Events in Order

Overview

Students orally rehearse and write three simple events in the correct order. Using a familiar classroom routine, they learn that writing can tell what happened first, next, and last. The lesson supports early literacy, oral language, handwriting, and communicating meaning for an audience.

Learning intentions

• WALT retell events in the order they happened.
• WALT use time words such as first, next, and last.
• WALT write or dictate a simple sentence for each event.
• WALT share our ideas and listen to others.

Success criteria

• I can say three events in the correct order.
• I can use first, next, and last.
• I can draw and write a sentence about each event.
• I can check that my writing makes sense.

Curriculum links

• English — communicating ideas through spoken, written, and visual language.
• English — developing early writing behaviours, including forming letters, writing words, and creating simple sentences.
• English as a medium for broadening students’ horizons and exploring shared human experiences through texts and talk.
• English Language Learners — targeted support for everyday communication and access to classroom language.

Lesson structure (20 minutes)

1. 0–3 min · Hook and connect. Display the picture sequence introduction showing a child planting a seed, watering it, and seeing a sprout. Ask, “What happened first? What happened next? What happened last?” Students turn to a partner and retell the sequence using actions and the time words displayed on the slide.

2. 3–7 min · Explicit teaching: model the thinking. Show the three pictures one at a time and model: “I look carefully. I find the event that happened first. First, I put the seed in the soil.” Think aloud that events must be in the order they happened. Model the second and third sentences: “Next, I water the seed. Last, I see a little sprout.” Point to each picture while speaking and underline first, next, and last on the model sequence and sentence examples. Students echo-read each sentence and make a matching gesture.

3. 7–10 min · Guided oral rehearsal. Replace the seed pictures with three photographs or drawings of a familiar classroom routine, such as arriving, unpacking, and sitting on the mat, using the familiar-routine sequence. Ask students to help put the events in order. Jointly compose three sentences, repeating the frame: “First, ___.” “Next, ___.” “Last, ___.” Students rehearse the sentences with a partner, using their fingers to show one, two, and three.

4. 10–16 min · Independent or supported writing. Distribute the three-event sequencing writing sheet. Students draw one event in each box and write, copy, or dictate a sentence beginning with First, Next, or Last. Circulate and prompt step by step: “Tell me what happened first. Say the whole sentence. Count the words. Write the first sound or word. Read it back.” Encourage students to use the classroom word bank and to leave spaces between words. Students who finish may add a detail such as where, who, or how.

5. 16–19 min · Share and check. Invite two or three students to show their sequence. The class checks it with three questions on the peer-check slide: “Is it in order?” “Can we see the time words?” “Does the writing match the picture?” Students reread their own work quietly or to a partner and make one improvement, such as adding a missing word, capital letter, or full stop.

6. 19–20 min · Plenary and assessment. Ask students to complete the oral sentence: “First I…, next I…, last I…”. Collect worksheets as evidence. Finish with the slide prompt, “Why does the order matter?” Accept answers such as “It tells the reader what happened” or “It helps the reader understand.”

Resources

• the events-in-sequence slide deck
• the three-event sequencing writing sheet
• Three large picture cards or photographs of a familiar classroom routine
• Whiteboard and marker
• Pencils, crayons, and erasers
• Classroom time-word display: first, next, last
• Optional word bank with picture cues: seed, soil, water, sprout, sit, bag, mat

Assessment

• Listen during partner retelling and note whether each student can identify first, next, and last.
• During writing, check whether the student’s drawings and words represent three events in chronological order.
• Use the final oral sentence to identify students who need further support with sequencing, time vocabulary, sentence formation, or oral language.

Differentiation

• Support learners with real photographs, gestures, repeated oral rehearsal, a three-box visual structure, and sentence frames: “First, I ___.” “Next, I ___.” “Last, I ___.”
• Allow beginning writers to draw, trace a model sentence, copy key words, use invented spelling, or dictate to an adult or peer. Scribe the student’s exact words where appropriate.
• For dyslexia-friendly access, use a clear sans-serif font, large print, uncluttered worksheet boxes, strong picture cues, and read all instructions aloud. Provide a pencil grip, wider writing lines, or a sloping writing surface if helpful.
• Support English language learners by pre-teaching the time words with actions and pictures, accepting home-language rehearsal, pairing them with a supportive speaker, and modelling complete sentences without requiring immediate repetition.
• Extend confident writers by adding a fourth event, including a detail in each sentence, or replacing repeated sentence frames with a short connected recount.

Extension

• Students draw and write a new three-event sequence about making a snack, getting ready for school, or caring for a plant.
• Students mix up their drawings for a partner to reorder and explain using first, next, and last.