Reading / Grades 1-2
Story sequence: what happens next?
Learning goal: Follow time words and story details to put events in order and recover a missing step.
Before you start: Listen to a short story and notice what happens first and next.
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Put Events in Order
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1. A drawing for a friend
Audio: 0:00
Nia makes a picture for a friend. First, she gets paper. Next, she draws a star. Then, she colors the star yellow. Finally, she gives the picture to her friend. These events happen in an order. Let us follow them.
2. Find the first event
Audio: 0:20
What happens first? Nia gets the paper. The word first is a clue. She needs something to draw on before she draws her star. Drawing in the air might be fun, but it does not leave a picture on the paper.
3. Follow the middle
Audio: 0:37
Next, Nia draws a star. Then, she adds yellow color. Next and then help us follow the middle of the story. Check the actions too. In this story, the outline is drawn before the star is colored.
4. Reach the ending
Audio: 0:54
Finally, Nia gives the picture to her friend. Finally points to the last event in this story. It does not mean nothing ever happens again. Her friend might put the picture on a wall, but this story does not tell us that.
5. Pause and remember
Audio: 1:11
Now pause and think. What did Nia do just before coloring the star? Use the story, not a guess about what you might do. Say the missing event out loud, or point to where it belongs in the order.
6. Put the missing event back
Audio: 1:27
Nia drew the star just before coloring it. First paper, next drawing, then coloring, finally giving. You found the missing step by looking at the events around it. Before and after help us explain where an event belongs.
7. Order can change a story
Audio: 1:45
Fun fact: moving an event can change what a story means. If we say Nia gives the finished picture before she gets any paper, our story needs another explanation. Maybe she made a different picture yesterday! That is not the story we read.
8. Follow another sequence
Audio: 2:04
Look for time words, then check what the story actually says. Now continue to the worksheet about Eli and a paper boat. Follow the events in that new story. Put its steps in order, and explain what happens before and after each step.
Show your understanding
You can point, explain aloud, draw or write.
- Use time words and story clues to order the events.
- Find a missing step that connects two events in the story.
Try it yourself
Retell the picture story using first, next, then and finally.
Which event happens just before coloring? Use the story to explain your answer.
Next: your worksheet
Put Events in Orderhttps://s3u.com/rs201
Lesson: https://s3u.com/listen/story-sequence