PEMDAS Stands For: 5 Amazing Activities to Help Students Master Order of Operations

Order of operations is an important skill in fifth grade. Finding out what PEMDAS stands for is a task that can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be! I love teaching this concept by using interactive and engaging resources as students move from introduction to guided practice to independence and mastery. Are you in need of planning pages as you get ready to teach math and more? Click here to check out my free Prep & Plan packet (the best part is…it’s completely editable!) 

Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally. PEMDAS stands for the order of operations and Aunt Sally is its number one fan. She sounds like she’s all over the place, but I promise that she does know what she’s talking about. Sure, sure, her rules are a little wacky, but hey, Sally’s really onto something. Just ask anyone – when you hang with good old Sally, everything truly does turn out all right. 

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Do Your Students Know What PEMDAS Stands For In Math? 

We work hard to make sure our students master addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and more so that when we get to the “order of operations” unit we can see them succeed. The time comes for students to put all of their hard work to the test when they begin to work on larger, longer equations involving multiple skills. Order of operations gives them the framework to solve, and it’s just a matter of them knowing what PEMDAS stands for in math. I’ve always loved using the sentence, “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” when presenting the order. My students love creating their own “Sally” characters and even come up with a small back story as to why she needs to be “excused”. We then work on identifying what the letters stand for and the PEMDAS order: P = parentheses, E = exponents, MD = multiplication/division from left to right, and AS = addition/subtraction from left to right. Once they have the order memorized, it’s onto why we use the PEMDAS rule and how to solve using the order of operations.  

Why Do We Use The PEMDAS Rule – What Does PEMDAS Stand For? 

I get this question from students often. Why do we use the PEMDAS rule? What happens if we forget to go in order? The easiest way for me to answer this is by showing them an example. I always start this unit by showing students two PEMDAS equations. Both have the same numbers in the same order. We solve one using PEMDAS and one just moving left to right, and of course, we come up with two different answers. Next, we see two PEMDAS equations that have the same numbers in the same order but the parentheses are in a different place, and of course, both have different answers. I find that this resonates with students. They see that when we do not all use the same rules in math, our answers do not match – and that is why we use the “PEMDAS” rule. 

PEMDAS Equations in the Elementary Classroom 

PEMDAS Worksheets

Now, I know that worksheets get a bad rap sometimes. Who wants to complete a boring old worksheet? Well, I find that this is an important step in the process of practicing PEMDAS. I need to allow my students to practice again and again. We complete some together, then in pairs or groups, and finally,  students try to apply what they’ve learned and complete the PEMDAS worksheets on their own. Just because we are doing worksheets, doesn’t mean that it has to be boring. I love incorporating fun into my worksheets with exciting visuals, coloring activities, and matching games. 

Five Activities to Help Engage Students in Identifying What PEMDAS Stands For 

Once my students know the order in PEMDAS and show some confidence in PEMDAS equations by completing PEMDAS worksheets, it is time to give them the tools they need to practice (and master) this skill. Read on to find my five favorite activities to help engage students in PEMDAS problems. 

1. Practicing the PEMDAS Order With Sorting 

Sorting is one of my favorite types of activities. Allowing students to manipulate materials and engage their executive functioning and discrimination skills makes sorting activities a regular in my math classroom.  This PEMDAS activity is a great way to allow students to “guess and check” with estimates and use this information to evaluate data and tackle PEMDAS equations. Students make reasonable estimates and guesses based on the numbers and operations that they are given and they must then sort the numbers into an equation that matches the given answer.

This cut, sort, and paste activity is a favorite in my classroom. I put students into groups or pairs and let them bring whiteboards, markers, notebooks, and pencils. I always have students paste the equations onto a big piece of construction paper once they have found the right combination and order of numbers. Then, they show their PEMDAS work right on the construction paper to “prove” their answer.

2. Boom Cards 

Boom Cards are one of my favorite interactive classroom tools. They are basically digital task cards and you can get a set of Boom Cards for just about any topic. Now, I don’t know about you, but the students in my classroom LOVE technology. And after 2020, they are even more adept at using their devices appropriately and staying focused on a digital task. They’ve had lots of practice, after all. I love to incorporate fun into my math centers and I want students to look forward to centers. Putting Boom Cards into the rotation gets my students excited and that my math heart happy. There is no downside to PEMDAS (and other) Boom Cards. Students use what they know about what PEMDAS stands for to answer each question and then get immediate feedback. Students love them, teachers love them, and….they are effective (and self-correcting – yay!) 

3. Group Games to Help Students Master the PEMDAS Rule 

Games are always a hit with my students, and PEMDAS games are no exception. One of my students’ favorite games to play is tic-tac-toe. This is an easy game that pretty much everyone comes into fifth grade knowing how to play. I put a little math spin on it and created mini-center games for many of my math lessons, PEMDAS included. In this game, students are paired up. They draw a card from a pile and then solve the equation. Once they have solved the equation and checked their work, they can choose their spot on the gameboard. My students have so much fun playing this game and often choose to play it when they have free-choice time.

4. PEMDAS Puzzles for Practice

PEMDAS puzzles are a great way to practice this skill. Students connect the interactive notebook puzzle pieces and then glue them down in their math notebooks. This is another tactile activity. My favorite part about these PEMDAS puzzles is that students can then keep them in their notebooks for the entire year. I often have them pull out these interactive notebook pages later in the year as we enter test-prep mode. We create new equations based on the initial equations by moving around the numbers and symbols in the equations. Then, they complete a short math writing assignment where they explain why following the rules in PEMDAS is important. They use their interactive notebook pieces as they think through their writing assignment. 

5. PEMDAS Task Cards for Math Centers 

Math center time is one of my favorite times during the day. I love that students can work through various tasks and get up and move – meanwhile, I’m able to meet the needs of many different learning styles within one math block. For my first station, I will usually have a teacher station, a hands-on manipulative station (or something similar), an independent practice task, a game center, and then a computer station all of which help identify what pemdas stands for. I often use task cards at the independent workstation or as an early finisher activity. My PEMDAS task cards for math centers include equations, a recording sheet, and an answer key.

How Do I Use PEMDAS Task Cards?

I laminate the task cards and keep them inside a colorful plastic pencil case. Students keep the recording sheets inside their math binder and take them out when they get to that center. They can choose any task card to work on when at this center, as long as they haven’t completed it before. Then, they show their work, record their answer, and choose another. They complete as many as they can within the time that they have at this center. However, I really push quality over quantity. I want my students to work hard and persevere, and I’d rather see this on one really well-done equation. 

Did you enjoy reading about what PEDMAS stands for? Ready to get started? Everything begins with a great plan. Click here to check out my free Prep & Plan packet. 

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