Learning how to read and comprehend text is a big part of elementary school. While there are many ways to help students comprehend a text, one of my favorites is using visuals to sequence stories. Why do I love this and how do I do it? Keep reading to learn more!
Why use Visuals to Sequence Stories
Visuals are an essential in the elementary classroom. Because students can’t all read, it’s important that we relay information in some way and visuals are a universal language. Because we use these tools around the classroom for classroom expectations, organization, and more, we can also use them to help comprehend stories. Using visuals to sequence stories is a universal way to see if students can do that all important skill: sequencing.
Teaching Sequencing in Kindergarten
You have a very important job in kindergarten, teaching students to read AND understand a text. When students are first learning how to understand a text, it’s simple to start with what happened first, second, third, fourth, and last. You can help students show their understanding of a story by using Visual Sequencing Activities. . This bundle includes a variety of reading passages for every season! You can use these throughout the school year and your students will soar!
Creating Fluency with Visual Sequencing Stories in Elementary
While sequencing is great for comprehension, it can also help with fluency. When you use Every Day Visual Sequencing Activities, your students will already have an understanding of what happens in what order. Because they have this understanding, decoding the words will become much easier for them because the sequence is predictable.
How to Use Visual Sequencing Stories
Using visuals for sequencing is great. However, it can be hard to decide where and how to use them in your classroom. The good news is, activities like these are incredibly versatile. You can use visual sequencing stories in the following ways:
- Morning Motivation
- Whole Group Activities
- Center Activities
Using Visual Sequencing for Morning Motivation
One way you can use visual sequencing activities in elementary is as a morning motivator. Having a routine that is something students can always depend on can be incredibly helpful when it comes to classroom management. So, go ahead and pull out your Fall Sequencing Story activities and Winter Sequencing Activities to get students into the mindset of reading and sequencing before you start your lesson all year. This will help students get extra practice which creates stronger comprehension and fluency skills.
Whole Group Instruction with Visual Sequencing
Visual sequencing can be tricky for students to understand at first. That’s why using whole group instruction to start can be helpful. Doing this helps you with the idea of gradual release. Gradual release is when you teach and work with students and then slowly give them more control and responsibility for doing activities on their own.
Visual Sequencing Activities in Centers
When your students are ready to do visual sequencing events on their own, it’s a great time to introduce them into centers. Anything that you put into your centers should always be for enrichment and review. Therefore, if you’ve done the whole group and morning work with sequencing, your students will be ready to do work on their own. You can do this throughout the school year and even pull out special activities like this Halloween Visual Sequencing Story.
Using visuals throughout your classroom for a variety of reasons is always a great idea for ensuring students have cues to remember your expectations. However, visuals can be used beyond simple classroom decor with rules. It can be used to help students increase their comprehension and fluency skills through the use of visual sequencing activities. Check out all the resources we have in the blog and watch your students transform into super readers.
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