1/21/2027

Morning Announcements

Morning Meeting Agenda

Mon · Social Studies Tue · Literacy Wed · Science Thu · Math Fri · ROAR + Houses
Math of the Day

Numbers below zero

Yesterday we talked about 32° and 15°. But temperatures can go below zero — and that’s where a lot of people’s math gets shaky.

A thermometer tells us how hot or cold it is. The higher the red line goes, the warmer it is!

Three thermometers showing a hot day, a cool day, and a freezing day
Let’s talk
  • Which thermometer shows the warmest day? How can you tell?
  • What would you wear on the coldest day? What about the hottest one?
  • Water turns to ice at 32°. Which of these days would have ice?
Reveal the answersHide the answers
The 90° day is warmest — tallest red line! You’d need a coat, hat, and gloves at 20°, but shorts at 90°. And only the 20° day would have ice, because 20 is colder than 32.
Try it

Be a thermometer! Crouch down low for a COLD day. Stand up tall for a HOT day. Now I’ll call out temperatures — you show me with your body! 90 degrees! 20 degrees! 50 degrees!

Zero isn’t the coldest it gets — it’s just a mark on the scale. Below it, numbers keep going with a minus sign. And the number line is the key to reading them.

A temperature number line running from negative twenty degrees to forty degrees
Let’s talk
  • Which is colder, −10° or −20°? Use the number line to justify your answer.
  • It’s 15° at midnight and drops 25 degrees by dawn. What’s the temperature?
  • Morning low is −5°, afternoon high is 18°. How many degrees did it climb?
Reveal the answersHide the answers
−20° is colder — it’s farther left on the line. This is the classic trap: with negatives, the bigger number is the smaller value. Starting at 15° and dropping 25 lands you at −10° (down 15 to zero, then 10 more below). And from −5° up to 18° is 23 degrees — 5 to reach zero, then 18 more. Count the distance through zero, not around it.
Try it

Where else do negatives live? With a partner, name three real places you’d see a number below zero — think elevators, bank accounts, elevation, sports. Then explain what “zero” means in each one. It’s different every time.

Additional Notes/Activities

If additional activities are needed for the Morning Meeting, they will be added here.