What Comes Next? Teaching Sequencing by Making a Pizza
Sequencing can be a surprisingly difficult skill.
We might look at a familiar activity like making a pizza and automatically understand what needs to happen first, what comes next, and what would happen if we attempted to add cheese before spreading the sauce.
Young children do not always see those connections yet.
For autistic children and other early learners, simply remembering all the steps can be difficult. The child may also understand the individual actions—spread, sprinkle, cut, and eat—without understanding the order in which they need to happen.
Making a pizza is a fun and concrete way to practice this skill. Children can look at the steps, arrange them in order, and then follow the same sequence while making a paper, pretend, or edible pizza.
Table of Contents
Why Is Sequencing Important?
Sequencing is understanding that actions and events happen in a particular order.
Children use this skill throughout the day. They need it when getting dressed, washing their hands, preparing a snack, completing classroom work, and following a daily schedule.
Sequencing also supports language and comprehension. When children understand order, they are better able to answer questions such as:
What happened first?
What came next?
What happened at the end?
What do you need to do before you add the cheese?
What happens after the pizza is cooked?
However, these questions can be very abstract when they are only discussed in a book or shown on a worksheet.
Connecting the pictures to an activity the child can actually perform makes the sequence more meaningful. Picture sequences can be used as small activity schedules, showing a child each step of a routine instead of only showing the activities planned for the entire day. If visual schedules are new to you, you can read more about using picture schedules to promote independence in daily routines.
Why Use a Pizza-Making Activity?
Pizza works especially well for teaching sequencing because the steps are easy to see.
You start with the crust. You spread on the sauce. You add the cheese and toppings. Then you cook, cut, and serve the pizza.
There is also room for flexibility. Children can make a real pizza, assemble one from paper pieces, or pretend to prepare one in a dramatic-play pizza shop.
Not every child will like or eat pizza, and that is okay. Eating the finished food does not need to be the goal. A child can still practice sequencing by making a pizza for a teacher, family member, stuffed animal, or pretend restaurant customer.
Begin With an Adapted Book
Before completing the sequencing activity, introduce the steps through an adapted book.
An adapted book gives children an active role in the reading experience. Instead of only listening, they can find, match, point to, or attach pizza pieces as each step is introduced.
While reading, pause to talk about the pictures:
What are they making?
What ingredient do they need?
What did they put on the pizza first?
What should they add next?
Is the pizza ready to eat yet?
You do not need to ask every question on every page. Choose questions that fit the child’s current communication and comprehension skills.
Some children may answer verbally. Others may point to a picture, select from two choices, use an AAC device, or place the correct piece on the page. All of these responses allow the child to participate.
Pictures can support both understanding and participation, especially for children who do not consistently answer with spoken language. For more ideas, see How to Use Picture Cards to Support Nonverbal and Minimally Verbal Children.
Put the Pizza-Making Steps in Order
After reading the book, show the child pictures of the pizza-making steps.
Begin with only two or three steps if sequencing is new. For example:
Spread the sauce.
Add the cheese.
Add the toppings.
Look at each picture together and briefly describe what is happening. Then ask the child to arrange the pictures in order.
If the child is unsure, avoid turning the activity into a guessing game. Model the sequence, complete it together, or offer a smaller choice:
“Do we add the sauce or cut the pizza first?”
Once the pictures are in order, point to each one and review the complete sequence.
Children who use spoken language can practice retelling the steps. A child who is not yet retelling can point to each picture while an adult describes it.
The goal is to help the child notice the order and gradually become more independent—not to require a particular type of response.
Practice With a Paper Pizza
A cut-and-glue pizza worksheet is an easy way to connect sequencing with a hands-on activity.
Give the child a pizza crust and several toppings to color, cut out, and glue onto the pizza. Instead of placing everything on the pizza at once, encourage the child to follow one step at a time.
You might say:
First, color the crust.
Next, cut out the toppings.
Spread or glue on the sauce.
Add the cheese.
Last, add the toppings.
Place the completed sequence nearby so the child can refer to it. Before giving another verbal reminder, pause and see whether the child can look at the pictures to determine what comes next.
This turns the sequence into a visual support rather than simply another worksheet to finish.
Make a Pretend Pizza
You can also practice the sequence without using real food.
Create pizza ingredients from felt, laminated paper, cardboard, or play dough. Children can assemble the ingredients on a paper plate, cardboard circle, or pretend pizza pan.
Add a spatula, rolling pin, empty pizza box, oven mitt, and toy cash register if you want to turn the activity into pizza-shop dramatic play.
One child can take the order while another makes the pizza. This provides opportunities to practice additional language and social skills:
Asking what someone wants
Making a choice
Requesting an ingredient
Following one- and two-step directions
Asking for help
Waiting for a turn
Serving the completed pizza
Children can follow the same picture sequence each time they receive a new pretend order.
Make an Edible Pizza
If it works for your classroom or home, finish the lesson by making a simple edible pizza.
English muffins, bagels, tortillas, or premade pizza crusts can make the activity manageable for young children. Place the ingredients in separate containers and display the picture sequence where children can easily see it.
Before beginning, review the steps together. Then encourage the child to check the visual after completing each step.
Try to give the child time to determine what comes next before offering help. If support is needed, point to the visual or ask, “Which picture comes next?”
Always consider allergies, dietary restrictions, food aversions, sensory needs, and school policies before including a cooking activity. Children should be allowed to participate without being expected to touch or taste foods that make them uncomfortable.
Ways to Simplify the Activity
If completing the entire sequence is difficult, try:
Beginning with two steps
Presenting only two picture choices at a time
Modeling each action before the child tries it
Using identical pictures during the book and activity
Completing most of the sequence and leaving one step for the child
Using a first-then visual
Allowing the child to point instead of verbally explaining
Practicing the same short sequence several times
A child does not need to master all the steps in one lesson. Repetition with a familiar activity is often more helpful than continually introducing brand-new sequences.
Ways to Extend the Activity
Children who are ready for more can:
Arrange four or more steps independently
Explain why the order matters
Find a step that is out of order
Identify a missing step
Retell the sequence without looking at the pictures
Give pizza-making directions to another person
Follow an order with two or three specific toppings
Compare making a pretend pizza with making a real one
Draw or write about how they made the pizza
You can also intentionally create a silly sequence—such as cutting the pizza before adding the sauce—and ask the child to help fix it. Sometimes finding an obvious mistake is easier and more entertaining than arranging every step from the beginning.
Pizza Sequencing Printables
I created the Make a Pizza Special Education Activity Adapted Book and Pizza Sequence Worksheet to bring these activities together.
The resource allows children to participate in an adapted pizza story, arrange the pizza-making steps, and complete a hands-on pizza worksheet. It can be used before a cooking lesson, as part of a pizza dramatic-play theme, or as a stand-alone sequencing activity.
Whether children make a paper pizza, a pretend pizza, or one they can actually eat, they are practicing the same important question:
What comes next?
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