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This Key Stage 3 Working with Negative Numbers scheme of work brings together the lessons I use when I want students confident on the number line, inequalities and the four operations before we lean on negatives inside harder algebra and graphs. The page sets out what I expect students to bring from earlier number work, the ideas I keep coming back to in class, and how this unit fits the wider KS3 number strand.
Use it as a departmental reference: sequence the lessons below in the order that matches your scheme, adapt timings to your cohort, and cross-link to other units when you need extra practice on place value or fractions. Everything here describes the unit at a glance—the individual lesson pages hold the presentations, worksheets and tutorials.
For more schemes and topic routes across KS3, GCSE and A-Level, browse the Mr Mathematics Curriculum Hub.
Read the four summary cards first so you know the prior expectations and the language you want students to hear consistently. Then work through the lessons in the order below unless your department timetable needs you to split content across terms—if you do, keep a clear progression from comparing and locating negatives into addition and subtraction before you expect fluency with multiplication and division. Jump straight to the lesson list when you are ready to open resources or set cover.
Presentations, worksheets, question generators and video tutorials for the lessons in this unit are available to members. Explore Mr Mathematics membership if you need full access to the library and schemes of work.
Students should arrive able to use and interpret negative quantities in familiar contexts before you formalise operations across zero.
These are the ideas I keep explicit while teaching this unit.
How this unit supports fluency, reasoning and problem solving in Key Stage 3.
National curriculum links this unit supports at Key Stage 3 (Number).
Use it as the map, not the lesson. Check prerequisite knowledge with your classes, align the key concepts with your department’s vocabulary, then teach the lessons in the order that fits your timetable—opening each lesson from its own resource page when you need the presentation or worksheet.
They need confidence interpreting negatives in context, moving along a number line through zero and using simple measures such as temperature so that directed number is already meaningful before you stress formal rules for operations.
Each lesson in the list below has its own page on Mr Mathematics with downloadable resources and, where available, an online lesson and question generator—access depends on your membership level.
Yes, if your scheme requires it—keep an eye on dependency: students usually need comparing and locating negatives, then addition and subtraction, before multiplication and division feel coherent. If you reorder, re-check the key concepts card so models such as the number line stay consistent across the unit.
Lesson titles as listed on the scheme—open each from the site navigation or search when you are ready to teach.
Students learn how to compare positive and negative numbers and calculate the difference between the two.
Throughout the lesson students use the greater than (>) and less than (<) symbols to make comparisons.
Students learn how to perform addition with negative numbers.
Later in the lesson they are challenged to work with larger value numbers and solve complete a number pyramid using written methods.
Students learn how to subtract with positive and negative numbers using a number line and written methods.
More able students substitute negative numbers into simple expressions.
Students how to multiply with two or more positive and negative numbers.
As learning progresses, more able students are challenged to raise numbers to a power.
Students learn about dividing with negative numbers using written methods.
More able students work with negative numbers raise to a power. Less able students are taught how to use a number line to visualise the division.
See the multiplying lesson this follows on from
Students tackle a range of problems involving negative numbers.
Tasks include finding pairs of numbers from given products and sums, applying the order of operations, and solving multi-step problems that combine different uses of negatives.
Students revise how to add, subtract, multiply and divide with negative numbers.
Later, as learning progresses, they solve various exam-style questions.
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