6th grade integers add & subtract worksheets
Sixth grade opens the number line to the left of zero. These drills add and subtract with negative numbers, so your child learns that -3 + 5, 5 − 8, and 4 − -2 are all just walks along the same line.
Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core 6.NS.C.5, 6.NS.C.6, 7.NS.A.1.
A new sheet every click.
The kind of problems you'll get
Solve each problem. Watch the signs.
-
−6 + 5 =
Answer: -1
- −12 + (−12) =
- 14 − 15 =
Every print pulls a fresh set of problems at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling never gets the same sheet.
What's on each sheet
- Fluency. Solve each problem. Watch the signs. 12 questions per page.
Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.
How to teach this
Draw one number line and keep it next to the sheet. For each problem, put a finger on the first number and ask two questions: which way does this operation move, and how far? Subtracting a negative is the only tricky step. Read 4 − -2 out loud as "take away a debt of 2" and the move to the right makes sense. Skip the memorized sign rules until the walking is automatic; rules without the line breed sign guesses.
Watch for: Kids treat every pair of negative signs as a positive answer. Two signs only cancel when one is being subtracted or multiplied, so -3 + -5 is -8, not 8. Kids subtract the smaller digit from the larger and guess the sign. Walk the number line instead: -7 + 3 starts at -7 and moves right 3, landing at -4.
Common questions about integers add & subtract
- How large do the numbers get?
- Operands stay between -15 and 15, so every problem is walkable on a small number line. The work is the signs, not the arithmetic.
- Why does every problem have a negative in it?
- Plain positive facts are grade-1 work. Each item here involves a negative operand or a negative answer. That is the skill sixth grade adds.
Related worksheets
- 6th grade absolute value Same grade, nearby skill
- 6th grade combining like terms Same grade, nearby skill
- 6th grade comparing & ordering integers Same grade, nearby skill
- Integers add & subtract, all grades The full progression
- All 6th grade math worksheets Every skill at this level
- All 6th grade worksheets Everything at this level
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Aligned to Common Core 6.NS.C.5, 6.NS.C.6, 7.NS.A.1. Reviewed by the One more sheet curriculum team. Content version 123, updated July 2026.