Teaching sequencing not only helps students understand the order of events in a story but also how to use transition words. When books and props are placed in a literacy center, sequencing events becomes more engaging and interactive for young readers. These 10 books for sequencing events lend themselves well to hands-on activities, making it easy for children to grasp the concept of sequencing while having fun!
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Books for Sequencing
These 10 books for sequencing are ideal to put in a literacy center for students to put events in order using transitional words. Be sure to put props for them to use for more engagement such as pictures, finger puppets, flannel board pieces, and story stones!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is a classic that you probably already have in your classroom library. A very hungry little caterpillar eats his way through the days of the week, eventually turning into a butterfly. This book makes for adorable retelling craft projects or to use with these 35 Caterpillar Activities from WeAreTeachers.
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
Circular stories such as If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff work extremely well for sequencing. Students can retell the string of events that occur once a mouse is offered a cookie. Check out the rest of If You GIve a.. Series for even more sequencing picture books!
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Lucille Colandro is the hilarious tale of an old lady who keeps swallowing animals. Students can sequence the events that caused her to swallow different animals. The other books in the There Was an Old Lady series also work well for sequencing activities.
The Napping House
Grandma and her animals are all cozied up and sleeping peacefully in bed until a flea decides to join them. Students can identify the sequence of animals that join the bed in the classic book The Napping House by Audrey Wood.
The Mitten
Woodland animals discover a lost mitten in the snow. One by one they crawl in for warmth, but will there be enough room for all of them? The Mitten by Jan Brett is a cute story that students will love retelling with animal pictures and a white mitten!
The Gingerbread Man
The Gingerbread Man is a classic tale of a gingerbread man who escapes and is chased by a string of characters. Not only can students put the events in order, they can also compare the sequences of events in the different gingerbread man picture books.
Cookie’s Week
Cookie’s Week by Cindy Ward and Tomie dePaola follows a mischievous cat who gets into a different type of trouble each day of the week. Primary students can practice sequencing events as well as the days of the week. Maybe they can even create their own version of the story and challenge their friends to put the events in sequence!
Rosie’s Walk
Rosie the Hen takes a peaceful walk around the farm, completely unaware of the sly fox following closely behind her. Students can sequence the issues the fox encounters as he follows the hen in Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins. You can also have students draw a map of the farm as a visual tool to use when sequencing events.
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams is a classic that is probably already in your collection! A little old lady who is visited by various articles of clothing but she keeps telling them she’s not afraid of them – until she comes up with a better plan. Students love using articles of clothing to retell the story and have lots of fun acting out the role of the little old lady!
Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle uses rhyme and repetition to identify different animals that are seen. This predictable text is easy for early readers to read themselves and sequence the order in which the animals appear.
What other picture books for sequencing do you love using? Share in the comments!
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