The Number Line: The Fairy Garden Stepping Stones
A sparkly stream runs through the Fairy Garden, with a straight row of round stepping stones across it. The stone in the middle is zero. Stones to the right count up, 1, 2, 3…, and stones to the left count down, −1, −2, −3…. It’s a number line you can hop on!
Remember: On a number line, zero is in the middle. Positive numbers go to the right and get bigger: 1, 2, 3… Negative numbers go to the left: −1, −2, −3… A number and its opposite, like 4 and −4, are the same number of hops from zero, on opposite sides. To hop from a negative number to a positive one, count the hops to zero and then the hops after it.
Magic trick: Imagine a mirror standing on zero: −3 is the reflection of 3. Same distance, other side!
Seek and Find
Look carefully at the picture of the Fairy Garden and find:
- 🪨 Find the stepping stones. The shiny gold one in the middle is zero. There are 4 lavender stones to its left, like −1, −2, −3, −4, and 4 mint stones to its right, like 1, 2, 3, 4.
- 🐸 Find the frogs on the lily pads. There are 3 lily pads with 2 frogs each: 3 × 2 = 6 frogs.
- 🐱 Millie and her kitten Biscuit are hiding in every picture. Can you spot them?