Using a Picture Book and Magnetic Tiles To Teach Integers
Are you looking for a fun activity to teach subtraction or whole numbers or integers. Maybe an activity that draws in your more creative or right-brained students? Try my activity around the book Elevator Magic by Stuart J. Murphy! This would also be a great way to review subtraction (whole numbers or integers) before state testing.
By the way, did you know I have a Pinterest account? If you like this lesson, but it’s not the time of year that you typically teach integers, pin this article to your Pinterest board, so you can come back to it when it aligns to your pacing chart.
Target Audience
Early Elementary
This activity can be presented two ways. If only using positive numbers, then the target audience for this activity is first grade (1.OA.1 and 1.OA.4). However, depending on your class’s ability, it could be used in Kindergarten (K.OA.2) or in second grade for a review (2.OA.1).
Middle School
If you extend this activity to negative numbers, the activity targets 7th grade standards around negative integers (7.NS.1), but it could also be used in Grade 6 (6.NS.5, 6.NS.6, 6.NS.7) as an extension or Grade 8 as a review.
Table 1: Common Addition and Subtraction Situations
If you are an elementary school teacher and you are formerly from a Common Core state, you may be familiar with Table 1 from the math standards. The nice thing about Elevator Magic is that it uses several situations from Table 1. This table could be useful to middle school teachers teaching integers as well, as it shows different types of word problems that you should use with your students when teaching addition/subtraction.
Summary
Elevator Magic by Stuart J. Murphy is about a boy named Ben who visits his mom’s workplace. She works on the 10th floor, and they have to take the elevator down and make some stops on the way. Like any kid, Ben is excited to push the buttons. That’s when the fun starts. His mother doesn’t just tell him where to go, but she has him figure it out. Then each stop has an unexpected surprise. The Farm Bank and Trust is an actual farm. The Speedway Delivery Shipping Department is a race track. The Hard Rock Candy Store has an actual rock band playing away.
Activity
Note: I’m writing this activity at the middle school level. If you teach lower elementary school students, keep the activity within whole numbers.
Step 1: Read the story to the class. Bring out the carpet squares. Middle schoolers (and even high schoolers) still love a good picture book and story time. It reminds them of elementary school when life was easier!
Step 2: Demonstrate the concept using magnetic tiles. Some of my magnetic tiles had holes like windows, so I used those for my positive floors, and my solid magnetic tiles were the negative numbers since sub-floors don’t have windows. Makes sure you label the 0th floor. I used a post-it note to label mine. I used another post-it for the elevator.
Step 3: Have the students draw a picture of an elevator with 10 floors. Then have them mimic Ben’s travels. Make sure at each stopping point they write the subtraction equation and its corresponding negative equation. For example, 10 – 2 = 8 and 10 + (-2) = 8.
Step 4: This is where it gets fun. Have them extend the story. Tell students that Ben’s mom’s apartment building has 10 floors below ground level. Have him make 4 more stops. One stop should be the garage (ground level 0). Let them use their creativity to come up with fun situations at each floor and draw some corresponding pictures. Tell them for each stop they need to write both a subtraction equation and a corresponding addition equation.
Conclusion
Whether you are a classroom teacher or a homeschool parent, it’s always helpful to have a new way to teach a familiar topic. Integer chips and balance beams are fun, but how often do we get to incorporate kids’ imagination in math class? Using picture books can help us cover the standard but engage our student in different modes of learning. For more great teaching ideas sent directly to your inbox, be sure to subscribe!
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