First Grade · Writing · week 30

Sequence Words: First, Next, Last

Use sequence words (first, next, then, last) to signal the order of events in a narrative.

Sequence words are signposts that tell your reader the order things happened: FIRST, NEXT, THEN, and LAST are the most common ones.

Starting each part of your story with a sequence word makes the order crystal clear, even to someone who was not there.

📋 For the teacher
Teach it (10–15 min):
  • List the four sequence words together (first, next, then, last) and let your child pick which one fits each part.
  • Read the story aloud without the sequence words, then with them, to hear how much clearer the order becomes.
  • Avoid overusing "then" for every single sentence -- mix in "first," "next," and "last" for variety.
  • Have your child retell a favorite family story out loud using these four words as practice.
Talk about it:
  • What are the four sequence words you used?
  • How did adding sequence words change how clear your story felt?
  • Can you retell a story from memory using first, next, then, and last?

Mastery looks like: They add appropriate sequence words to the beginning, middle, and end of their planned narrative.

Common stumbles: Using the same sequence word (usually "then") for every sentence instead of varying first, next, and last.

See it visually

Interactive, spoken-aloud tools that show this idea in motion.

Story SequencePut events in order: first, next, then, last.try →
Homework for this lessonType it, write it with a stylus, or print it for pencil & paper.open →
Records attendance + 15 min of Writing for this learner.
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