A selection of English ESL 'sequencing' printables

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

Using the past simple tense, the students are required to write one or two sentences to describe what is happening in each picture. The teacher may guide the students based on the work the students produce and repeat the exercise with further guidance. 

Past Simple Sequence of Events

Using the present simple tense, the students are required to write one or two sentences to describe what is happening in each picture. The teacher may guide the students based on the work the students produce and repeat the exercise with further guidance. 

Present Simple Sequence of Events

Sequence worksheet to cut and paste in order kids hear in the song. the images are not in the original order so kids have to recognize and re order the actions of the song and then stick them in the chart provided. 

Head, shoulders, knees and toes sequence 

Critical thinking exercise which can also be used as the basis for conversation or a classroom discussion. Suitable for group work as well. REMARK: THE PREVIEW OF THIS HANDWRITTEN WORKSHEET LOOKS A BIT UNTIDY, BUT ONCE YOU DOWNLOAD AND PRINT THE QUALITY IS ACCEPTABLE. No correct answers provided; anything goes. Insist on creativity!

Read And Complete - Complete the Sequence

All the directions are on the handout. So, this is a clip of the final scene of the classic Audrey Hepburn film, " Breakfast at Tiffany's". It's great for American casual speech and slang as well as showing emotions because it is a break up scene but also a proposal/ make up scene. This is for upper intermediate to advanced students and is meant for a listening and speaking class. I used it with international students from Japan, and had a long discussion about how we express our emotions beforehand. However, if you want you don't have to do an emotions conversation you can focus on relationship roles in the 1950s and 1960s or you can focus on the cinematography.

Breakfast at Tiffany's Clip Sequencing & Comprehension

These are in order. Cut them into strips and shuffle them.  Have the learners rearrange them in correct sequence.

Extend: See if they can change each sentence to the past tense.

Sequencing Exercise for Candy Contraband Video

This Daily Routine Sequencing and Writing Worksheet is designed for intermediate ESL students to practise organising daily activities in a logical order and improve their written English. By numbering events like waking up, brushing teeth, and going to school, students enhance their understanding of sequencing and time-related expressions. The second section asks students to write about their own routines using phrases such as “in the morning,” “after that,” and “then.” Perfect for building fluency and confidence, this worksheet is ideal for individual practice, pair work, or classroom discussions. An answer key is provided to support educators. Created by PrimaryLeap

Daily Routine Sequencing and Writing Worksheet

Read the sentences and match them to the pictures. Then, put them in order for what happens at Christmas. Pre-teaching of vocab for reindeer, elves, sleigh, chimney, etc. required. UK culture focused - you may want to change the food and drink words.

Father Christmas sequencing and picture matching

This worksheet gives practice of the present tense. They have to read the sentences in the boxes and match with the pictures. Then, they decide the order of events. There are also some questions. A full key is included. 

Sequencing activity: Tom and his messy bedroom.

Worksheets Alphabet for Kindergarten

Complete sequence of letters

winter theme

The children have to write the missing letters in the row

This is a great resources for PreK or kindergarten or children who still struggle with their letters. 

Free Alphabet Uppercase Lowercase Winter Complete Sequence

Two sequences of pictures that can be used to generate a story among students.  Can be used to practise grammar, generate writing idea, or simply encourage speaking.

Using a sequence of pictures to make a story

This is not an original; it's a game a learnt from my grandmother and has provided hours of hilarity since! I now use it with my students to practice narrative structure, sequencing, and reported speech.



Here's how it works: Each student is given a copy of the w/s. They secretly write down the name of a famous man and then fold the paper over so that the 'Met' is showing. They pass the paper on clockwise and, with their 'new' sheet they write the name of a famous woman, fold it over so that 'At' is showing, and pass it on again clockwise. Do this until all the fields are completed... then pass it on one more time and each person takes a turn to read the narrative they're holidng!



Once you have the concept down pat you don't need to use the worksheet any more.



I have included an example on the second page.



I hope you enjoy it - in your classroom or at your next dinner party/ family gathering!

36 'sequencing' English ESL worksheets pdf & doc