Negative Numbers

I see issues with negative numbers all the time, even from calculus students.
I think I can pinpoint three key things that really helped me understand negative numbers. Hopefully they will help you, too.

 

Here is a free online game to practice negative numbers:
http://www.mathsisfun.com/numbers/casey-runner.html

My First Video

This is a video that expands the lessons Factoring and FOIL. I work through an example, then check my work.

I would love some feedback. Is this a good way to teach lessons? Does it help you understand any better? Does it confuse you? Is it an awful video in general?

Factoring

Factoring is the exact opposite of FOIL-ing (see last post). Instead of multiplying out two binomials to create a trinomial, we will be breaking a trinomial into two binomials.

This is probably the most important skill you will learn in algebra (not counting all of the skills that are used for this one). So when your teacher says it's time to begin the chapter on factoring, sit up straight in your seat and pay attention.
While there are something like 8 different factoring methods, I am only going to present one. This is for a reason: this method works for every single factorable trinomial (yes, there are many methods that only work in specifc cases but I will not be showing those to you unless you ask nicely).

Here is another example, which introduces the case of a trinomial with negatives:

FOIL

This is an algebra lesson.

To multiply two binomials (polynomials with two terms), you must use a distribution method called FOIL, which stands for First Outer Inner Last. Multiply the two first terms, then add the product of the two outer terms, then add the product of the two inner terms, then add the product of the two last terms.

To give this a more visual approach, here is what it looks like using letters instead of numbers: