5th Grade Math Order of Operations Lesson Plan
Grade(s)
Content
Area(s)
Topic of
Lesson
Objective
Explantion/Example
5th grade math: Order of Operations
When provided with the scrambled first letters of the mnemonic device PEMDAS
(example: MSDEPA), students will be able to write the names of the operations in
the correct order (parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition,
subtraction) and students should write the acronym they use to remember the Order
or Operations (ex. Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally)
Technology
standard
Massachusetts Technology Standard
Standard 1. Demonstrate proficiency in the use of computers and applications, as
well as an understanding of the concepts underlying hardware, software, and
connectivity.
Basic Operations, G3-5: 1.2 Select a printer, use print preview, and print a document
with the appropriate page setup and orientation.
Curriculum
Framework
Curriculum Standard
Massachusetts Mathematical Standards
Math, Grade 5, Operations and Algebraic Thinking 5.OA
Write and interpret numerical expressions.
1. Use parentheses, brackets, or braces in numerical expressions, and evaluate
expressions with these symbols.
2. Write simple expressions that record calculations with numbers, and interpret
numerical expressions without evaluating them. For example, express the calculation
“Add 8 and 7, then multiply by 2” as 2 × (8 + 7). Recognize that 3 × (18932 + 921)
is three times as large as 18932 + 921, without having to calculate the indicated sum
or product.
Materials,
Resources,
Technology,
Personnel
In order to do my guided activity, I will need the Active Board and my own laptop so
that I can show my website on the Active Board.
In order to do my independent student activity and to teach the technology standard
that I want my students to learn, I need each of my students to have a computer. I am
going to give them access to a document that has a BINGO game card on it, and I
will need them each to print out the BINGO card so that they learn how to select a
printer and print properly. For this, they will need internet access on their computers
so that they can go to my website and download the BINGO card. I will also need a
projector (the Active Board), a printer, and access to internet.
Lesson
Introduction
(5 minutes)
Guided
Activity
(10 – 15
minutes)
I am going to give examples of easier math problems that only have one operation in
them (5+6). Then I will say, but what if there is more than one operation? And then
show examples of expressions with more than one operation (7+8/4, 3x8+9x7, etc.) I
will ask the class to solve these harder expressions without telling them if they are
right. I’m sure I will collect a bunch of different answers because the students will be
confused about which operation they should do first. I will then explain that there is
a method of doing these harder problems called PEMDAS. I will explain this to them
by connecting it to cooking a meal. If we have all of the different instructions for a
meal, but do them in in the wrong order, our meal isn’t going to taste very good. For
example, if we put the eggs and sugar in the bowl, put it in the oven, and then dump
the flour on the cooked sugar and eggs, our cookies will not taste very good. It is
very important to cook and solve equations in the correct order!
For my guided activity, I am going to go through the review page on PEMDAS. I
will explain that PEMDAS is often remembered as Please Excuse My Dear Aunt
Sally and give them a couple of minutes to come up with their own acronym if they
can think of one. They can then share their acronyms with the class. I will also go
over several different Order of Operations problems with them so that they can learn.
I will use the Active Board, so for some problems, I will have the students come up
and show the class how to do the problem in front of everyone else to get them more
engaged in the material. If I don’t want them to come up to the board, I will have
them raise their hands and tell me the steps for solving the expressions.
For my activity, the students need to learn how to print correctly. They need to select
a printer, use print preview, and print a document with the appropriate page setup
and orientation. I will show them how to go to my website and download the BINGO
card to their computer. I will then show them how to open the document in a Word
document. I will show them how to go to File and Print. I will choose the correct
printer and print the page. I will then have the kids re-explain back to me how to
print the BINGO card so that I know they will know how to do it when they have
their own computers.
Independent
Student
Activity
(10-15
minutes)
We are going to play Order of Operations BINGO! I am going to create a bunch of
different BINGO cards for the students on osric.com, which allows you to put in all
of the information on the cards, but in different orders on the cards. You do not need
an account for Orsic.com. Anyone can make Bingo cards with anything on them and
use them however they wish. I will then put little papers of a bunch of different
expressions into a hat. I will pick an expression one at a time and when I call out the
expression, I will write it on the board and have the students write down the
expressions on a piece of paper. I will have them write out all of their steps to solve
the expression. When they solve the expression and get a number, they can look on
their BINGO card and see if the number is on their card. They can mark the number
with a pen or a pencil. We will do this over and over again until someone gets
BINGO (diagonal, up or down). We can play as many times as we need to fill up the
class period. The kids will start to get really good and fast at solving the expressions
using the correct Order of Operations.
Wrap-Up of
Lesson
(Closure)
(5 minutes)
How will
students be
assessed to
make sure they
are able to
perform the
objective?
To wrap up the lesson, I am going to show the students a YouTube video which is a
song about the Order of Operations so that they can get the song stuck in their head
and remember it whenever they need to remember PEMDAS and do an order of
operations problem. Here is the link to the
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvlhJ64ID9Q. I will show it on the Active
Board from my computer. I will play the video 2 or 3 times so that they can learn it
and start to sing along with it.
Objective: When provided with the scrambled first letters of the mnemonic device
PEMDAS (example: MSDEPA), students will be able to write the names of the
operations in the correct order (parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division,
addition, subtraction) and students should write the acronym they use to remember
the Order or Operations (ex. Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally)
Assessment: After reviewing the website and having time to practice PEMDAS
problems for a couple nights of homework or a few class sessions, students will be
provided with a worksheet that has the PEMDAS letters all scrambled up
(MSDEPA) at the top. There will then be three columns on the worksheet. One
column will be for the first letter of the mnemonic device (P) in the correct order, the
second column will be what the letter stands for (Parentheses), and the third column
will be for how they remember it (Please).