Robert Frost Middle School sixth grade math teachers Lisa Abeltin and Denise Scholz recently set up a PEMDAS Operating Room in the school’s library, based on the math rule that stands for Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, and Addition and Subtraction. Students became surgeons as they solved math expressions to “treat” their patients. In small groups, they rotated through themed stations, worked together to evaluate expressions with exponents and explained their thinking to one another. Each “patient case” gave math a real-world context, helping students understand why following the order of operations is so important. This hands-on activity allowed students to connect the rules of PEMDAS to real problem-solving, strengthen their procedural fluency and deepen their conceptual understanding. 

“By tackling challenging problems together and applying their knowledge in an interactive setting, our students practiced math in a meaningful, engaging, and memorable way, and we all had a blast doing it,” Abeltin said.

Date Added: 10/29/2025