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English lesson plan · 1st grade (Year 2 in England) · 45 minutes

Order of events

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RL.1.2CCSS RI.2.3England: Y1 ReadingEngland: Y2 Reading (sequencing)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Order of events.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Key details

Leads to: Text structure (cause–effect, compare, problem–solution); Story shape: beginning, middle and end

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Key details). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Penguins are birds, but they cannot fly. They use their wings to swim. What do penguins use their wings for? (to swim / to eat / to dig / to fly) → to swimPrompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.
  2. Ducks have webbed feet. The skin between their toes helps them paddle. What helps ducks paddle? (their tails / their beaks / their feathers / the skin between their toes) → the skin between their toesPrompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.
  3. Rosa's class went to the zoo. They saw a tall giraffe eating leaves. What was the giraffe eating? (grass / bananas / fish / leaves) → leavesPrompt: Find the part of the text that talks about this.

Hook · 5 min

  • Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
  • Share the objective: Order of events. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Dad cracked two eggs into a bowl. He mixed them. Then he cooked them in a pan. What did Dad do after he mixed the eggs?
  • Step 1: Time words and the order of paragraphs show the order of events.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: cooked them in a pan
  • Answer: cooked them in a pan
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. First, Pia put on her socks. Next, she put on her shoes. Then she ran outside. What did Pia do first? (put on her shoes / put on her socks / ran outside / ate lunch) → put on her socksPrompt: Look for time words: first, then, next, after, finally.
  2. The caterpillar ate and ate. Then it made a cocoon. At last, a butterfly came out. What happened last? (A butterfly came out. / It made a cocoon. / The caterpillar ate. / It laid an egg.) → A butterfly came out.Prompt: Look for time words: first, then, next, after, finally.

You do: independent practice · 10 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. The caterpillar ate and ate. Then it made a cocoon. At last, a butterfly came out. What happened last? (It laid an egg. / It made a cocoon. / A butterfly came out. / The caterpillar ate.) → A butterfly came out.Prompt: Look for time words: first, then, next, after, finally.
  2. The alarm rang. Amy got up and brushed her teeth. After that, she ate breakfast. What did Amy do right after she got up? (set the alarm / went to bed / brushed her teeth / ate breakfast) → brushed her teethPrompt: Look for time words: first, then, next, after, finally.

Watch out for

  • Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
  • Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Key details.
  • Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Text structure (cause–effect, compare, problem–solution); Story shape: beginning, middle and end.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-1.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Order of events

Name

Date

Score/ 8

How Bees Make Honey

Honey bees are busy insects. They live together in a home called a hive. One hive can hold thousands of bees. Worker bees fly from flower to flower. They suck up a sweet juice called nectar with their long tongues. They carry the nectar back to the hive in a special part of their body called a honey stomach. Back at the hive, the bees pass the nectar to other bees. These bees put it into tiny six-sided rooms made of wax. The nectar is still runny, so the bees fan it with their wings. This dries it out and turns it thick and sticky. Now it is honey! Last, the bees cover each room with a wax lid. The honey is saved for the winter, when there are no flowers.

  1. Question 1

    Read "How Bees Make Honey". What do bees do to turn runny nectar into thick honey?

    • A. put it in the sun
    • B. carry it to a flower
    • C. fan it with their wings
    • D. mix it with water

  1. Question 2

    The caterpillar ate and ate. Then it made a cocoon. At last, a butterfly came out. What happened last?

    • A. It made a cocoon.
    • B. It laid an egg.
    • C. The caterpillar ate.
    • D. A butterfly came out.

From Egg to Frog

A frog starts life as a tiny egg in a pond. The eggs stick together in a soft, wobbly clump. A small tadpole hatches from each egg. A tadpole has a long tail. It swims in the water and breathes with gills, just like a fish. The tadpole eats and grows. Soon it grows back legs. Then it grows front legs. Its tail gets shorter and shorter. At last, the tail is gone. Now it is a frog! The frog can hop on land and swim in the pond. It breathes air with its lungs. It catches flies with its long, sticky tongue. One day, the frog may lay eggs of its own. Then the life cycle starts all over again.

  1. Question 3

    Read "From Egg to Frog". Which grows first on a tadpole?

    • A. wings
    • B. back legs
    • C. a longer tail
    • D. front legs

The Lost Mitten

It was a cold day. Rosa went out to play in the snow. She had a red hat and two red mittens. Rosa made a big snowman. She gave him a carrot nose. Then she looked at her hands. One mitten was gone! Rosa looked by the tree. She looked by the gate. No mitten. Then her dog, Pip, ran up to her. He had something red in his mouth. It was the mitten! "Good dog, Pip!" said Rosa. She gave him a big hug. Then Rosa and Pip went inside. Mom made hot cocoa. Rosa put her wet mittens by the fire to dry. Pip lay down next to them. He did not want to lose them again!

  1. Question 4

    Read "The Lost Mitten". What did Rosa do right after she made the snowman?

    • A. She looked at her hands.
    • B. She went inside.
    • C. She put on her hat.
    • D. She hugged Pip.

Where Does a Can Go?

You finish a fizzy drink and drop the empty can into the recycling bin. That is not the end of the can's story. It is the start of a new one. First, a truck collects the recycling and takes it to a sorting centre. There, machines separate the materials. A giant magnet pulls out steel cans. Aluminium cans (aluminum in the US) are not magnetic, so a different machine pushes them aside. Next, the aluminium cans are squashed into huge blocks and taken to a factory. The cans are shredded into small pieces, cleaned, and melted in a furnace. The hot liquid metal is poured into moulds and cooled into long bars. Then the bars are rolled out into thin sheets, like dough under a rolling pin. The sheets are cut and shaped into brand-new cans, filled with drinks, and sent to the shops. A recycled can can be back on a shelf in about sixty days. Recycling aluminium is a big help to our planet. Making a can from old cans uses about 95 percent less energy than making one from new metal dug out of the ground. Aluminium can be recycled again and again without getting worse, so the can in your hand might once have been part of hundreds of other cans.

  1. Question 5

    Read "Where Does a Can Go?". What happens to the cans just before they are melted?

    • A. They are rolled into sheets.
    • B. They are filled with drinks.
    • C. They are sent to the shops.
    • D. They are shredded and cleaned.

The Camera in the Hedge

For my birthday, Aunt Jo gave me a wildlife camera. It is small and green, and it takes a photo whenever something moves in front of it. I strapped it to the fence post at the bottom of our garden, pointing at a gap in the hedge. The first morning, I ran outside in my pyjamas to check it. There were forty-two photos! Most of them were of leaves blowing in the wind. One was of our cat, Biscuit, looking very surprised. But on the second night, something different appeared. At 11:14 p.m., a hedgehog shuffled out of the hedge. At 11:16 p.m., it was sniffing at the flower bed. At 11:20 p.m., it was gone. I wanted to know where it went, so I read about hedgehogs in a library book. I learned that a hedgehog can walk more than a kilometre in one night, looking for beetles and worms. Walls and fences with no gaps can stop it from finding enough food. Dad and I cut a small hole, about the size of a CD case, at the bottom of our fence. Our neighbour, Mr Okafor, made one in his fence too. Now the hedgehog can travel from garden to garden. Last night, the camera caught the hedgehog again. This time, it was squeezing through our new hole, heading for Mr Okafor's garden. I think it was saying thank you.

  1. Question 6

    Read "The Camera in the Hedge". What did the narrator do straight after seeing the hedgehog on camera?

    • A. read about hedgehogs in a library book
    • B. gave the camera to Aunt Jo
    • C. chased Biscuit the cat
    • D. cut a hole in the fence

  1. Question 7

    Dad cracked two eggs into a bowl. He mixed them. Then he cooked them in a pan. What did Dad do after he mixed the eggs?

    • A. bought eggs
    • B. washed the bowl
    • C. cooked them in a pan
    • D. cracked the eggs

  2. Question 8

    First, Pia put on her socks. Next, she put on her shoes. Then she ran outside. What did Pia do last?

    • A. put on her shoes
    • B. ran outside
    • C. went to bed
    • D. put on her socks

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Answer key: Order of events

  1. 1. C. fan it with their wings

  2. 2. D. A butterfly came out.

  3. 3. B. back legs

  4. 4. A. She looked at her hands.

  5. 5. D. They are shredded and cleaned.

  6. 6. A. read about hedgehogs in a library book

  7. 7. C. cooked them in a pan

  8. 8. B. ran outside