This looks easy for second grade. Why use it?

Because the reading load is gone, the thinking is visible. Ask for the retelling afterwards in full sentences with first, next, then and last, and it becomes a speaking and writing task at grade level.

What comes after this?

The sequencing passage sheets, where the events are in the text rather than in pictures, and the narrative sequencing words sheets, which practise first, next, then and finally in writing.

2nd grade picture sequencing

2nd grade picture sequencing worksheets

By second grade sequencing is about story structure: how a beginning sets something up and an ending finishes it. These sheets keep that thinking without the reading load. Two picture stories print out of order, the child numbers the panels, and then retells each one aloud in the order they numbered.

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core RL.2.5.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of stories you'll get

Look at all the pictures in a row. Write a number in each box so the story goes in order, starting with 1.

brushing teeth, step 1
brushing teeth, step 2
brushing teeth, step 3
brushing teeth, step 4

Each print draws two wordless stories from the picture bank and shuffles their panels, so the row is never already in order. Under every panel is a box for the number; the key shows each story in the order it happens.

Every print pulls a new set of picture stories at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 2nd grade sheet

Story order. Look at all the pictures in a row. Write a number in each box so the story goes in order, starting with 1. 2 stories per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

After the numbers are in, ask for the story back in order in full sentences. That retelling is what the second-grade standard is really after, and it shows whether the ordering was reasoning or a lucky guess. A child who can explain why one picture has to come before another has it.

Watch for: Numbering straight across. A child who writes 1, 2, 3, 4 left to right has put the page in order, not the story. Cover the boxes, sort the pictures out loud first, then write. Reading each picture on its own. The panels only mean something together. Ask what changed between two of them: what got bigger, what moved, what is gone. Starting at the end. Some children spot the finished cake or the open flower and number it 1 because it is the best picture. Ask which one could not have happened yet.

Common questions about 2nd grade picture sequencing

This looks easy for second grade. Why use it?: Because the reading load is gone, the thinking is visible. Ask for the retelling afterwards in full sentences with first, next, then and last, and it becomes a speaking and writing task at grade level.
What comes after this?: The sequencing passage sheets, where the events are in the text rather than in pictures, and the narrative sequencing words sheets, which practise first, next, then and finally in writing.

Related worksheets

Ready to print one?

Need a fresh set of picture stories? Download another copy.

Aligned to Common Core RL.2.5. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

Spot a mistake on this sheet? Tell us. · About these worksheets