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ERIC Number: EJ1053585
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Mar
Pages: 3
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1072-0839
EISSN: N/A
Operation: Save Aunt Sally
Zorin, Barbara; Carver, David, Jr.
Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, v20 n7 p438-440 Mar 2015
In grade 6, students should be able to "perform arithmetic operations, including those involving whole-number exponents, in the conventional order when there are no parentheses to specify a particular order" (p. 44). In grades 7 and 8, the rules of order of operations are used to simplify progressively complicated expressions and in solving equations (CCSSM 2010). Students are frequently offered the age-old mnemonic Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (PEMDAS) to help them remember the order of operations. Alternative approaches to instruction and remediation can mitigate the fatigue that students may feel regarding topics that have been discussed in previous classes. Although most adolescents entering middle school can quote the PEMDAS mnemonic (or a variation) verbatim, remembering its form is not equivalent to conceptual understanding or proficiency with its function. As a means of re-introducing and reinforcing proficiency with the order of operations, this article presents a game called Operation: Save Aunt Sally. Activity sheets are provided.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. 1906 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191-1502. Tel: 800-235-7566; Tel: 703-620-3702; Fax: 703-476-2970; e-mail: orders@nctm.org; Web site: http://www.nctm.org/publications/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Secondary Education; Middle Schools; Junior High Schools; Grade 6; Intermediate Grades; Elementary Education; Grade 7; Grade 8
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A