Operations & Targets for Grades 5–6
Eight focused skills: order of operations, making target values, working backward, Make 24, Four Fours, brackets and grouping, choosing operators, and operations mastery.
Browse the skills
Each card opens a parent-readable explanation. Most also link straight to matching Numeris practice; a few link to the closest practice topic instead.
Order of Operations
When an expression mixes operations, everyone must follow the same order so they get the same answer: do parentheses first, then multiplication and division (left to right), then addition and subtraction (left to right).
Practice / Learn →Make the Target
In a "make the target" puzzle, you're given some numbers and a target, and you combine the numbers with operations (+, −, ×, ÷) to hit it.
Practice / Learn →Working Backward with Operations
Working backward is a strategy for stories and puzzles where you know how things ended and want how they started: "Mia had some stickers, gave 4 away, then doubled what was left and ended with 10." Start at the end and undo each step, last step first.
Practice / Learn →Make 24
The classic "Make 24" puzzle: given four numbers, use each exactly once, with any operations and parentheses, to make 24.
Practice / Learn →Four Fours
In "Four Fours," you make different target numbers using exactly four 4s and any operations/parentheses.
Practice / Learn →Brackets & Grouping
Parentheses (brackets) tell you what to do first, and moving them changes the answer.
Practice / Learn →Choosing the Right Operators
In these puzzles the numbers are fixed and you choose the operations (+, −, ×, ÷) to make a true equation.
Practice / Learn →Operations Mastery Challenge
The capstone mixes it all: order of operations, brackets, choosing operators, and working backward — often in two steps.
Practice / Learn →Jump into the interactive rooms.
Use the app for free practice, or open a specific skill from any page.
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