Order of Operations (No Exponents / PEMDAS)

Inside the case file

Five Easter cases of order of operations with no exponents, written for 5th grade and 6th grade: parentheses and the four operations, no negative numbers, so PEMDAS and BEDMAS beginners can finish every sheet. In each CSI Mini Mystery Detective math case the answer to every expression rules a suspect out, which makes these order of operations math worksheets self-checking Easter math activities for March and April. After the break they run as spiral review, test prep, math centers, early finishers, homework, morning work and sub plans, no prep and print and go, with full answer keys.

If your class has just met PEMDAS, this is the set to give them before exponents and negatives arrive, because every expression can be finished with the four operations and a pair of brackets. The Easter CSI Mini Mystery Detective math cases give them a reason to work each one properly: the answer has to land on a suspect, and a rushed step lands nowhere. Use it the week before the break, then again as review when the unit comes back.

The Cases

1. Missing Easter Eggs - every egg has disappeared
2. Easter Bunny Kidnapped - the Easter Bunny has been taken
3. Teachers Easter Chocolate - the whole stash has gone
4. Your Last Chocolate - somebody ate your last one
5. Easter Bunny’s Carrots - every carrot has gone missing

What's Inside

• Five case files, each with a crime sheet of expressions and its own lineup of suspects
• Parentheses and the four operations on every page, so students use PEMDAS end to end
• No exponents and no negative numbers, which keeps this to the introductory scope
• Each answer matches one suspect and no other, so the page checks itself
• A full answer key for every case
• Print and go: no cutting, no laminating, nothing to prepare

What Is a CSI Mini Mystery Detective?

A CSI Mini Mystery Detective is a one page printable investigation your class solves with math. It runs like a math escape room with no locks and no app: instead of opening a box, each correct answer rules one suspect out of the lineup until a single name is left. That is the difference between detective activities and ordinary math worksheets, because a wrong answer clears the wrong person and the case will not close. One case fits one class period, which makes it a math activity that suits math centers or a sub plan just as well as a lesson.

When to Use This Resource

March and April is where most teachers use these, in the week before the Easter break when the class is buzzing and a plain worksheet will not hold them. It also does the quieter job of keeping PEMDAS alive after the unit has moved on, which is usually where the rules start slipping. Because a wrong order crosses off the wrong suspect, students find their own errors rather than waiting to be told.

Use it for test prep, homework, math centers, morning work, early finishers, sub plans and homeschool lessons, with a whole class, a small group or a single student.

Grade Levels

Written for 5th grade and 6th grade. Fifth graders meet parentheses and the four operations here for the first time, sixth graders use it as fluency practice before exponents and negatives arrive, and confident fourth graders manage it once multiplication and division are secure.

Why Teachers Love These Cases

• No exponents yet, so students learn the order before the layers pile up
• Students spot their own mistakes when the wrong suspect gets crossed off
• Zero prep in the week nobody has time to prepare
• Works with a whole class, a small group, partners, or one student alone

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