Reintroduce: Sequencing

From FreeReading

What to Do

Prepare

Choose a book that appeals to early readers. Make copies of the Story Board graphic organizer for each student. Make a large version of the Story Board graphic organizer on the board or chart paper.

Model/Instruct

1. Review the meaning of sequencing.

Who can remember what sequencing means? What is the order of events in the story?

2. Record students’ answers on chart paper or board and clarify meaning.

That’s right. Putting the events of the story in the right order is called sequencing. There are some major events in every story. Putting them in order of what happens first, what happens in the middle, and what happens last is sequencing.

3. Explain why sequencing is useful to readers.

Good readers are able to use sequencing to put the important events from the book in the right order. They can use the correct sequence to talk about the book. Knowing what happens in the right order helps us to understand the book better and cuts down on confusion. It is important to know the correct sequence of events.

4. Show the cover of the book.

Today we will be reading _________________________ by __________________. Without talking, think for a minute about what you think this book is about.

5. Direct students to the large copy of the Story Board graphic organizer.

Movie makers have story boards to show what the movie is about. They draw pictures of the important events in the correct order to tell the story. Today, we are going to make a story board about this book. Look at the Story Board worksheet. It is divided into six boxes. We are going to sketch the six most important events in the correct order to show what the book is about.

6. Read the book, stopping at important information.

The Story Board worksheet shows the order of events in the story. That means that someone who has not read the book should be able to look at the Story Board worksheet and see what happens.

First, let’s make a list of the important events we come across. You can make your list on the back of your paper. At the end of the book, we will have to choose the six most important events.

We’ve already come across some information. Let’s write it on our Story Board worksheet. What has happened so far?

Call on students and record their answers in a list on the board or chart paper.

Ok. Now, I am going to draw a quick sketch of the first event in the first box of the storyboard.

Draw a quick sketch on the large Story Board graphic organizer.

Practice

7. Direct students to their copies of the Story Board graphic organizer.

You are going to write down other important events as I read the book. I will pause to give you time to write things down. When we are finished reading, you will pick the six most important events and draw them in the boxes on your Story Board worksheet.

8. Read the book, pausing to allow students to write down important events on the back of their Story Board graphic organizers.

9. Give students time to choose the events and draw pictures in the boxes on their graphic organizers. Remind students that they can makes quick sketches. Make sure the Story Board graphic organizer is complete.

10. Ask students to turn to a partner and share their story boards.

Now we will share our work. Turn to a partner and take turns showing your story boards. Make sure you tell your partner why you chose the events you chose. Your partner should make sure that the events are in the correct order.

11. Hold a class discussion about how sequencing helped them to talk about the book.

Adjust

For Advanced Students:

Encourage these students to include sequencing or time order words in their story boards as well as pictures.

For Struggling Students:

Some students may struggle with choosing the most important events for the Story Board graphic organizer. Remind these students that someone who has not read the book should be able to look at the story board and understand the basic story line. To help students figure out which events to include ask questions like:

• What happened first?
• What happened after that?
• What was the problem in this story?
• How was the problem solved?
• How did the book end?

For ELL Students:

Before reading the book, explain the meaning of any key vocabulary or concepts that they need in order to follow the book.

Related activities

• All Comprehension Activities