.

Questions and answers

What are negative numbers, in simple words?

Negative numbers are numbers less than zero, written with a minus sign, like −3. On a number line they sit on the other side of zero from the positive numbers, so −3 is three steps from zero, just as 3 is.

Is −8 bigger or smaller than −3?

−8 is smaller than −3 because it is further below zero. On a thermometer, −8°C is colder than −3°C, even though the digit 8 is bigger than 3, which is a mix-up many children make.

How do you count backwards through zero?

Count back one step at a time and say zero on the way: 3, 2, 1, 0, −1, −2. A common mistake is jumping straight from 1 to −1, so remember that zero is a step too.

What age is this negative numbers game for?

It is made for children aged 8 to 10 and matches Year 5 of the national curriculum in England for KS2 maths. Children who met counting back past zero in Year 4 can also use it for practice.

What does the negative numbers game include and how long does it take?

It has four short chapters and a 10-question final challenge, taking about 40 minutes in total. Children tap number lines, drag a thermometer, ride a lift and type answers, with every instruction read aloud.

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