Everything in its Place, by Elizabeth Swartz

Activities and a reproducible for teaching the basic skill of putting things in order

The ability to put things in order is a skill that we need throughout our lives. Mathematics and science are perfect places to find examples of the importance of order. Long division and algebra cannot be correctly done if attempted out of order. A science experiment will fail if done any old way. Even an art project may be affected by order – results could differ greatly if pottery is fired before it's molded!

Putting things in order becomes the beginning stages of outlining for young students. For older students, it becomes a habit on which they can rely. Let's talk about some ways to introduce and reinforce this foundational skill.

Let your fingers do the walking.
Students are expected to practice alphabetical order and sequential story order, but do they always know why? An easy way to bring this home to young students is to give out a collection of old phone books. I write on the board a list of businesses for which I need numbers. Before frustration sets in, I explain the order and the guide words. After that, we list five spelling words on the board and put them in alphabetical order together.

Follow the directions.
The sequence of events in a story is something we practice and test. Why? Students must understand that the order of events often explains how or why something happened. For a fun way to show the class how important order is, try putting together a cardboard file box without consulting the directions. There will be flaps left over! Or put together a fruit salad without following a recipe (i.e., without draining the juice from canned fruit before adding it to the salad) and see if order matters.

Using the reproducible.
I hope you'll use the reproducible at different times and in different ways. You can have students put items in order in the tops of the boxes and then write an explanation below about the order that was chosen. Young children can put words in alphabetical order to make it easier to find them in a dictionary. Older students can put steps in order to make an experiment a success.

The steps for a research project can be listed in the tops of the boxes at the beginning of the project, checked as the project proceeds and perhaps rearranged after the project is completed. Any change should be explained. What did the students learn that caused them to change the order of the steps? Why does the order make more sense this way?

Order matters a great deal, even in our classrooms. The things we do first will set the tone for the entire year. I'm going to walk into my room smiling. I hope you do too!

For the reproducible click here. PDF 28KB

Elizabeth Swartz is librarian at Watsontown Elementary School and Turbotville Elementary School in PA.