Math // Measurement

Ordering Events in Time

Sequence events in chronological order using language such as before, after, next, first, today, yesterday, tomorrow, morning, afternoon, evening

Ages
4 to 6
Type
Language
Builds on
0 topics
Leads to
1 topic
Standards
1 code

Quick check

If you ask the learner to describe what happened this morning in order, can they use words like "first", "then", "after that" — putting breakfast before leaving for school?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Order three daily events using 'first', 'next', 'last'
  • Use 'yesterday', 'today', 'tomorrow' correctly
  • Describe an event as happening in the 'morning' or 'afternoon'

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

0 topics

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Ordering Events in Time

Ages 4 to 6 // Language

Leads to

1 topic
  • Days, Weeks, Months & YearsRequired

    Measurement // Ages 5 to 6

    Understanding days/months/years builds on sequencing events chronologically

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

For children aged 4-6, learning to order events in time and USE relational time language — first/next/last, before/after, the deictic terms today/yesterday/tomorrow, and morning/afternoon/evening. The hardest parts are the deictic terms (whose referent shifts as 'now' moves — tomorrow becomes today the next day) and the relational before/after. These are learned by talking through the daily routine, retelling sequences and stories, and anchoring words to concrete remembered and anticipated events — not by asking children to define words. Research describes deictic time words as acquired slowly and partially, so early slips are best treated as developmental rather than errors to drill.

Common misconceptions

  • Swaps yesterday and tomorrow (both used loosely for 'a day that isn't today')
  • Reverses before/after, or uses 'next' for the last thing
  • Ties morning/afternoon to particular activities rather than the time of day
  • Sequences by salience (the most exciting event first) rather than chronology

Useful representations

  • A visual daily-timeline / sequence strip of routine events
  • Story-sequencing picture cards
  • A yesterday–today–tomorrow three-day strip with a moveable 'today' marker

Teaching practices

  • Anchor in the child's own daily routine and shared class events, with a visual timeline of the day
  • Use the words in live narration ('first we…, next we…, after lunch we…') and in story retelling
  • Tie yesterday/today/tomorrow to concrete markers — what we DID and what we WILL do
  • Teach by modelling and eliciting USE, never by asking children to define the words
  • Revisit the terms daily so the shifting deictic meaning is rehearsed in context

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Order the day and slide the 'today' marker

    Why it works: Yesterday and tomorrow are not interchangeable words for 'a day that isn't today' — they name a definite place relative to where 'now' sits, and they re-point as 'today' moves. Sequencing follows real chronology, not how exciting an event is.

    1. Put pictures of the day's events — wake up, breakfast, school, bed — into chronological order.
    2. Narrate the ordered sequence aloud using 'first… next… last' (e.g. 'first we wake up, next we have breakfast, last we go to bed').
    3. The same drag-to-order can be used with story-sequencing picture cards: retell a familiar story in order, not only the daily routine, narrating it with first/next/last.
    4. On a scrolling strip of consecutive days with a moveable 'today' marker (e.g. Tuesday–Wednesday–Thursday), start with 'today' on the MIDDLE day so both neighbours are visible, and say what happened yesterday (the day before) and what will happen tomorrow (the day after).
    5. Slide the view forward one day, keeping 'today' on the middle slot: the day that was 'tomorrow' is now 'today', the day that was 'today' is now 'yesterday', the oldest day slides off and a new day comes into view ahead, so all three relative labels stay represented and keep re-pointing.
  2. 2

    Talk through your day with a character

    Why it works: Time words are tools for talking about real, remembered and anticipated events — using them in authentic exchange is the goal, not reciting definitions.

    1. Listen to a friendly character recount their own day in simple, concrete terms.
    2. Tell the character what you did first and next in your own day.
    3. Answer what you did yesterday and what you will do tomorrow, tied to real events you remember or expect.
    4. Use 'morning' and 'afternoon' to say when something happened.
  3. 3

    Name the parts of the day (naming scaffold)

    Why it works: The day has named parts tied to the time of day, not to which single activity happens.

    1. Tap parts of a daily-timeline picture to reveal labels — morning, afternoon, evening.
    2. Match everyday activities to the time of day they usually happen.
    3. Say when each shown activity happens using 'morning', 'afternoon' or 'evening'.

Topic // Standards

Curriculum standards

Codes for the curriculum statements this topic maps to. Each publisher owns its standard text.
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document
Maths/Y1/M/10

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