PEMDAS for $400, please!

6^th graders made history in their mathematical careers this week as they were introduced to mathematical expressions that contain both numbers and letters! (CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.EE.A.2) As students began evaluating numbers and variables in a single expression, there was nothing left to do than to refer back to PEMDAS (aka Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally). Students used PEMDAS to retain the Order of Operations to solve algebraic expressions.

What better way to practice the Order of Operations than to participate in a PEMDAS Jeopardy Tournament?! In this engaging activity, students collaborated in groups to solve various operations in an algebraic expression. The groups competed against each other in five different categories. The first category focused on algebraic expressions with grouping symbols, the second on exponents, the third on multiplication and division, the fourth on addition and subtraction, and the fifth category contained all of these operations in a single expression. The competition also consisted of exciting Daily Double questions, as well as a nerve-wracking Final Jeopardy question. As students competed, they displayed their excellency through their use of precise mathematical language when identifying parts of an expression. It is safe to say that 6^th graders at St. John’s are the future mathematicians of their generation!

By: Mr. Eschmann, 6th grade math