Year 6 · Maths

Carry Out Calculations Using Order Of Operations

8 checked activities 5 video matches

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Focus on order of operations bidmas. Start with “Find Three More Facts Based on the Given Fact”, then explain the idea in your own words.

Understand the key idea

Year 6 BIDMAS and BODMAS describe the same order of operations: brackets, orders or indices, division and multiplication, then addition and subtraction. Operations sharing a level are completed from left to right.

What BODMAS and BIDMAS mean in Year 6

A mixed calculation can give different answers if the operations are completed in a random order, so mathematicians use one agreed hierarchy. In 18 - 3 × 4, multiplication has priority and the answer is 6, not 60. In (18 - 3) × 4, the brackets change the priority and the answer is 60. Year 6 pupils should explain this difference rather than only recite the letters.

The national curriculum asks pupils to use their knowledge of the order of operations in calculations involving all four operations. That includes recognising when brackets control the first step and understanding that multiplication and division belong at the same level.

Brackets: calculate the grouped expression first.
Orders or indices: complete powers such as 4².
Division and multiplication: move from left to right.
Addition and subtraction: move from left to right.

Equal priority and the left-to-right rule

The most common Year 6 BODMAS error is treating the acronym as a nine-step list. For 24 ÷ 6 × 3, division and multiplication have equal priority. Reading from left to right gives 4 × 3 = 12. Multiplying 6 × 3 first would change the structure of the original expression and produce the wrong result.

The same rule applies to 15 - 8 + 2. Subtraction and addition share a level, so work from left to right: 15 - 8 = 7, then 7 + 2 = 9. Asking pupils to mark operations that share a level before calculating makes the rule visible and easier to check.

Worked Year 6 examples and checking

For 7 + 5 × 6, calculate 5 × 6 first, then add 7, giving 37. For (7 + 5) × 6, complete the bracket first, giving 12 × 6 = 72. For 48 ÷ 8 × 2 + 3, work left to right through the equal-priority pair: 48 ÷ 8 = 6, then 6 × 2 = 12, and finally add 3 to get 15.

A useful check is to estimate the likely size of the answer before beginning. Pupils can also rewrite one completed line at a time, leaving untouched parts of the expression in place. This reduces skipped operations and makes it easier to spot where an error began.

Choose teaching or exam-style practice

Use this curriculum page when a pupil needs the rule explained, needs to compare BODMAS with BIDMAS, or is still deciding which operation comes first. The linked activities separate fact families, brackets, simple mixed calculations, five-digit column subtraction and equation solving so a mismatched resource does not hide inside a broad topic.

When the method is secure, move to the separate Year 6 BODMAS practice questions page. That page has a narrower exam-skills purpose: mixed questions, self-marking practice, checking and explaining each line of working.

Common mix-up

Multiplication does not always come before division, and addition does not always come before subtraction. Work from left to right when the operations have equal priority.

Try this first

Calculate anything inside brackets.
Complete powers or indices.
Work through division and multiplication from left to right, then addition and subtraction from left to right.

Ask: Which operation should be completed first, and which part of BODMAS or BIDMAS explains that choice?

Curriculum check: National curriculum in England: mathematics programmes of study

Year 6 learners practise order of operations bidmas.

The activities include Find Three More Facts Based on the Given Fact, Order Operations in Calculations Using Brackets, Order Simple Operations in Calculations, and related practice. The checked support below includes video, interactive, worksheet, teaching. Open a resource in its provider's website and choose the format that best helps the learner explain the idea independently.

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Browse Year 6 practice packs

Activities covered

Find Three More Facts Based on the Given Fact
Order Operations in Calculations Using Brackets
Order Simple Operations in Calculations
Practise Column Subtraction with Five-Digit Numbers
Practise Using BIDMAS to Order Operations in Calculations
Use BIDMAS to Find the Order of Operations in Calculations
Use BIDMAS to Order the Operations in Calculations
Use the Order of BIDMAS to Solve Calculations

Learning path

These same-subject links were reviewed as the foundations for this topic and the learning it directly unlocks.

Learn this first

Year 5Solve Four Operations Problems
Each operation must be fluent before their priority within one calculation matters.
Year 5Solve Addition Subtraction Multiplication Division Problems
Multi-operation problems are solved at Year 5 before the formal priority rule is taught.

Where this leads next

Year 6Year 6 BODMAS Questions and Worked Answers
Assessed practice of exactly this rule.
Year 6Use Estimation To Check Answers
Checking that an ordered calculation gives a reasonable answer.
Year 7Use Conventional Notation For Priority Of Operations
Key Stage 3 continuation, adding powers, roots and brackets within brackets.

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