Lesson Title: Take a Tour of PEMDAS, a Lesson on Order of Operations
Created By: Daniel Baumgardner
Target Age/Grade: Fifth grade
Content Areas: Mathematics, Theatre
Goals/Learning Objectives:
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Students will understand the order of operations
Students will use theatre techniques to gain improvisation skills
Students will have the ability to apply PEMDAS to math questions
Materials:
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Nametags
Note cards
Permanent marker
Mayor clothing (optional)
Dry erase board and markers
Equations worksheet
Chairs (optional)
Process/Procedure:
Section 1 (5 mins)
1) Have the students find their own space in the room, telling them to remember what their
hometown looks like. (although most of the students will be from the current area, some may
not, which may provide some interesting ideas later in the lesson.)
2) Have the students move around the room as if they are taking a stroll through their town on a
nice, clear afternoon. Ask them to imagine some of their favorite places. How would you react
if you saw them? Are they really tall? Are they an odd shape? Do they have many doors or
windows? What are some of the smells blowing through the wind?
3) After a minute of this, have the students stop and raise their hands to say one place that they
walked by and why it was special/why they chose that place.
4) Have the students come together and stand in a circle in the center of the room.
Section 2 (40 mins)
1) Explain to the students that we are now in the town of PEMDAS, a nice town that has all of
their favorite places in it. But before they can explore the city/town, request six volunteers. (if
there is hub bub about volunteering, there can be up to twelve volunteers that can be paired up
in a moment.)
2) Have the volunteers stand to the side for a moment while you explain to the remainder of the
class that they now have the ability to explore this new town like they explored their hometown
before. Have the students, excluding volunteers, try to remember and imagine some of the
favorite places of other students as they explore.
3) While the class is exploring this new town, explain to the volunteers that they are residents of
this town, and they each have a name. (Prior to the lesson, it would be beneficial to create
nametags for the volunteers that include either Mr. or Ms. of each part of PEMDAS, i.e. Mr.
Parenthesis or Ms. Exponent.) Pass out the nametags to the students, creating as many as
needed for each volunteer.
4) After this is finished, give each volunteer a note card with a problem on it. This is the situation
that these characters find themselves in. Tell the students that they can not share what their issue
is with anyone (except their partner) until they are told to do so. It is crucial that each character
gets their own specific note card, and that no switching takes place. This will determine the
success of this lesson.
5) Before allowing the volunteers to rejoin their classmates, explain to them that when they are
prompted, they should share to the class the problem that they could use some help with with as
much dramatic flare as they see fit in the situation. After they understand their task, allow the
students to rejoin their classmates in their exploration of the city/town of PEMDAS. This entire
exchange should only take 2 to 3 minutes at maximum.
6) Teacher-in-role, become the mayor of PEMDAS. This can be done in a number of ways, such as
with the use of clothing or a change of voice. Once the students have mingled for a moment
longer, greet them as the major of PEMDAS and welcome them to your city/town. Assume the
role of tour guide and begin a tour of PEMDAS, showing off the new statue or water fountain in
the public park. Explain to the class that some of the citizens have been struggling with some
issues as of late, and if they could help these citizens, it would be greatly appreciated. Then
come across the houses of Mr./Ms. Multiplication and Mr./Ms. Parenthesis. Call out to them
both, prompting the students to step forward.
7) Have them, one at a time, explain their situation.
◦ This is where the note cards come into play. Before the facilitation, much like the nametags,
a note card must be created for each volunteer. These note cards contain problems that range
widely in urgency, with the most urgent being that of Mr./Ms. Parenthesis and the least
urgent being the issue that Mr./Ms. Subtract or Mr./Ms. Addition has to rectify. The
problems used in this lesson plan are only suggestions and may be tweaked or changed as
the facilitator sees fit.
8) Have Mr./Ms. Multiplication explain his situation first, his/her card reads, “My car won't start!
Are you late for something?” In role, the teacher may ask the question that accompanies the
issue on the card, which in this case would be, “Are you late for something?” Have Mr./Ms.
Parenthesis then explain his situation. His/Her card reads, “I have a broken foot! How did that
happen?!?” In role, the teacher may ask the question, “How did that happen?” Ask the class
who they think they should help first, Mr./Ms. P who is in pain and needs medical attention, or
Mr./Ms. M who needs his/her car started.
9) They should pick Mr./Ms. P, if not, a little nudge may be needed to get them on track. Ask the
students what they could do to help him/her. If they come to the solution of taking him/her to
the hospital on their own, fantastic, otherwise point them, in role, in that direction. Have the
students direct Mr./Ms. P to the hospital, asking some students to go ahead and block off the
roads and some students to help by hopping beside Mr./Ms. P to guide him, and drop him/her
off there, thanking the students, in role as mayor, for their help. You can have the volunteer
playing Mr./Ms. P take off his/her nametag and join the group once this is completed.
10) Back in role as the mayor, have the students begin their way back to Mr./Ms. M's house. Before
reaching the house, however, notice Mr./Ms. Exponents and ask that student to come up front
with you. Ask him/her what their problem is, before we head back to help Mr./Ms. M. Mr./Ms.
Exponents' card reads, “My cat is stuck in a tree! What is its name?” The facilitator may ask the
student what his/her cat is named. In-role, ask the students which person they think they should
help first, Mr./Ms. M or Mr./Ms. E. Guide the students to choose Mr./Ms. E if they do not on
their own.
11) Have the students get down Mr./Ms. E's cat by pantomiming climbing a tree and rescuing it.
After they climb down, thank the students for their help and have the volunteer Mr./Ms. E take
off his/her nametag and join the group.
12) Once again, have the students begin their way back to Mr./Ms. M's house. When they arrive, inrole, notice Mr./Ms. Division. Have Mr./Ms. Division explain his/her problem just like the
others, saying, “Well, maybe Mr./Ms. Division's problem is as dire as Mr./Ms. P and Mr./Ms.
E's!” Mr./Ms. Division's card reads: “I must deliver a letter before the post office closes! Who is
the letter for?” In-role, explain to the students that the post office in the town of PEMDAS stays
open for a few more hours, so they can help Mr./Ms. M before Mr./Ms. D because Mr./Ms. M
came to them for help first.
13) Have the students begin helping Mr./Ms. M. Ask them if they know to fix a car. This should be
all the prompt needed, but there can always be side coaching when necessary. Have the students
pantomime fixing the car until you have them stop so that Mr./Ms. M can check to see if it
works. When it does, you can thank, in-role, the students for their help and have Mr./Ms. M
remove his/her nametag and rejoin the group.
14) Ask the students if they remember who they were supposed to help next. They should
remember to help Mr./Ms. D mail his/her letter. This can be done by walking through the town
toward the post office, asking the students what sorts of the buildings they see along the way.
Once there, have Mr./Ms. D mail the letter and thank the students for their help. Ask the
volunteer to remove his/her nametag and rejoin the group.
15) Tell the students that they have one more stop to make before their tour is completed. Walk the
students over and show them Mr./Ms. Addition and Mr./Ms. Subtraction's home. Call out to the
volunteers and say hello to them in role, asking them who would like to tell the class their
problem first. Who speaks first does not matter, but make sure that that problem is solved first.
Mr./Ms. Addition's card reads: “I need marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate for
tonight's bonfire that everyone is invited to!” Mr./Ms. Subtraction's card reads: “I need to set up
the backyard with chairs and a fire pit for tonight's bonfire that everyone is invited to!”
Whoever spoke first will be the first problem rectified.
16) To resolve Mr./Ms. Addition's issue, have the students walk to the grocery store not to far away
and pick up the items needed by pantomiming grabbing the items and paying for them. The
students would then return to the house. To resolve Mr./Ms. Subtraction's issue, have the
students pantomime setting up chairs and a fire pit. (Actual chairs may be set up in a circle
around the fire pit if available.) Have then start the fire as well. Once both issues are resolved,
thank the students, in-role, for their hard work in helping the citizens of PEMDAS, and have
them sit around the fire pit they just created.
Section 3 (15 mins)
1) The facilitator may now step out of role and ask the students what they thought of the town of
PEMDAS and the people they got to meet along the way.
2) Have them recap their time in the town of PEMDAS, filling any holes that they may miss.
Emphasis the order in which they helped each person.
3) Explain to the students that the order in which they helped these people is exactly how you
would complete an order of operations math equation. They should begin with Parenthesis, then
Exponents, then either Multiplication or Division, which ever one comes first, and then
Addition or Subtraction, which ever comes first. Show the similarities between the order of
operations method and the order in which they helped the citizens of PEMDAS.
4) Work through a couple of sample problems with the students, repeatedly referring back to the
adventure they just had.
5) Pass out a worksheet with several math problems for the students to solve on their own. This
can be taken up and graded for understanding.