An exciting and engaging order of operations worksheet
To fully grasp such a complex topic, students need so much more than an order of operations worksheet! Although the idea discussed in this article is a unique spin on an order of operations worksheet for 6th grade (or 5th), it is so engaging that students will completely forget they are working on a worksheet on order of operations with exponents. In fact, the activity I am describing requires students to complete the order of operations worksheet with answers which lead to unlocking a box that contains a small prize. If this activity sounds like something your students would be interested in, continue on to read more about “Operation Order Matters” and see how you can create this fun and engaging experience for your students.
This lesson has been a student favorite (and one of my favorites) since I started teaching in 2009. Although it has evolved and adapted vastly since then, the heart of the activity still lives on. I like to call the lesson “Operation Order Matters” because the students act as detectives while solving a series of order of operation problems to unlock a suspicious box. Students can’t help but get excited about this activity!
Gather necessary materials for the lesson
Get the required materials. To create this activity for your students, all you need is a box, some large clasp envelopes and a lock. A standard combination lock works best; however, a three digit or four digit lock with the numbers on the sides work as well. As for the box, any type of briefcase, toolbox or suitcase that you can lock is perfect! If using an actual lock is not possible, you could always use digital locks with the help of a Google Form. If you decide to download my resource, it comes with a ready to use digital lock.
Create the problems for your “Order of Operations Worksheet”
Create order of operation problems for each part of the code for the lock. I did this by working backward from the answer and determining what operations my students needed to practice. You can make the problems as easy or challenging for your students as you would like. In fact, you can use the same lock for all students and provide different problems to differentiate in order to meet the needs of your diverse students. If this step seems like more work than you’re looking for, you can check out my editable resource that has simple instructions to work with any lock. My activity consists of five fully editable order of operations problems along with a challenging extension for the students.
The lesson
Once you have completed the problems, let the fun begin. The story is everything when it comes to getting your students excited about the math. For this lesson, I usually throw on a black hat, sunglasses and a vest to help me pull off that “Men in Black” detective look. I walk in carrying the locked box pretending to talk to my boss on my cell phone and stare at my students. I yell into the phone “Them? You think they can help with this case? A bunch of kids?” I abruptly hang up the phone and tell the students I have other important detective duties to attend to and my boss says they could help with this one. I remind the students to show all the work because as detectives we must be extremely precise in all that we do. Furthermore, I tell the students not to tamper with the box unless they are certain of the combination because, well, let’s just say that’s why we call the gentlemen working down the hall “One arm Al”.
Next, I provide the students with a letter from my boss explaining all the important details about the job and how the problems lead to the combination for the lock. I place the letter in an envelope with a “classified” or “confidential” stamp on the outside to make it feel more like detective work. After that, the kids get busy solving and trust me, they have never solved order of operations problems with such accuracy and precision before!
The incentive
I usually provide the first group or several groups to finish with a small prize such as a homework coupon or other small incentive. Furthermore, I provide students with the opportunity to extend their understanding of the order of operations by providing them the combination to a fictitious lock and have them come up with order of operations problems that would lead to the correct combination. This extension to the lesson not only provides slower working students time to complete the problems, but also challenges the other students to think about the order of operations at a much deeper level through creation of their own problems.
Overview
Hopefully this list helped you create a fun and engaging activity for your students to practice the order of operations. Let’s face it, even you were getting tired of the average order of operations worksheets and needed something more engaging for your students that still provided them with the practice they need. If you’re interested in dowloading my resorce, simply follow this link.
Now let’s work on how you have been teaching the order of operations. If it’s not that great, why not try a more meaningful and memorable way by checking out my post about why PEMDAS is misleading for students and try a better method for teaching the order of operations. If this activity isn’t enough and you need even more ideas for the order of operations, consider visiting another post I wrote on three order of operation activities to engage students while increasing understanding.
