Lesson Plan for Order of Operations
Focus: Order of Operations: Scavenger Hunt Project
Date: Nov 29, 2021
Time period: 1 Class, project is 3 in total
Stage 1 – Desired Results
Objectives of the lesson
● Students will know how to solve equations using the
correct order of operations (BEDMAS)
● Students will use critical thinking to practice
BEDMAS in a scavenger hunt activity
● Students will understand how order of operation
affects the final answer (and can create incorrect
answers if done wrong).
● Students will further develop their knowledge as they
create word problems which require an understanding
of BEDMAS rules.
Reference to Program of Studies
Mathematics 6 - Number Outcome 9:
● Explain and apply the order of operations, excluding exponents, with and without technology (limited to
whole numbers).
● [C, CN, ME, PS, T] [ICT: C6–2.4, C6–2.7]
Plan for Differentiation/Inclusion
● I will be circulating the Grade 6 Math group and
checking for student understanding.
● Students will have the option of creating 4-8
questions for their scavenger hunt depending on their
comfort level with BEMAS
● A clear rubric and instructions will be handed to
students prior to starting the project
Developed by: Kari Dignum
Class: Math 6
Resources
● Math Program of Studies:
https://education.alberta.ca/media/3115252/20
16_k_to_9_math_pos.pdf
● Scavenger hunt idea from teacherspayteachers
will serve as an example for students
● Rubric, checklist, and examples personally
created
Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills
● Students are doing Lesson 9 of the textbook
which is a continuation of Chapter 3.
● Students have worked with equations and
integers, and did 2 previous lessons on the
order of operations (including the rules and
practice of BEDMAS)
● A quiz determined that students are competent
with BEDMAS and ready for the project
Activities

Part 1 1. Pass back the BEDMAS quiz from last class

a. Discuss the fact that students have demonstrated competency with order of
Debrief about operations and will begin a new project
previous class

Part 2 1. Will have students grab the BEDMAS project sheets (rubric, checklist and instructions)

Introduction a. Will screencast on the smart board to show students an example of a scavenger hunt
to project clue

b. Answer period for any questions from students prior to beginning on the project

Part 3 1. Circle the classroom to answer their question as they design their scavenger hunt

Work period a. Working with any students who are struggling - as a small group

b. Classroom timer will display how long they have left to work

Reflection

● The creative process of making word problems which were both tied to a storyline and the current math topic
of orders of operation helped students to further their thinking. In previous lessons students had engaged with
textbook problems, order of operations worksheets, puzzles and mazes. Therefore this project switched over
the decision-making and creation process into the hands of the students for the first time. As a result, I saw a
real sense of ownership in their final products.

● By being flexible about the format, students were able to use their preferred mode of expression. For
example, students used Google Slides if they preferred to type their clues on the computer.

● I prepped a checklist, rubric and an example of a question for students to go over prior to starting the project.
As a result, the expectations were clearly laid out and students could always look back on these sheets for
clarification. With that being said, students at this grade level still required several reminders about these
sheets prior to the final submission date.

● One addition to my plan was pre-choosing the final groups that students would be placed into. I did this
because I realized the difficulty of problems would vary for this project and it would work best for students
to be paired together based on their comfortability with orders of operation.