Sequencing Events — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Read the story: "First, we bought tickets at the gate. Next, we saw the elephants. Then, we ate lunch. Finally, we watched the seal show." What happened right AFTER they saw the elephants?
A) They bought tickets.
B) They watched the seal show.
C) They ate lunch.
D) They went home.
The story uses "Then" right after the elephants, and that signal word introduces lunch — so eating lunch is the event that follows seeing the elephants.
2. Read the story: "Lily packed her bag. Then, she rode the bus to the zoo. Next, she visited the monkey house. Last, she bought a stuffed animal." What happened FIRST?
A) She rode the bus.
B) She visited the monkey house.
C) She bought a stuffed animal.
D) Lily packed her bag.
The story opens with Lily packing her bag before any travel or zoo action, which places it in the very first event slot.
3. Read the story: "The zookeeper fed the lions. After that, she cleaned the bird cage. Then, she checked on the baby panda." What happened LAST?
A) She fed the lions.
B) She cleaned the bird cage.
C) She checked on the baby panda.
D) She locked the gate.
Checking on the panda shows up at the end of the story after "Then," so it is the last action the zookeeper completed.
4. Read the story: "First, Dad parked the car. Next, we got a map. Then, we visited the reptile house. Finally, we rode the zoo train." What happened right BEFORE they rode the zoo train?
A) Dad parked the car.
B) They got a map.
C) They visited the reptile house.
D) They left the zoo.
The reptile house visit sits right before the train ride, and the word "Finally" signals the train as the ending event that follows it.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. At the zoo, you buy a ticket before you can see the animals.
Zoos check tickets at the gate, so buying one must happen "before" you step inside to see any animals.
2. The word 'next' tells us the event that comes right after another.
"Next" always points the reader forward by one step — whatever the word is attached to is the very thing that follows immediately.
3. The ending of a zoo trip story is where the family goes home.
Most trips wrap up with the ride back to where you started, so the family heading "home" is the natural ending of a zoo visit story.
4. Sequence words help us retell events from start to finish.
Sequence words mark every step along the way from "start" to finish, guiding a retelling just like signs guide a driver.
5. The signal word 'after' tells the reader something happened later in time.
"After" and "later" both point forward in time, showing an event that happened at a moment past the earlier one.