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Clean hands in five steps: sequence words and imperatives for instructions

This A1 ESL lesson plan teaches sequence words with imperatives for instructions in steps, from First, wet your hands to Finally, dry them.

Grammar
Sequencing words First, Then, Next, After that and Finally with imperatives (First, wet your hands. Then add soap.), the comma after most of them, and Don't plus a verb for warnings.
Topic
Hand washing, with five steps from the CDC, the US health agency in Atlanta, and words like soap, faucet, towel, nails and germs.
Activities
A school restroom poster, a dialogue and a voice message, self-checking drills, a chat giving a cousin sandwich steps, open-box tasks and a note with five steps to write.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Hello, soap and water!

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: soap and waterVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: a restroom poster

    • Look at the photo: clean hands at schoolPictureUnlock
    • Read the posterReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: Emma's poster

    • Listen to Emma and LiamListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to Sam's voice messageListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen to Sam and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: First, Then, Finally

    • Study the scheme: First, Then, Next, After that, FinallyGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the right wordChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: step words and Don'tFill in the gapsTry it
    • Drag the words into the gaps: brush your teethDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: step by step

    • Choose the right replies: Ellie's sandwichChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: step by stepOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Put the words in the right orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Match the words and their meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Write a note: five easy stepsWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record a voice message: clean handsSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

25 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • soap
  • bubbles
  • sink
  • faucet
  • towel
  • nails
  • germs

Grammar: sequence words with imperatives

Instructions are imperatives in a row, and sequence words keep the row in order. Learners use First for the opening step, Then, Next or After that for the middle ones and Finally for the last, each followed by a verb with no you, and add Don't for a warning. The CDC's five steps for clean hands give them a real routine to describe.

First, wet your hands. Then add soap!

Give instructions in steps: a step word, then the verb. No you!

First opens, Finally closes

First opens and Finally closes; Then, Next and After that share the middle steps, one per step. A comma follows every step word except Then: First, wet your hands. Then add soap. After that, rinse.

Five steps, five step words

StepStep wordExample
1 · the startFirst,First, wet your hands.
2ThenThen add soap.
3Next,Next, scrub for at least 20 seconds.
4After that,After that, rinse your hands.
5 · the endFinally,Finally, dry them.

Then, Next, After that: the middle steps

For steps 2, 3 and 4, choose Then, Next or After that. Use one word for each step: After that, rinse. (Not: Then, after that, rinse.) Put a comma after First, Next, After that and Finally. After Then, you don't need one.

A step word, then the verb

After the step word comes the base verb, as in any imperative: Next, scrub. Finally, eat your sandwich! An instruction leaves out you; with a subject, I wash my hands before lunch is a fact about a habit, not a step to follow.

An instruction: step word + verb

First, / Then / Next, / After that, / Finally,verb (no you!)the rest

First, wash your hands.

Then take two slices of bread.

Finally, eat your sandwich!

An instruction or a fact?

Instruction: verb first, no you

  • Wash your hands!
  • Don't touch your face!
  • Finally, dry your hands.

A fact: I, you, he, she, we, they + verb

  • I wash my hands before lunch.
  • Emma washes her hands a lot.
  • We don't touch our faces.

Don't + verb for a warning

To say what not to do, put Don't before the verb: Don't touch your face! Don't forget your nails! Don't stop at ten seconds! No touch your face is a common slip.

Don'tverbthe rest

Don't touch your face!

Don't forget your nails!

Don't stop at ten seconds!

First, not At first

Step one takes First, not At first. At first means at the start, before something changes: At first, the water is cold. Then it's warm. In the same way, a middle step takes After that, never After alone.

First or At first?

Step one: First, wet your hands. (Not: At first.) At first means “at the start, but later it's different”: At first, the water is cold. Then it's warm.

Common mistakes in instructions

  • At first, wet your hands.

    First, wet your hands.

    step one: First

  • After, rinse your hands.

    After that, rinse your hands.

    After that: two words

  • Finally you dry your hands.

    Finally, dry your hands.

    instructions: verb first, no you

  • No touch your face!

    Don't touch your face!

    Don't + verb

More lessons on this grammar: Linking words lessons and exercises

Try the sequence words exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 11 auto-checked exercises
  • 3 games
  • 2 teacher-checked tasks
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • give instructions in order with First, Then, Next, After that and Finally: First, wet your hands. Finally, dry them.
  • start each step with the verb, with no you: Next, scrub for at least 20 seconds.
  • say what not to do with Don't and a verb: Don't touch your face! Don't forget your nails!
  • say when to wash your hands: before you eat, after the restroom, after you touch a pet

Lesson 20 closes Healthy me, the fifth unit of English A1.2 · Out and About. It builds on Turn left on 42nd Street, lesson 27 of English A1.1, where imperatives such as Go straight and Don't turn here gave directions; now the same verb-first sentences give instructions, put in order with First, Then and Finally. The CDC's five steps for clean hands are a real set of instructions, timed by humming "Happy Birthday" twice.

A spin wheel about washing hands opens the lesson, then ten words for soap and water, from faucet and towel to nails and germs, with pictures and audio. Students read a school nurse's restroom poster with the CDC's five steps, answer true-or-false and multiple-choice questions, then listen to Emma and Liam make a poster (an AI-voiced dialogue) and to Sam's voice message from the pie shop. The grammar chapter has the scheme and four exercises, checked as students answer: picking the step word, a gap-fill of step words and Don't, a drag-and-drop on brushing teeth and a choice of the right sentence. In the speaking chapter, students text a little cousin the steps for a sandwich, then open boxes that ask for steps of their own.

For homework, students put the words of each step in order and match words with their meanings, two tasks that check themselves. Then they write a friend a note with five steps for an everyday job and record a voice message on hand washing, both for the teacher to review.

Grammar:
sequencers · First, Then, Next, After that, Finally · imperatives · Don't + verb · instructions
Topic:
hand washing · clean hands · the CDC · health · the bathroom · instructions

Teaching tips

  • Mime the five steps before the poster, wet, lather, scrub, rinse and dry, and let students call out each step with its step word: First, wet your hands.
  • Hum "Happy Birthday" twice with the class while someone watches the clock, so students feel how long 20 seconds is before the scrub step.
  • Cut a set of steps into strips, one step per strip, and have pairs put them in order and read them aloud with First, Then, Next, After that and Finally.
  • After the chat about Ellie's sandwich, pairs write the steps for a snack of their own, with one Don't: Don't eat on the couch!

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The whole course: English A1.2 · Out and About

32 lessons that pick up where English A1.1 ends, in simple American English, from the present simple with he and she to was and were. Eight units cover shopping, the weather, getting around, celebrations, health, animals and nature, jobs and weekends. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Shopping

    clothes and colors, he and she in the present simple, sizes and prices, paying in a store

    1. Lesson 1What does she wear on Aloha Friday?Present simple with he, she and it
    2. Lesson 2A basket on wheels?Present simple negatives with don't and doesn't
    3. Lesson 3What size are these boots?What questions and a pair of
    4. Lesson 4Can I try it on? The Santa Fe Indian MarketRequests and permission with Can I and Can you

  2. Unit 2 Weather and seasons

    the weather, seasons and months, the present continuous, how often it rains or snows

    1. Lesson 5Is the Windy City windy?Weather adjectives with It's
    2. Lesson 6Does it rain in the desert?Yes/no questions with does
    3. Lesson 7Baseball at midnight?The present continuous for now
    4. Lesson 8Is it always windy on Mount Washington?Adverbs of frequency and their place

  3. Unit 3 Getting around

    transport, timetables, where places are, tickets with want and need

    1. Lesson 9How do you get to work?By + transport, take the bus and on foot
    2. Lesson 10What time does the ferry leave?Wh- questions with does
    3. Lesson 11Where's the streetcar stop?Between, behind, in front of and across from
    4. Lesson 12Do you need a ticket?Want and need with a noun

  4. Unit 4 Celebrations

    dates and holidays, in and on, party invitations, object pronouns

    1. Lesson 13Why is it called Juneteenth?Ordinal numbers for saying dates
    2. Lesson 14Never on a Sunday? The Rose ParadeIn, on and at for dates and times
    3. Lesson 15Come to our Lunar New Year party!Some and any with plural nouns
    4. Lesson 16Thank you, teacher!Object pronouns me, you, him, her, it, us and them

  5. Unit 5 Healthy me

    the body, how often, at the pharmacy, steps with first and then

    1. Lesson 17Does your back hurt?Hurt and hurts with parts of the body
    2. Lesson 18How often do you walk?How often questions and expressions of frequency
    3. Lesson 19What's the matter?Have and has for health problems
    4. Lesson 20 · you're hereClean hands in five stepsSequence words with imperatives

  6. Unit 6 Animals and nature

    there is and there are, what animals are doing, parks, a, an and the

    1. Lesson 21Which frog sings its name?There is and there are for what's in a place
    2. Lesson 22What's the bear doing now?Present continuous questions and negatives
    3. Lesson 23Are there any horses on the beach?Questions with is there and are there any
    4. Lesson 24Where do the baby turtles go?A, an and the for first and second mention

  7. Unit 7 Jobs people do

    jobs and workplaces, the present simple and continuous, job interviews, possessive pronouns

    1. Lesson 25Who makes the sounds in movies?Present simple vs present continuous
    2. Lesson 26Nurses on horses?At, in and on with workplaces
    3. Lesson 27Can you be a lifeguard?Verbs with prepositions
    4. Lesson 28Whose hat is this?Possessive pronouns from mine to theirs

  8. Unit 8 Weekend stories and plans

    was and were, how long and how tall, and, but and or, camping food

    1. Lesson 29Why do we have two days off?Was and were, the past of be
    2. Lesson 30How long is a blue whale?How + adjective questions about size
    3. Lesson 31A cow made of butter?And, but and or for joining ideas
    4. Lesson 32What do you need for s'mores?Containers and quantities with of

Questions about this lesson

What are sequence words?
Sequence words are words that show the order of steps or events: first, then, next, after that and finally. Each one starts a step in an instruction or a story: First, wet your hands. Then add soap. Finally, dry them. First always opens and finally closes, while then, next and after that can swap in the middle. The A1 lesson Clean hands in five steps on edio.ai teaches them with a hand-washing poster.
Do you put a comma after sequencing words?
Yes: most sequencing words take a comma, as in First, wet your hands. Next, scrub. After that, rinse. Finally, dry them. Then usually goes without one: Then add soap. Use one sequencing word per step, not two in a row like Then, after that, rinse, and start the step with the verb right after it.
How do you write instructions with imperatives?
Write each step as an imperative, with the base verb first and no subject: Wet your hands. Scrub between your fingers. So it's Finally, dry your hands, not Finally you dry your hands. For a warning, put Don't before the verb: Don't touch your face!, never No touch your face. A sequence word in front keeps the steps in order: Next, rinse your hands.
How do you use first, then, next and finally?
Use them in that order, one at the start of each step: first for step one, then and next in between, finally for the last. After that adds one more middle step: First, take two slices of bread. Then put some cheese on one slice. Next, add a tomato. After that, put the other slice on top. Finally, eat it. Each step word is followed by a verb, never by you.
Is it "First" or "At first" for step one?
For step one, it's First, never At first: First, wash your hands. At first means at the beginning, before something changes, so it belongs in a story: At first, the water is cold. Then it's warm. Firstly works in writing too, but First is the everyday word. The chat in this lesson offers At first, wash your hands as a wrong reply.
Can you say "After, rinse your hands"?
No: as a step word, it's After that, two words: After that, rinse your hands. After alone needs something to follow it, as in after the restroom or after you sneeze. If after that feels long, then or next does the same job for a middle step: Next, rinse your hands. The A1 lesson Clean hands in five steps on edio.ai lists After, rinse your hands among its common mistakes.
How do you say the steps of hand washing in English?
The five steps are wet, lather, scrub, rinse and dry: First, wet your hands with clean, running water. Then add soap and lather. Next, scrub for at least 20 seconds. After that, rinse your hands. Finally, dry them with a clean towel. Useful words around them are soap, bubbles, sink, faucet, towel, nails and germs. A school nurse's poster in Clean hands in five steps, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, sets out the CDC's version.
How do I teach sequence words to beginners?
Begin with a routine students know by heart, such as washing hands or making a sandwich, and act it out before writing it down: First, wet your hands. Then add soap. Steps to put back in order come next, then students give their own steps aloud. This lesson goes from a poster and a dialogue to the scheme, four drills, a chat and open boxes like How do you brush your teeth? Tell your partner the steps.
What's a good game for practicing sequencing words?
Try teach me in three steps: one student explains a dance move, a snack or a morning routine, and the others follow along: First, … Then … Finally, … One of the open boxes in Clean hands in five steps, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, asks for exactly that dance move, and the homework opens with a word-order game on the five steps.
What's good homework for practicing sequence words?
A note with the steps for an everyday job works well, because every line needs a step word and a verb: First, put one cup of dog food in the bowl. Then put fresh water in the other bowl. Finally, call the dog. Don't give it any pizza! A voice message on hand washing adds speaking. In this lesson, both go to the teacher after two self-checking tasks.
Are there interactive exercises for sequence words?
Yes: gap-fills and chat replies that check themselves let students practice step words and Don't with instant feedback. On this page, four parts of Clean hands in five steps, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, play without an account: the restroom poster, a dialogue about making a hand-washing poster, a gap-fill of step words and Don't, and a chat giving a little cousin the steps for a sandwich. The drag-and-drop and the rest are locked.
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