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English: This method builds on what students already know:

1. Do the most important things first - in life and in math. Repeaters cause Bigger Change - they are more important. (Bigger Change is easy to illustrate/visualize on a number line. Just show a few examples of how multiplication moves the result farther than addition.) 2. Perform the operations “just like you read a sentence.” (When you say, left to right, you imply something new. This is not new.) That's it!

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This method starts by pairing operations with what they have in common: Repeaters or Singles. These two terms simplify Order of Operations AND help to describe/conceptualize/group the Common Core fact families. Naming the pairs helps students with several other math subjects. It is part of learning basic math - not an extra step in learning this method. Common Core = Common Vocabulary

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When students learn about exponents - a YEAR later - they are easy to add because they follow the same (simpler) concept. Exponents cause even bigger change - exponential change!

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Parens are not operations but a means to symbolize special treatment. It’s an easy concept to ingrain by visually substituting hands for parens, or parents for parens, or… In math, that special treatment is: Do First

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So….by pairing operations, delaying exponents and separating the parens topic: we give students 2 simple choices rather than 6 confusing ones (w/ pemdas); we change the Q&A from answers like,“because the M comes before the A” to concepts that are fundamental to math.

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Once the pair names are tied to the rationale (EQUAL but OPPOSITE in effect, undo/reverse), the following questions can be used OVER and OVER (for years) to answer questions on Order of Ops, Equations, Fact Families, Fractions, Number Lines…

“What is its pair?” and/or “…and why are they paired?”