Taking the Order of Operations, a Step Further

By: Amber Little

Sixth Grade - Mathematics

Common Core Standards:

EE.1 Write and evaluate numerical expressions involving whole number exponents.

EE.2 Write, read, and evaluate expressions in which letters stand for numbers.
- a. Write expressions that record operations with numbers and with letters standing for numbers. sub
- b. Identify parts of an expression using mathematical terms (sum, term, product, factor, quotient, and
coefficient); view one or more parts of an expression as a single entity.
- c. Evaluate expressions at specific values of their variables. Include expressions that arise from
formulas used in real-world problems. Perform arithmetic operations, including those involving
whole number exponents, using the algebraic order of operations when there are no parentheses to
specify a particular order

EE.3 Apply the properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions.

EE.4 Identify when two expressions are equivalent, i.e., when the two expressions name the same number
regardless of which value is substituted into them

Lesson Summary:

This lesson will detail the order of operations. Students will use a mix of technology and crafts to better
understand the concepts. Midway through the lesson students will use Padlet to discuss how they are feeling
about the material and what kind of concerns they have. By the end of the lesson, students will have a
minimal quiz over this week’s material.

Estimated Duration:

4-5 50-minute class periods

Commentary: The teacher will get the students intrigued by playing a catchy PEMDAS song for them. For
this lesson, I plan on the students struggling with their exponent skills because there is a lot to remember
regarding exponents. I also think the students will struggle with remembering to use PEMDAS because it
can be easy to start a math problem from left to write rather than using the parenthesis first.
Instructional Procedures:
Day 1 (Theoretically Monday): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z_IOsddQOM
For the first 10-15 minutes of the lesson, we will review the order of operations that students should have
learned or seen in 5th grade. To do this, the teacher will show a 2- minute video that is a song for PEMDAS.
The teacher will then put an example problem including all components of PEMDAS on the board. The
teacher will ask the students to guide them through the problem by telling the teacher what to do and what
the next step should be. After they have gotten that right, the teacher will put another example on the board.
This time, the components of PEMDAS will be out of order within the problem so that students will have to
really think about the correct order. The teacher will then start solving the problem without the students
incorrectly. The hope is that students will easily see the mistakes and be able to stop the teacher, thus
showing the importance of going in order.
In the next 10-20 minutes, students will play Quizlet live in groups. They will have an unlimited amount of
time for each problem and they will be able to see how far every other team is. After it is finished, we will
review the most missed questions and the teacher will have the students tell them the correct way to solve
and answer. Whichever team wins, gets a prize.

In the last however much time remains of class, students will be making a PEMDAS craft that they will be
able to use and take home with them. Students will need the premade colorful papers to cut and fold their
craft and they will need a piece of thicker paper that their craft will be pasted onto. The bolded lines on the
premade paper will be for FOLDING. The dotted lines will be for CUTTING. The craft will be in the shape
of a hexagon with flaps that fold in and out. On the flaps, students will write PEMDAS, with each letter on
each flap. They will also write what that letter stands for in the PEMDAS acronym underneath the letter.
After cutting and folding their craft, they will paste only the hexagon part (NOT THE FLAPS) onto the
thicker piece of paper. Once completed, students will write descriptions on the thicker paper of each letter
underneath the flap. This will make it so if they can’t remember a certain letter, they can move the flap and
reveal it. The descriptions should use mathematical vocabulary such as, sum, difference, product, coefficient,
etc. On the actual flap part, they will need to come up with an example that includes that letter. Students will
repeat this process for each letter. When it is all said and done, students will have a handy tool to aid them in
their homework.

For homework tonight, students will have 5 problems. These problems are going to be similar to what they
did in groups today. Students will only have to list the order in which they would complete the problem. If
they wish to solve them, bonus points or some type of reward may be offered.

Day 2 (Tuesday):

The first 10 minutes of class, the teacher will go around and make sure everyone did their homework and
prizes will be given out to those who solved the problems. Then, the teacher will open up the classroom to
any questions students may have or if they want to go over any of the problems.
The next 25 minutes will be introducing letters as numbers. The teacher will give slight instruction on what
is meant by numbers as letters. The teacher will use examples such as 9 + x = 20, what is x. Students should
be able to do this as they should have learned it in 5th grade. The teacher will then give gradually harder
examples. Specifically, ones with more steps. After about 4-5 examples have been done, the teacher will
then give x a value. For example, students will have a problem such as, (10 + x) – 15 + 2 12 and x will
equal 5. Students will contribute to the lesson by telling the teacher what to do now that we have a value for
x. The teacher will put all of the students into groups. The teacher will then assign a problem to each group.
The groups must work together to solve the problem and then they will be presenting (very shortly) to the
class on how they came to their solution. We will be also going over equivalent expressions regarding letters
as numbers. For example, we will learn that x + x + x= 3x.
The last 15 minutes of class, students will have the opportunity to start their homework. Their homework
will be a little longer and tougher tonight as we have new topics that should be mastered. The homework
will have 15 equations that need to be solved. These problems will focus mainly on the kinds they did in
groups today. There will be some optional challenge problems on there that students will be able to do for
prizes and/or bonus points

Day 3 (Wednesday):

The first 10 minutes, the teacher will be reviewing homework. The teacher will go around to see who
completed it and who didn’t. The class will then be opened up for questions. Students will ask questions on
any of the problems. The teacher will review any of the problems the students want. It is up to them.

The next 30-35 minutes of class, we will play a Jeopardy like game online. The class will be divided into
groups of equal numbers and this will be the students’ teams. They will all come up with a team name. The
first team will start and get to pick the category and point value. Every team will be required to do the
problem. The team will write their answer on a whiteboard and hold it up when time is out. If the team who
picked the question gets it right, they get the points. If they get it wrong, the next team may steal the points if
they get it right. The game will have a mix of all we have done in the week so it is similar to a big review.

Whatever time is left at the end of class will be used to go over tonight’s homework. Tonight’s homework
will be a Padlet assignment. Students will be given a prompt that they will need to answer on Padlet for that
night. The teacher will require their name be put on the post so they can receive credit. Students will have to
say two things about the order of operations that they are good at and two things they can improve on. They
will also say what the teacher can do to help them in their struggles. Students will also be required to
comment on another students post. This will help with collaboration on the topics. There will be one more
homework assignment given out today. This homework will be a review of everything we have done this
week. The teacher will not require students to do it however it will serve as a very helpful tool for an
upcoming quiz on Friday.
Day 4 (Thursday):
Today will be a review day. The teacher will start by reading over all of the Padlet posts and will review
every struggle that was listed. The time for this one will vary depending on how many struggles were listed.
For the sake of this plan, the teacher should plan to have this area take 20-25 minutes.

For the rest of the class, students will participate in a Kahoot. The Kahoot will consist of mainly hypothetical
questions. For example, the teacher is not going to require students to work these problems out. It will be
questions like “Identify the First Step” or “What expression is equivalent to 3x?” The only homework for
tonight is to review those problems the teacher gave the students yesterday.

Day 5 (Friday):
Students will be taking a quiz today. The first 5-10 minutes will be for any last-minute questions. The rest of
the time will be for students to take their quiz. The teacher should anticipate the students taking roughly 25-
30 minutes to complete the quiz. When they are done, students are free to do as the wish as long as it does
not disrupt any other students. The teacher will have more practice and maybe some coloring pages for
students to do if they get done early. There will be no homework over the weekend.

Pre-Assessment:
One day one, the teacher will have a large piece of paper that is stuck onto the board up front. On it, it will
say “What I already know.” Students will be given post it notes and write on them what they already know
about the order of operations. Even if they know nothing, they should still write that on the post it notes.
Once they are finished, they will walk up to the board and stick them on the paper. This will allow the
teacher to gage where most students are. No names need to be written on the post its.

Scoring Guidelines:
The teacher will read over the post it notes out loud and they will be discussed as a class. The teacher will
ask follow up questions to the post it notes for the students to answer. If not many or any students answer,
the teacher will know, to review that more heavily. If lots of students participate, the teacher can assume
they know about that topic already.

Post-Assessment:
Students will have a quiz to take at the end of the week to assess their learning. If some students are
struggling, the teacher may chat with them to get them some help as this topic is crucial to the students’
further math knowledge. Depending on the topic, the teacher may have the students do a project rather than
an exam.

Scoring Guidelines:
Students will be graded on their accuracy and the work that was shown on their quiz. It will be a
score/percentage type of grade. In order to receive points, the teacher will require students to show their
work. The teacher does not want to see just a number written. The students should show how they got to that
answer even if it is wrong. The teacher is better able to gage mistakes this way. The teacher will be more
willing to give partial credit to those who show their work and get it wrong rather than those who got it right
but did not show their work.
Differentiated Instructional Support
- Students will be given extra credit opportunities often throughout the year. These opportunities will
be tougher and more accelerated problems. These problems will be available to any student who
wants them. The accelerated and gifted students will not be the only ones who can complete them.
Any student will be able to as long as they try. Minimal help will be given on these extra credit
opportunities.
- For those who are struggling, I will always have extra practice. At first, I will make it optional.
However, if the issue continues to be a problem and the student isn’t getting better, I will require
them to do the extra practice with me or on their own and then give it to me. Together we will find
the root of the problem and fix it so that the student can better learn.

Extension
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLcgug8iEYY – This YouTube video will provide information on step-
by-step instruction to better understand exponents and PEMDAS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzeDWFhYv3E – This is a rap song that will help students remember

the order of operations and it is very catchy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxgTS27AbJ0 – This video goes into detail about the order of

operations and how students use it to solve expressions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSZIc1gRJ7M – Here is another song that will help students remember

the order of operations.

Homework Options and Home Connections

Day one, students will have their craft they made in class to assist them in the 5-problem homework
assignment for that night. Day two, students will have all of the examples we did in class and the ones they
did with their groups to assist their homework. Day three, students will have all of the Jeopardy game
examples and their Padlet assignment for help. Students can use the Padlet assignment to gage where other
students are at and then they can conduct their own conversations about the topics.

Interdisciplinary Connections
This lesson can be connected to just about any other 5th grade and up math class. There is not a math class
that doesn’t use the order of operations which is why it is so important. When students get into upper level
math it is crucial to know that parenthesis come first because if they don’t, it could mess up the students
graph and answer.

Materials and Resources:

For teachers - Padlet account

- Quizlet teacher account
- Jeopardy game
- Craft Instructions and materials
- Worksheet handouts
- Post it notes

For students - Computers/Internet

- Quizlet live code
- Post it notes
- Padlet link
- Supplies for craft

Key Vocabulary
- Sum
- Difference
- Product
- Exponent
- Coefficient
- Equivalent
- Substitute

Additional Notes

- I realize tests are pretty traditional when it comes to school however, I think it is a great way to gage
 a students’ learning which is why I chose a test. I will not do this for every lesson however, it will
probably be one of my main assessment types.
- Incorporating technology into a math lesson is hard and I now understand why I didn’t have much
technology in my math classes. I will try to include more as my career goes on.