Reception Maths: The order of things

Method. Look at the order of the events.

1. Look at the list. Find the first thing.
   wake up, breakfast, school
2. Find the start. Wake up happens before everything else.
   wake up
3. Write the answer.
   Wake up

Check. Read the order: wake up, then breakfast, then school. ✓

Watch out. First is the start.

Method. Look at the order of the events.

1. Look at the list. Find the last thing.
   wake up, breakfast, school
2. Find the end. School happens after breakfast.
   school
3. Write the answer.
   School

Check. Read the order again: school is the last. ✓

Watch out. Last is at the end.

Method. Think about which thing happens first, and which happens last.

1. Find the first thing. It happens first in the day.
   Wake up
2. Put the rest in order. Each thing happens after the one before.
   Wake up then Breakfast then Bed
3. Write the answer.
   Wake up then Breakfast then Bed

Check. Read the order aloud: Wake up then Breakfast then Bed. ✓

Watch out. Think about what happens first in the day.

Method. Think about which thing happens first, and which happens last.

1. Find the first thing. It happens first in the day.
   Having tea
2. Put the rest in order. Each thing happens after the one before.
   Having tea then Having a bath then Going to bed
3. Write the answer.
   Having tea then Having a bath then Going to bed

Check. Read the order aloud: Having tea then Having a bath then Going to bed. ✓

Watch out. Think about what happens first in the day.

Method. Find breakfast in the order. Then look at the next thing.

1. Find breakfast. Breakfast is the second thing.
   breakfast
2. Look at the next thing. School comes next.
   school
3. Write the answer.
   School

Check. Read: breakfast, then school. ✓

Watch out. After means later.

Method. Find breakfast in the order. Then look at the thing before it.

1. Find breakfast. Breakfast is the second thing.
   breakfast
2. Look at the thing before. Wake up comes before breakfast.
   wake up
3. Write the answer.
   Wake up

Check. Read: wake up, then breakfast. ✓

Watch out. Before means earlier.

Method. Look for the last thing in the list.

1. Read the order. First washes, then eats, then tidies.
   wash, eat, tidy
2. Find the last thing. Tidy up is last.
   tidy up
3. Write the answer.
   Tidies up

Check. Read the order: wash, eat, tidy up. ✓

Watch out. The last thing in the list is last in time.

Method. Think about the start and the end of the day.

1. Think about the morning. You wake up in the morning.
   morning
2. Think about the night. You go to bed at night, later in the day.
   night
3. Write the answer. Waking up happens first, so it is earlier.
   Waking up

Check. Morning comes before night. ✓

Watch out. Earlier means before.

Method. Read the words: before and after.

1. Read the sentence. Tea comes first, so the bath is later.
   tea first
2. Find the bath. The bath comes after tea.
   bath after tea
3. Write the answer.
   After tea

Check. Read the order: tea, then bath. ✓

Watch out. After means later.

Method. Think about the order of the day.

1. Think about school. School is in the day.
   day
2. Think about bed. Bed is at night.
   night
3. Write the answer.
   No. He goes to school in the morning, before he goes to bed at night.

Check. Morning, school, then bed at night. ✓

Watch out. Put the day in order from start to end.

Method. Choose three things and put them in the order you do them.

1. Choose three things. Think about your day.
   three things
2. Put them in order. Say what happens first, next and last.
   first, next, last
3. Write the answer.
   Accept any list of three things in order, with the first one named.

Check. Read your list in order. ✓

Watch out. Use first, next and last.