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Order of operations without exponents worksheets grade 4-5
Mystery Detective

Order of Operations with Parentheses (No Exponents)

Mystery Detective Worksheets · Grades 3–6 · Detective

Grade 3Grade 4Grade 5Grade 6Grades 3-6Answer keys included

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Self-checkingEvery right answer clears a suspect. A wrong answer matches nobody.
No prepPrint and go, or share the link for digital rooms.
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Inside the case file

PEMDAS order of operations with parentheses and no exponents worksheets for 3rd grade, 4th grade and 5th grade: five math cases in the Mystery Detective format, the four operations and a pair of brackets only. No prep, print and go, with full answer keys, for the first week of the unit, then math centers, early finishers, homework, morning work and sub plans. Each value a student works out crosses a suspect off the lineup and a wrong value matches nobody, so every CSI Mini Mystery Detective page checks itself and a beginner can finish the set.

Parentheses come first in the order of operations unit, and this is the set to hand out the day after the rules go on the board, because every expression can be finished without exponents getting in the way. The lineup makes every page self-marking, so the order of steps gets checked as they go. Five math activities from one Mystery Detective download cover the week.

Every page uses parentheses with multiplication, division, addition and subtraction. Students solve each expression and cross off the suspect with that number. The cases include a kidnapped principal, a stolen phone and a certificate nobody has claimed.

 

The Cases

  1. The Missing Principal - the principal has been taken
  2. Teachers Lunch - a lunch missing from the staff room
  3. Certificate - who the certificate is for
  4. Acts of Kindness - someone doing good deeds
  5. The Phone - a neighbor's phone stolen

 

What's Inside

  • Five order of operations cases in color
  • The same cases in black and white
  • Parentheses on every page
  • Answer keys
  • A teacher instruction page

 

What Is a CSI Mini Mystery Detective?

Each case is one page: a crime, a column of expressions and suspect lists with numbers. Students cross off a suspect for every answer that matches. One suspect remains.

 

When to Use This Resource

Use it for a first look at PEMDAS, before exponents are added. 6th graders can use it as a refresher. It also works for small groups, bell ringers and sub days.

 

Grade Levels

Written for 3rd grade, 4th grade and 5th grade.

 

Why Teachers Love These Cases

  • Parentheses in every case
  • No exponents
  • Color and black and white
  • No prep

 

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