Name: Adding and Subtracting Integers Printable Scavenger Hunt
SKU: 671cdc19f6be03001a47cc07
Price: 39.99 USD
Availability: InStock

About this resource

What's inside this resource

Turn the Routine into an Adventure!
Transform addition and subtraction of integers into an exciting math experience with this interactive printable scavenger hunt! Tailored for middle school students, this hands-on activity combines learning with fun, reinforcing essential skills in adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers.

With 12 engaging problems, this resource provides an interactive, self-checking tool that’s perfect for math practice, review, or test prep. Plus, it’s completely no-prep—just print, cut, and go!

About this Resource

Self-Checking Structure
This scavenger hunt lets students independently check their answers. Once students solve the final problem, they’ll see that the last answer is also the answer to the first card, completing the loop!
No Prep Needed
Simply print, cut, and distribute the cards—no additional setup or materials needed! This makes it an easy, time-saving addition to any lesson plan.
Interactive and Engaging
The scavenger hunt format promotes active participation as students move around the classroom, working to solve each problem while seeking out the matching answers. This dynamic approach boosts both focus and energy, helping students stay engaged.
Versatile Use
Ideal for math centers, classroom activities, collaborative small group work, or test review sessions, this flexible resource fits into a wide range of instructional settings and supports diverse student needs.

How It Works

Starting Point
Students begin at any card in the set, where they’ll find an integer addition or subtraction problem. After solving, they search for the next card with the correct answer.
Progress Through the Hunt
This active “hunt” continues as students solve each problem, diligently progressing from one card to the next.
Loop Back to Start
The activity concludes when they return to their starting card, reinforcing accuracy with a self-checking, confidence-building loop.

Why This Activity Works

The Adding and Subtracting Integers Scavenger Hunt combines essential math practice with an engaging, hands-on approach, offering a refreshing alternative to traditional worksheets. Moving card to card, students not only get physical activity but also strengthen their understanding of integer operations in a fun, low-pressure setting. With its self-checking nature, this activity empowers students to take charge of their progress and build confidence—perfect for middle school math classes focused on engagement and comprehension.

Ideal For:

Math Centers
Excellent for rotating groups or focused practice sessions.
Classroom Activities
Provides a pleasant break from traditional lessons while promoting active participation.
Small Group Work
Perfect for collaborative learning environments.
Test Review
An efficient, enjoyable tool for reinforcing skills before an exam.

Give your students a fun, active way to practice integer operations with this no-prep scavenger hunt! Just print, distribute, and watch them enjoy a self-paced and self-checking math adventure.

What's included

A teacher instruction page covering printing, cutting, distributing the cards around the room, and how the hunt is played and ended
Twelve question cards lettered A to L, two to a page, each with one integer problem in the centre and a PREVIOUS ANSWER value in the top corner
A student answer sheet headed "ADDING AND SUBTRACTING POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE NUMBERS SCAVENGER HUNT" with Name and Class lines
Working boxes on the answer sheet with the direction "Write the card number in the circle. Put your work and the answer in the box"
A marked final box on the answer sheet reading "This card should lead you to the first one you did"
Teacher tips on running the hunt individually or in pairs, adding a timed or fewest-mistakes challenge, and reviewing the sequence as a class

Resource types: Worksheets & Printables, Activities, Task Cards

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Add a positive and a negative integer, as on card A (7 + (-4)) and card H (9 + (-2))
Add two negative integers, as on card C (-6 + (-3)) and card F (-8 + (-7))
Subtract a positive integer from a negative one, as on card B (-5 - 8) and card E (-10 - 13)
Subtract a negative integer, recognising it as addition, on card D (6 - (-8)) and card K (-4 - (-9))
Use a closed answer chain to self-check: if the final card is not the starting card, an error has occurred earlier in the sequence

Teaching tips

Post the cards before the lesson and let groups start anywhere; the instructions say explicitly that the cards do not need to be solved in order, so a class of thirty can all be moving at once without queueing
The chain is closed, which means a wrong answer usually strands a student on a card whose corner value nobody produced - treat that as the signal to go back rather than as a dead end
Cards D and K are the ones to watch: subtracting a negative (6 - (-8) and -4 - (-9)) is where most errors appear, and both sit in the middle of the chain
The suggested competitive framing is shortest time or fewest mistakes; fewest mistakes suits this activity better, since the closed loop already rewards accuracy over speed
Review the full sequence on the board afterwards, as the instructions suggest - the order A, I, C, L, B, H, E, K, D, J, F, G is itself the answer record

Skills covered

Adding integers with unlike signs - four cards combine a positive and a negative, including 7 + (-4), -12 + 4, -8 + 5 and 9 + (-2).
Adding two negative integers - cards C and F give -6 + (-3) and -8 + (-7), where the magnitudes add and the sign stays negative.
Subtracting from a negative - cards B, E and J give -5 - 8, -10 - 13 and -3 - 9, all moving further from zero.
Subtracting a negative integer - cards D and K give 6 - (-8) and -4 - (-9), the case that turns a subtraction into an addition.
Self-checking through a closed sequence - each card's corner carries another card's answer, so the twelve form one loop and a completed hunt returns the student to their first card.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

How does a student know they have got it right without being marked?

The twelve cards form one closed chain. Each card's top corner holds the answer to a different card, so a correct answer always points at exactly one next card, and the twelfth leads back to whichever card the student started on. The answer sheet says so directly at its final box.

Do all students have to start at the same card?

No - and that is the point of the design. The instructions say each student or group should begin at any card and that the cards do not need to be solved in order, so a whole class can be spread across twelve locations at once rather than following each other round.

Which integer cases do the twelve problems cover?

All four. Positive plus negative (7 + (-4), 9 + (-2), -12 + 4, -8 + 5), negative plus negative (-6 + (-3), -8 + (-7)), subtracting a positive from a negative (-5 - 8, -10 - 13, -3 - 9), and subtracting a negative (6 - (-8), -4 - (-9)). One card, 10 - 6, keeps both numbers positive.

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Curriculum

Standards, concepts & topics

Standards

7.NS.A.1 — Apply and extend previous understandings of addition and subtraction to add and subtract rational numbers; represent addition and subtraction on a horizontal or vertical number line diagram. a. Describe situations in which opposite quantities combine to make 0. For example, a hydrogen atom has 0 charge because its two constituents are oppositely charged. b. Understand p + q as the number located a distance |q| from p, in the positive or negative direction depending on whether q is positive or negative. Show that a number and its opposite have a sum of 0 (are additive inverses). Interpret sums of rational numbers by describing real-world contexts. c. Understand subtraction of rational numbers as adding the additive inverse, p – q = p + (–q). Show that the distance between two rational numbers on the number line is the absolute value of their difference, and apply this principle in real-world contexts. d. Apply properties of operations as strategies to add and subtract rational numbers.