Sequencing Events: Put Things in Order on a Timeline!

When you sequence events, you put them in the order they happened. You can use a timeline to show this order. A timeline is a line that shows events from the earliest to the most recent. You can learn about Personal Timelines to see how this works in your own life.

Timelines are read from left to right, just like a book. The event that happened first goes on the left side. The most recent event goes on the right side.

You use special words to help put events in order. These words tell you where an event belongs on a timeline.

• First tells you the beginning of a sequence.
• Next tells you what happened in the middle.
• Last tells you the end of the sequence.
• Before means something happened earlier than another event.
• After means something happened later than another event.
• Long ago means something happened far back in the past.
• Now tells you where we are on the timeline today.

For example: Anika planted a seed. Then it grew into a sprout. Then it became a tall flower. The seed was planted first, the sprout came next, and the flower came last.

Timeline: A timeline is a tool you use to show events in the order they happened, from the earliest to the most recent. It is drawn as a long line you read from left to right.

Sequencing: Sequencing means putting events in the correct order first, next, and last.

Event: An event is something that happens, like a harvest festival, a parade, or your first day of school.

First: First tells you the very beginning of a sequence the thing that happened before everything else.

Next: Next tells you what happened after the first thing but before the last thing. It is the middle of the sequence.

Last: Last tells you the final event in a sequence the thing that happened most recently or at the end.

Before: Before means something happened earlier than another event. On a timeline, it is further to the left.

After: After means something happened later than another event. On a timeline, it is further to the right.

Long ago: Long ago means something happened far back in the past, before you were born. On a timeline, it goes near the very beginning on the left.

Now: Now means the present where we are on the timeline today.

When you add an event to a timeline, you must think about when it happened. Events that happened longer ago go further to the left. Events that happened more recently go further to the right.

For example, Indigenous peoples like the Anishinaabe lived in Canada long before settlers arrived. That event goes near the very beginning of a Canadian history timeline, far to the left. Canada became a country in 1867. Your school was built more recently. So your school goes further to the right than Canada's Parliament Buildings.

You can also make a timeline of your own life. The very first event on your personal timeline is always the day you were born. Starting school, learning to ride a bike, and getting a pet all come after that. You can explore Personal Milestones to find important events for your own timeline.

Try putting these events in order: A class in Manitoba plants seeds, waters the plants, then harvests the crops. What comes first? Planting the seeds! What comes next? Watering the plants. What comes last? Harvesting the crops.

You can also sequence the seasons. In Canada, the seasons go: winter, spring, summer, then autumn. After winter comes spring. After summer comes autumn. You can practice this with a Changes in Community Life timeline too.

Remember: when you put events in the correct order, you can understand what happened and when it happened. If events are mixed up, the timeline would be confusing.

You have already learned about Personal Timelines and Personal Milestones. You also know about Family Changes and Family Stories. These topics helped you understand how events happen in a certain order in your life and your family's life.

You have also explored Then and Now Comparisons and Generational Changes, which show you how things looked in the past compared to today. Family Artifacts and Canadian Heritage, Immigration, First Peoples Histories, and Family Narratives also help you find events to place on a timeline. Childhood Milestones, Life Changes, School, New Job, and Family Growth gives you even more examples of events you can sequence.

Sequencing events connects to many other topics you will explore. When you learn about Family and Community History, you put community events in order on a timeline. When you study Changes in Community Life, you see how communities changed over time from first to last.

You will also connect sequencing to How Communities Change and How Roles Change Over Time. These topics show you that change always happens in a sequence. Community Development, Founding, Business Changes, and Construction Milestones and Population Shifts, Growth and Decline in Communities give you real community events to place on timelines.

You will use sequencing when you study First Peoples History and Coming to the Community. When you learn about Using Historical Sources and Understanding Evidence, you will use timelines to organize what you find. All of this prepares you for Changes in Daily Life, where you will sequence how everyday life has changed over time.