Downside Up (Updated!)

Is there an upside to having a bad day?

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Downside Up (Updated!)

Is there an upside to having a bad day?

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2023-2024 Versions

In the fall of 2024, Citizen Math released updated versions of every lesson in our library, plus a few new ones! We know you may have already prepped an earlier version or planned a repeat of last year, so we're continuing to make these earlier versions available through Thursday December 5, 2024.

You can find the new lessons through the regular search, and we hope you love them as much as we do. You can read more about these updates in Our Community.

Is there an upside to having a bad day? From TV ads to social media, we’re constantly told that if we’re not always happy, we must be doing something wrong.

In this lesson, students use positive integers, negative integers, and absolute value to describe the emotions of a day and discuss the important role that different emotions play in our lives.

REAL WORLD TAKEAWAYS

  • Everyone experiences a range of emotions with different intensities at different times. This is part of the human condition.
  • It’s possible that bad days make good days feel better.
  • Even when people feel sad, they’re still feeling. For some people, the intensity of feeling may be just as important as the direction.

MATH OBJECTIVES

  • Interpret and analyze graphs
  • Find differences between integers (both positive and negative)
  • Describe the magnitude of positive and negative integers using absolute value

Great anytime, including at the beginning of a unit before students have any formal introduction to the topic.
Grade 6
Positive & Negative Integers
Grade 6
Positive & Negative Integers
Content Standards
Mathematical Practices

Other Grade 6 Lessons