Recognizing the order of events not only helps in
reading comprehension with stories or historical events, but also
provides a foundation for breaking large tasks into managable
pieces that must go together in proper order. This exercise pairs
students who will do the preparation work for you.
Sequencing refers to putting events or actions in
order. One example is chronological order, as is common with
historical events. Another is the ordering of steps to carry out,
as we find with procedures such as instructions, recipes, and
manuals. Time life cycle also uses the sequential format.
Of all the text structures, sequencing is the
easiest for students to understand. Students see many examples of
sequencing in their lives and have read many stories in which the
order of the story makes a difference. Being able to perceive the
order of events not only helps in reading comprehension with
stories and historical events, but it also aids students in
breaking large tasks into smaller, more manageable tasks.
Teaching Strategies that have been found
effective in teaching sequencing as a text structure include:
- Teaching
students the vocabulary that signals sequencing, i.e., words such
as first, next, then, initially, before, after, when, finally,
preceding, and following
- Teaching
students to use and then create graphic organizers, particularly
time lines
- Teaching
students how to ask probing questions to discern the sequencing
pattern, for example:
- What is
being described?
- Why is
the sequence important?
- What are
major steps in this sequence?
- Why did
the author use chronological order?