Unlocking language and thinking skills: The power of sequencing
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Unlocking language and thinking skills: The power of sequencing

Sonja demonstrates the power of sequencing

As speech and language therapists, we often use a variety of techniques to help children develop their communication and cognitive skills. One incredibly valuable tool in our toolkit is the use of sequencing activities. But what exactly is sequencing, and why is it so beneficial?

What is sequencing?

Sequencing, at its core, involves arranging items, events, or actions in a specific order. This could involve putting pictures in the correct order to tell a story, following the steps in a recipe, or understanding the order of daily routines like brushing teeth or getting dressed.

The link between sequencing and language

Sequencing is fundamental to language development and is quintessential to executive functioning skills in several ways:

  • Narrative skills: Storytelling, whether oral or written, relies heavily on sequencing. A child needs to understand the order of events (beginning, middle, end) to construct a coherent narrative.
  • Explanations and instructions: Providing clear explanations or instructions requires the ability to sequence information logically. For example, explaining how to play a game or how to get from one place to another. In the video clip below we are working on ‘how do make a sandwich’.
  • Vocabulary development: Sequencing helps children understand temporal words and phrases like ‘first,’ ‘then,’ ‘next,’ ‘before,’ and ‘after’.
  • Sentence structure: Constructing grammatically correct sentences often involves sequencing words in a specific order (e.g., subject-verb-object).

Beyond language, sequencing plays a crucial role in developing executive functioning skills. These are higher-level cognitive skills that help us plan, organise, and manage our time and actions.

Sequencing activities can help children improve in the following areas:

  • Planning and organisation: Sequencing tasks require children to think ahead, plan the steps involved, and organise them in a logical order.
  • Problem-solving: When they are faced with a problem, sequencing helps children break it down into smaller, more manageable steps.
  • Working memory: Holding information in mind and manipulating it, such as remembering the steps in a multi-step direction, is supported by sequencing skills.
  • Cognitive flexibility: Being able to adjust to changes in a sequence or think of alternative sequences promotes cognitive flexibility.

Examples of sequencing activities

Here are some practical examples of sequencing activities you can do with your child:

  • Picture sequencing: Use a set of picture cards to tell a short story or illustrate a process (e.g., making a sandwich, going to the park). Ask your child to arrange the cards in the correct order.
  • Story retelling: After reading a story, have your child retell it, focusing on the order of events.
  • Following instructions: Give your child multi-step instructions to follow (e.g., ‘First, get your shoes. Then, put on your coat. Next, go to the door.’).
  • Sequencing during play: Integrate sequencing into everyday play. For example, while building with blocks, talk about the steps: ‘First, we put this block here. Next, we add this one…’
  • Daily routines: Create visual schedules for daily routines, like getting ready for school or bedtime, to help children understand the sequence of events.
  • In the video clip below I am using an on-line language activity which is often fun for children as they can use their finger to swipe the pictures effortlessly into the right place and, if we realise at the end of the story that we have made a little error, we can then easily re-jig the pictures into their correct place.

In conclusion

Sequencing activities offer a powerful way to support children’s language development and enhance their executive functioning skills. By helping children understand and create order, we equip them with essential tools for communicating, learning, and navigating the world around them.

Do get in touch via my contact form if you are concerned about your child’s development.

Sonja McGeachie

Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist

Owner of The London Speech and Feeding Practice.


Health Professions Council registered
Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists Member
Member of ASLTIP

Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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practise speech targets

How can we help practise speech targets with our children during the day, without it being an “extra tedious ask”?

Image by Freepik

Say, your child replaces the ‘f’ sound with a ‘p’ so they say PAN when they mean FAN or POUR when they mean FOUR. Now after one or two therapy sessions we have managed to get your child to “bite your lip and blow” and we are seeing a little ‘f’ sound right there! Result! But now we need to practise this so it becomes a habit, so that we can start building up some little words like FAN and FUR and FAR or FOUR….

Now, for older children, let’s say over 6 years old, we might just get away with saying: ‘darling come and sit down now and do your speech practice quickly before you go and play.’ But for the little ones, under 5 years old, it is often necessary to “package” the practice within daily activities.

Daily activities

So, our goal might be: produce an ‘f’ about 50 times a day. You might think: ‘oh gosh, I won’t be able to do that, it’s too much’, but wait! It can actually be done as part of your daily activities.

Here are some little examples and you will be able to think of some more for sure.

Morning

Before brushing teeth look into the mirror together and say ‘let’s practise our “bunny sound” quickly: bite your lip and blow: FFF FFF FFF FFF FFF FFF FFFF’. Look in the mirror, get as many done here as possible, 10-15, RESULT! Now brush teeth and done.

Mid-morning snack

A … muffin? Pop a little birthday candle on it and say: ‘let’s practice our Bunny Sound here quickly: bite your lip and blow and try and blow out this candle.’ FFF FFF FFF FFF FFF (you might have to re-light it a few times). Do 10-15, now eat the cake, done!

Play

Pretend to fly an aeroplane and say: “’oh look, I can make the ‘bunny sound’ and make a noise at the same time VVV VVV VVV VVV VVV. That’s cool, let’s try. Ten times?’

Lunch

‘Oh, that soup is a bit hot, let’s blow it, let’s do it with our “bunny sound”: FFF FFF FFF.’ Do ten and by now you have done most if not all of your repeats.

Book time

Select a book with a lot of ‘f’ sounds it in or a book with bunnies (your Speech Therapist will make suggestions). Read the book together with your child and each time there is a bunny or a fish practise the FFF FFF FFF FFF.

By now you will probably have exceeded your target of 50 times FFFs a day!!

Story telling

Now for something different like “Story Telling”: your child’s goal might be: “to talk about what’s first, then, next and finally”.

Examples:

Tooth brushing

Ask your child to think about what is first, what’s next and then last before you start brushing teeth.

Meal times

Talk about what did we eat the other day at Nando’s? ‘First, I had xxx then I had xxx. What about you?’ Or as you are about to lay the table: ‘what do we need to do first, then and then?’

Dressing

Pretend to be an alien who does not know what to do first, get it all wrong and have a laugh… ‘oh I think those underpants must go on my head?!’ Etc

Play time

Use figurines with farms or Lego houses or Playmobil and help your child make up simple little stories using first, then next and last.

Books

Share a book with a clear start, middle and finish and talk about the characters, who does what, who is first, then and then and finally.

At the end of each session with your child we will talk about what the targets for the week will be and together we can think about how you can incorporate your practice easily into your daily life, no matter how busy you are!

Be sure to bring this up next time you have your session, so that we can figure out together what will work for you and your daily schedules.

Together we can make it happen!

Sonja


Find a speech and language therapist for your child in London. Are you concerned about your child’s speech, feeding or communication skills and don’t know where to turn? Please contact me and we can discuss how I can help you or visit my services page.

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