Time Order Stories

Overview

Lesson 11 of 30 in Stories of Resilience and Hope. Students explore how events in a short resilience story happen in chronological order, using movement, visual event cards and sequence words before adding personal reflection.

Learning intentions

• WALT put story events in time order.
• Students will use the sequence words first, next, then and last.
• Students will create a simple timeline of events.
• Students will speak clearly about the order of events in an experience.

Success criteria

• I can arrange story events in the correct order.
• I can use first, next, then and last when speaking or writing.
• I can show events on a simple timeline.
• I can listen without interrupting and take turns sharing.

Curriculum links

• Understanding time, sequence and change in stories and people’s experiences.
• Using sources, including spoken and visual information, to identify and order events.
• Communicating ideas clearly through speaking, drawing and short written responses.
• Developing inquiry skills by noticing, discussing and explaining patterns in information.

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Hook: What happened first? Open with the introduction and hook slides. Show a striking four-picture sequence, such as a seedling growing into a plant, with the images deliberately mixed up. Ask: “How can we prove which event happened first?” Establish the discussion routine: students silently think, raise a hand, and wait to be invited before speaking. Explain that today’s focus is order, not the lesson’s reflection element.

2. 5–12 minutes – Teach sequence words Use the sequence-word teaching slides to introduce first, next, then and last. Model a familiar routine, such as preparing for school, using one sentence for each step. Students echo the sentences, then silently gesture the four words: one finger for first, two for next, three for then and four for last.

3. 12–22 minutes – Human timeline Give each student one teacher-prepared illustrated event card from a short, age-appropriate story about a child facing a challenge and finding a way forward. Students read or listen to their card, then move around the room to form a human timeline. Invite students to justify their positions using a sentence stem: “I think I go ___ because ___.” Allow the group to rearrange the timeline after hearing each explanation. Display the human-timeline instructions and sentence stems.

4. 22–27 minutes – Mid-lesson checkpoint Students sit with a partner. Display the checkpoint prompt and ask each student to share: “First I…, then I…” about a familiar experience, such as getting ready for school or completing a game. Partners listen, then repeat the order they heard. Select two volunteers to share with the class, reinforcing turn-taking and the difference between first and then.

5. 27–39 minutes – Build and record a timeline Retell the resilience story briefly, pausing for students to identify what happened at each point. In pairs, students arrange a second set of four event cards, then check their choices against the class timeline. Distribute the four-event sequencing and timeline worksheet. Students number or draw the events in order, add first, next, then and last, and draw arrows to show the passage of time. Read instructions aloud and provide a word bank on the board.

6. 39–46 minutes – Share and improve Display the partner-check and discussion slides. Partners take turns reading their timeline aloud. The listener checks: “Are the events in order?” and “Did you hear all four sequence words?” Students make one improvement to their worksheet. Invite one pair to explain how they decided what happened first and last.

7. 46–50 minutes – Plenary and exit check Return to the plenary slides. Ask: “Why does the order of events matter when we tell a story?” Students respond orally or write one sentence on their worksheet. Quickly review the four success criteria using thumbs up, sideways or down, and collect worksheets for formative assessment.

Resources

• the complete introduction, teaching, activity and plenary slide deck
• the four-event sequencing and timeline worksheet
• Teacher-prepared illustrated event cards: two identical sets of four
• A short resilience-and-hope story with four clearly ordered events
• Board or chart paper and markers
• Open classroom space for the human timeline
• Word-bank cards or board display: first, next, then, last
• Pencils, coloured pencils and sticky tack

Assessment

• Observe whether students can physically arrange events and justify their order using chronological language.
• Check worksheets for correctly ordered events, arrows, a simple timeline and appropriate sequence words.
• Listen during the checkpoint and partner share for accurate use of “First I…, then I…” and respectful turn-taking.

Differentiation

• Provide dyslexia-friendly event cards and worksheets: clear sans-serif font, large print, high contrast, limited text, generous spacing and one event per card. Read all text aloud and allow students to respond by drawing, pointing or speaking.
• Support students with colour-coded cards, numbered picture clues, a four-word sequence bank and the sentence frame “First…, next…, then…, last…”. Pair students deliberately and rehearse orally before writing.
• For students needing extension, remove the picture clues and ask them to add a fifth event or a linking sentence explaining how one event led to the next.
• Use a visible “listening hand” rule: only the student holding the discussion object speaks; others show they are ready by looking, listening and waiting.

Extension

Students write a short four-sentence account of a personal challenge or achievement, using first, next, then and last. They may illustrate each event and underline the sequence words.