Adding and Subtracting Integers

Have you ever wondered how numbers can move forward and backward, rise and fall, or grow and shrink? Adding and subtracting integers helps you understand how numbers change when direction matters. This playsheet guides you through working with positive and negative values so you can solve problems involving temperature, money, elevation, and more. You discover that integers give you a powerful language to describe real-life situations.

As you complete each activity, you’ll start by learning how to add integers using rules that make sense. You’ll notice that positive numbers move you to the right on a number line, while negative numbers move you to the left. When the signs are the same, you add their values and keep the sign. When the signs differ, you subtract and choose the sign of the larger number. These patterns help you add integers quickly and confidently.

Next, you’ll explore subtracting integers, which may seem tricky at first—but becomes easy once you know a secret: subtracting a number is the same as adding its opposite. For example, 6 – (–3) becomes 6 + 3. Once you understand this rule, problems that looked confusing suddenly make perfect sense. You begin to realize that subtraction is not something to fear—it’s just another step in working with direction.