Sequencing Events

Stories often follow a defined sequence of events. So do certain scientific processes such as photosynthesis or mitosis. In math, we have the "order of operations." In this resource, ideas are given for helping students to arrange items or events in their correct order.

The abilities to alphabetize, create a chronology, determine an order of operations, organize diagrams, develop arguments, or describe natural happenings fall into the general category called “sequencing events.” This is an important skill that cuts across all content areas. This activity can take many different visual forms: timeline, flowchart, etc.

Sequencing is also an ideal end-of-unit review activity.

 

Implementation

1. To sequence anything you must first have the items to be sequenced. In a flow chart, sometimes you have nodes, or operations, or decision points. In stories you have events. In science you have cause and effect. To get started, you can have the students generate the events or items themselves (To save time, you can create a list yourself and skip this step):
   • Read or otherwise guide students to pay attention to the passage, telling them to focus on the events that take place and the order in which they occur. Students can take notes.
   • Have the students come up to the whiteboard one by one to list events from the story, or you can write on the board as they generate the items.
2. After listing as many items as possible, have each student select a particular vignette to focus on. Make sure that all items are assigned to at least one student in the class. Students may also be grouped in pairs to work on this part of the lesson.
3. Introduce the concept of sequence to the class and explain that this is a strategy that they are going to use to understand what they have read. Explain that they are going to build a timeline to review the sequence of events.
4. Give each student or pair of students a blank sheet of plain white paper, and have them work together to write one complete sentence describing the events.
5. After students finish writing their sentences, give them about 15 minutes to draw detailed illustrations of the item or scenes in which the events took place.
6. Begin the timeline process by having students divide themselves up into three groups based on when their event happened in the story: beginning, middle, or end.
7. In each group, have students work together to decide the sequence of events. When the group has a tentative order, they are to sit in a line in their order.
8. Students can then share their sentences and their drawings with the class, and the class may make changes to the location of the students along the timeline.
9. When the class has decided on a sequence for the events, have each student attach his or her drawing to a chart paper timeline hanging on the wall using glue or a stapler. Also, the students can count off in line and number their drawings to reinforce the sequence of events.
10. As a closing activity, have students write short journal entries about how this activity helped them to better understand the events and the connections between them.

Assessment

You may or may not choose to evaluate the responses for a grade.

 

Classroom Management

Allow student responses to inform your instruction and be sure to address any common misconceptions you come across.

 

Differentiation

Bringing some passages like difficult prose or scientific texts within reach of the ELL/ LEP student, is more than simplifying vocabulary and reorganizing sentences. Some materials may require more context or background information in order to make sense to ELL/ LEP students. A flowchart can convey a scientific process to students more rapidly than several paragraphs of text filled with complex structures and difficult vocabulary. Timelines and charts are useful in developing higher-order thinking skills such as sequencing and comparison/ contrast. All of these visual formats emphasize essential points and reduce extraneous information.

LEP students frequently need assistance in learning how to study. This is especially true of students in middle schools. By teaching them study skills, teachers will give the students an important tool that they can use throughout their academic careers. Show students how to develop and use:

• graphic organizers
• outlines for summarizing, for making predictions
• time lines for organizing and sequencing events chronologically, for comparing events in different settings (e.g., states, countries)
• flow charts for showing progression and influences on an outcome, for showing cause and effect; mapping for examining movement and spatial relations
• graphs and charts for organizing and comparing data; and Venn Diagrams for comparing and contrasting.

 

 

Variations

• Timeline. Hang butcher paper on an empty wall to create a strip of paper long enough for students to each have room to stand in front of the paper in a line. (The paper can be cut in half lengthwise to create a longer segment out of two narrower pieces.)
• Story Maps. Students create a map that shows the physical landscape of a book or a story. In the process of creating the map, the students become much more involved in the action of a story than they would by only reading it. Students also develop an understanding of sequencing because they are asked to represent the chronological action of the story in a spatial arrangement.

 

 

 

Preparation time: 20 / Delivery time: 35