What are sequencing skills?
Sequencing means putting ideas or events in the correct time order – what happened first, what happened next, and what happened last. This skill helps children to:
- Tell stories clearly
- Explain what happened in their day
- Follow and give instructions
- Recognise patterns and make predictions
- Understand cause and effect (what happens because of something else)
How You Can Help Your Child at Home
Talk about what happened in the story
When you read a book with your child, it’s a good time to talk about the order of events. After reading, ask:
- What happened first?
- What happened next?
- How did the story end?
Encourage them to use sequencing words such as: first, next, then, after that, finally.
Sequencing Reading Questions:
- What happened first in the story?
- What happened after that?
- Can you tell me what happened at the end?
- Can you put these parts of the story in the right order?
- What happened before this part?
- Can you tell me the story from the beginning to the end?
- If we told this story to someone else, what order should we say things in?
Sequencing activites
Sequence a picture story
Take a piece of paper and draw 4 big boxes on it. For older children, you can add more boxes.
Choose something your child knows well, like brushing teeth or making a sandwich.
Ask your child to draw what happens step by step — one picture in each box, showing what happens first, next, and last.
Talk About What Happened in the Story
When you read a book with your child, it’s a good time to talk about the order of events. After reading, ask:
- What happened first?
- What happened next?
- How did the story end?
You can write each part of the story on a small card or lollypop stick. Then, ask your child to put them in the right order. Encourage them to use sequencing words such as: first, next, then, after that, finally.
Match the number to the event
For older children:
- Write out the numbers 1 – 5 in order
- They write the main events from the chapter they have next to each number.
- Next, you write out five events in a jumbled order
- Your child has to number the events correctly.
- As they become more confident, add more events.
What did we do today?
At the end of the day, sit down with your child and say:
- “Let’s remember what we did today, in the right order!”
- Start with your own version: “First, we got up and had breakfast. Then we went to the park. After that, we had lunch…”
Then ask your child to tell you what they remember in order.