Draw the Steps: Everyday Routines
Temporal sequencing of familiar routines, drawn in order and then narrated.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Draw all three before asking for any narration. If the child tells you each step as they draw it, the retelling at the end becomes a repetition rather than a recall, and the recall is the target. Point at the pictures in order the first time and then cover them, which is the step that moves this from a supported task to an independent one. Twelve minutes covers one routine with the retell.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- Question promptAsk a story-grammar question: who, where, what was the problem, what happened next?Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two possible next parts of the story and let the student pick and say it.Log as cued
- ModelTell that part yourself; the student tells it back in their own words.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer parts, and keep a first-next-last visual on the table.
Ask for the retell without the pictures, with a feeling or a reason added to each part.
Matching IEP goal
Given a picture or story prompt, Student will put events in order and retell them using first, next, then and last in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than one question prompt.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight drawing tasks that build a sequence and then ask for it back: draw step one of brushing your teeth, then step two, then the last step, and now tell me all the steps in order. The same shape repeats for the school day and for making a sandwich, ending with getting ready for bed using first, then, after that and finally. Drawing the steps holds the sequence still while the child finds the words.
What to listen for
Listen for temporal connectives appearing. A retell that is just three sentences in order is correct and unmarked; first, then and finally are what a teacher will ask for. Watch for steps in the wrong order, which is different from missing connectives — sequencing and language are separate problems here, and the drawings make it obvious which one you are looking at.
Carrying it home
Any routine at home is a sequence: getting dressed, feeding a pet, packing a bag. Asking the child to tell you the steps before doing it takes thirty seconds and rehearses the same structure.
What's in this activity
- Draw STEP 1 of brushing your teeth.
- Draw STEP 2 of brushing your teeth.
- Draw the LAST step. Now tell me all the steps in order.
- Draw the first thing you do when you get to school.
- Draw what you do next.
- Draw the last thing you do before you go home.
- Draw three steps for making a sandwich, left to right. Tell me each one.
- Draw how you get ready for bed, in order. Use 'first', 'then', 'after that' and 'finally'.
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Kindergarten through second grade, where temporal sequencing is an early narrative skill.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all eight tasks play with no account.
- My student draws well but can't tell the steps back. What now?
- Cover the drawings and give the connectives as a prompt — first, then, finally — one at a time. The pictures may be doing the remembering, and removing them shows what the language is carrying.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.