Order of A Day
Learning Objectives
Students will use transition words like first, next, then, last, finally and time words like morning, afternoon, evening, night when sequencing daily routine activities.
Students will sequence photographs of daily activities and tell what each image represents.
ELL level
Beginner, intermediate
Beginning students will sequence the cards, and select one or two words to match with each image.
Intermediate students will sequence the cards and associate the target vocabulary with the appropriate image as well as saying and writing a sentence or phrase to describe each image.
Vocabulary
First, next, then, last, finally
Morning, Day, Night, Evening, breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper, work, school, home, walk the dog, feed the dog
After, before, during
Materials Needed
Pictures representing activities for different times of day
Vocabulary cards for matching with pictures
Lesson
Introduction
- Review vocabulary: For beginning students, have 5 students line up as if to enter the classroom. As they come in, point to each in order and say “First, next, then, finally, last” to model the meaning of the words. For intermediate students, write the words on the board and have students tell you which person in the line is first, next, then, finally and last.
- Show images of the sun and have students work as a whole group to sequence them, and label “first, next, then, last.
Teacher Modeling/Explicit Instruction
- Read aloud the “story of a day” to the class.
- Hand out sets of the pictures, shuffled so they are not in order.
- Read the text aloud while students arrange the pictures in order.
- After sequencing, beginning students should match one or two target vocabulary words with the appropriate image.
- Intermediate students tell a partner what is happening during the day for each image and then write a sentence for each image that tells what is happening in that part of the day.
The Story of a Day
First I wake up at 6am. Then I let the dog out. Next I eat breakfast and get ready for work. I get my kids to school and go to work. Around noon I eat lunch and talk with my coworkers. After work I go home and make dinner for my family. I feed my dog too. At bedtime I brush my teeth and go to sleep.
Note: Modify the “story” to include vocabulary your students need to work on.
Independent Work
- Reshuffle the images and have students sequence them without hearing “The Story of a Day.”
- Intermediate students take turns with a partner telling the sequence of their own day, noting where their day differs from the one they just sequenced.
- Challenge: students write down what their partner dictates about their own day. Beginner students can write down one or two words for each step, and intermediate/advanced students can write sentences.
- Beginner example: 1. Wake up 2. Eat 3. Work 4. Come home 5. Eat 6. Brush teeth. 7. Bed
Review/Closing
- Give students time to share with you what was difficult, and what they want to work on in future lessons. Adult English learners have specific reasons for wanting to improve their English, and it’s important to take these into account when planning lessons.