70
Sequencing:
i
Toolbox
A Strategy
St t
Reading Comprehension
Adapted from ReadWriteThink lesson plan “Sequencing:
A Strategy to Succeed at Reading Comprehension” by Lisa Leliaert
In this lesson, middle
elementary students listen to
a reading of the story of Paul
Bunyan and discuss the
beginning, middle, and end
events in the story. Students
work together to put these
events in sequential order
on a timeline.
Preparation
The teacher reads and becomes
familiar with Paul Bunyan, A Tall
Tale by Steven Kellogg. Paul
Bunyan is a tall tale about a baby
who grows up to be a man of
extraordinary size and strength.
He uses these abilities in unusual
ways, such as wrestling bears and
digging lakes. Before beginning
the lesson with students, the
teacher needs chart paper for
recording student responses
during the group discussion of
the book and the Paul Bunyan
website (www.paulbunyantrail.
com/talltale.html). The teacher
also hangs butcher paper on an
empty wall to create a strip of
paper long enough for students to
each have room to stand in front
of the paper in a line for the
timeline. (The paper can be cut
in half lengthwise to create a
longer segment out of two
narrower pieces.)
Session 1: Introduce
Paul Bunyan
The teacher begins by asking the
students questions to see what
they know about tall tales. The
teacher can ask questions such
as, “Have you ever read any
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tto S
Succeed at
tall tales?” and “Why do you
think these stories are called
tall tales?” The teacher
discusses this genre of stories
with the class so that they are
aware that tall tales are filled
with exaggeration.
Then the teacher introduces
Paul Bunyan by showing examples
of illustrations from the Paul
Bunyan: The Giant Lumberjack
website (www.paulbunyantrail.
com/talltale.html) with a computer
or smartboard. The teacher uses
the website to page through a
series of vignettes about Paul
Bunyan and his adventures from
birth to adulthood.
After perusing the website with
students, the teacher reads Paul
Bunyan, A Tall Tale to the class.
During the read-aloud, the
teacher guides the students to
focus on the events that take
place in the story and the order in
which they occur. After reading
the story, the teacher has students
recall events that happened in the
story and records the students’
answers on the chart paper. The
teacher continues this process so
the students can refer back to it in
session two.
Session Two: Creating
the Timeline of Events
Using the chart paper and list of
events from the story created in
the first session, the teacher has
each student or pairs of students
select a particular event. Then the
teacher introduces the concept of
sequencing in a story to the class
and explains that this is a strategy
that they are going to use to
understand what they have read.
Issue 1 pp. 70–71 DOI:10.1002/TRTR.1184
The teacher informs the students
that they are going to build a
“human” timeline to review the
sequence of events in the story of
Paul Bunyan.
In order to do this, the teacher
gives each student or pair of
students a blank sheet of plain
white paper, and the students
work together to write one
complete sentence describing
an event from the story. After
the students finish writing their
sentences, the teacher gives
them time to draw illustrations
of the scenes in which the
events took place, about 10–15
minutes.
The teacher begins the
timeline process by calling the
student pairs up and having the
class decide which part of the
story their sentence falls into,
giving them the choice of
beginning, middle, or end.
The teacher creates three new
groups based on these decisions
and in each group the students
work together to decide the
sequence of events within their
section (Beginning, middle, or
end). When the group has a
tentative order, the teacher has
them sit in a line in their
sequence of events order from
beginning to end. The beginning,
middle, and end groups then
stand and share their sentences
and their drawings with the
class. If the class and teacher
notice any mistakes in the time
lines, the class may
make changes to the location
of the students along the
human timeline.
(continued)
© 2013 International Reading Association
8/8/2013 1:29:12 PM
 71

Toolbox
Sequencing:
i A Strategy
S to SSucceed at
Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension (continued)
Adapted from ReadWriteThink lesson plan “Sequencing:
A Strategy to Succeed at Reading Comprehension” by Lisa Leliaert
When the class has decided on sequencing is and how it helps them of Paul Bunyan as he
a sequence for the events, the understand what they read in the experiences his adventures.
teacher has each student (or story. Some answers might be Blank maps are available
student pair) attach his or her “Sequencing is the order that all the at NationalAtlas.gov
drawing to the chart paper things happen in a story” and (nationalatlas.gov/printable/
images/pdf/outline/states(u).pdf)
timeline hanging on the wall “Knowing how to sequence a story
■ Have students individually
using glue or a stapler. helps me to understand the story
read and discuss the sequence
To finish the lesson, the teacher because then I know what happens
of other stories and present
numbers the pictures and sentences in the beginning, middle, and end
their  picture timelines to the
representing the sequence of events of the story.” class.
in Paul Bunyan, A Tall Tale and the ■ For younger students, choose
class reads their timeline together. Extensions a shorter story or nursery
The teacher then asks students to ■ On a blank map of the rhyme to sequence and create
explain to their neighbor what United States, trace the trail a picture timeline.

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