5th Grade · Math · 5.OA.A.1

Order of Operations Lesson Plan for 5th Grade

A ready-to-teach order of operations lesson for 5th Grade. Everything below is classroom-tested structure: an objective, a 45-minute sequence, a way to check who got it, and 5 printable practice pages.

Approximately 45 minutes

Learning objective

Apply PEMDAS to evaluate expressions with multiple operations
Simplify expressions inside parentheses and brackets first
Solve multi-step expressions following the correct operation sequence

Materials

Order of operations - Reel
Order of operations - Ticket
Order of operations with nested parenthesis - Clapperboard
Order of operations with nested parenthesis - Popcorn
Solve Expressions With Parentheses - Back to School
Pencils, and whiteboard space for the modeled examples

Lesson steps

1. Warm up together (5 min)
Open with a quick count-around or number talk that touches order of operations. Ask students where they have seen order of operations outside of math class. You are listening for who already has the vocabulary and who does not, so keep it light and let several students answer.
2. Model it (I do) (10 min)
Work two examples of order of operations on the board, thinking out loud the whole way. Say the quiet parts: what you notice first, which step you do next, and why. Deliberately make one small error on the second example and let the class catch it.
3. Practice together (we do) (10 min)
Work three more problems as a class. Ask a different student to supply each step rather than the whole answer. If a step stalls, drop back to concrete objects or a drawing before moving on.
4. Independent practice (you do) (15 min)
Hand out "Order of operations - Reel". Students work independently while you circulate. Note who is fluent, who is counting on fingers, and who has not started, because that grouping drives tomorrow's small group.
5. Close the loop (5 min)
Pull the class back. Ask one student to explain a problem they got right and one to name something that is still confusing. End on the confusion, not the success, so students learn that naming a gap is normal.

Check for understanding

Collect the practice pages and sort them into three piles: fluent, developing, and not yet. Any student in the third pile needs order of operations retaught in a small group before the class moves on.

Differentiation

Extra support. Students who stall: pull them into a small group and rebuild order of operations with concrete materials or a simpler text before asking for the written work again. Do not send the page home as homework, it will just rehearse the misunderstanding.

Extension. Students who finish early: ask them to write their own order of operations problem for a partner to solve, then check the partner's work. Creating a problem is harder than solving one and it surfaces whether they really understand order of operations.

Skills covered in this lesson

Order of operations

Questions teachers ask about teaching order of operations

What is the order of operations and when is it taught?

The order of operations (PEMDAS/BODMAS) is a set of rules for evaluating expressions with multiple operations: parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplication and division left to right, then addition and subtraction left to right. It is formally introduced in fifth grade per CCSS 5.OA.A.1, which requires students to evaluate expressions using parentheses, brackets, and braces.

How do you teach order of operations to fifth graders?

Start with expressions involving just two operation types (e.g., addition and multiplication) before adding parentheses. Use the PEMDAS acronym as a memory aid, but ensure students understand the logic behind the rules rather than just memorizing the acronym. Worksheets that build complexity gradually - from two operations to multi-step expressions - prevent overwhelm.

What mistakes do fifth graders commonly make with order of operations?

Common errors include evaluating left-to-right without respecting operation precedence (doing addition before multiplication), forgetting to evaluate expressions inside parentheses first, and treating multiplication and division as having a fixed order rather than left-to-right equivalence. Worksheets that include answer-checking exercises, where students identify errors in worked examples, are especially effective for building accuracy.