Alphabetical Order 4 Worksheet for 2nd - 3rd Grade | Lesson Planet - Free Printable

Let's solve the "Alphabetical Order" worksheet step by step.

Task:

For each group of words, write the word that would come first if they were arranged in ABC order (alphabetical order).

We'll go through each numbered list and determine which word comes first alphabetically.

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1. cardie mouse after table

- Words: cardie, mouse, after, table
- First letters: c, m, a, t
- Alphabetical order of first letters: a, c, m, t
- So "after" starts with 'a' → comes first.
✔ Answer: after

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2. book kitten plant faucet

- Words: book, kitten, plant, faucet
- First letters: b, k, p, f
- Order: b, f, k, p
- "book" starts with 'b' → comes first.
✔ Answer: book

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3. green kettle floor gray

- Words: green, kettle, floor, gray
- First letters: g, k, f, g
- Order: f, g, g, k
- "floor" starts with 'f' → comes first.
✔ Answer: floor

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4. stove step stamp stair

- Words: stove, step, stamp, stair
- First letters: s, s, s, s → all start with 's', so look at second letter.
- Second letters: t, t, t, t → all 't'
- Third letters: o, e, a, a
- Now compare third letters: a, a, e, o
- "stamp" and "stair" both have 'a' as third letter → need to go further.
- "stamp": s-t-a-m-p
- "stair": s-t-a-i-r
- Fourth letter: m vs i → 'i' comes before 'm'
- So "stair" comes before "stamp"
- But we are looking for the first one in alphabetical order.
- Compare all:
- "stair" → s-t-a-i-r
- "stamp" → s-t-a-m-p
- "step" → s-t-e-p
- "stove" → s-t-o-v-e

Now, after s-t-a, "stair" and "stamp" — 'i' < 'm' → "stair" comes before "stamp"

Then "step" has 'e' as third letter → 'e' > 'a', so "step" comes after "stair" and "stamp"

"stove" has 'o' → last.

So order: stair, stamp, step, stove

✔ Answer: stair

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5. box dish door bridge

- Words: box, dish, door, bridge
- First letters: b, d, d, b
- 'b' comes before 'd'
- "box" and "bridge" both start with 'b'
- Compare second letters: o vs r → 'o' < 'r'
- So "box" comes before "bridge"
✔ Answer: box

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6. water wide window waste

- Words: water, wide, window, waste
- First letters: w, w, w, w → all same
- Second letters: a, i, i, a
- 'a' comes before 'i' → so "water" and "waste" come before "wide" and "window"
- Now compare "water" and "waste":
- "water": w-a-t-e-r
- "waste": w-a-s-t-e
- Third letters: t vs s → 's' < 't'
- So "waste" comes before "water"
✔ Answer: waste

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7. castle candy cow coal

- Words: castle, candy, cow, coal
- First letters: c, c, c, c → all 'c'
- Second letters: a, a, o, o
- 'a' < 'o' → so "castle" and "candy" come before "cow" and "coal"
- Now compare "castle" and "candy":
- "castle": c-a-s-t-l-e
- "candy": c-a-n-d-y
- Third letters: s vs n → 'n' < 's'
- So "candy" comes before "castle"
✔ Answer: candy

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8. paper page paste pain

- Words: paper, page, paste, pain
- First letters: p, p, p, p → all same
- Second letters: a, a, a, a → all same
- Third letters: p, g, s, i
- Order: g, i, p, s
- So "page" → g, then "pain" → i, then "paper" → p, then "paste" → s
- So "page" comes first
✔ Answer: page

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9. roan rock rose rode

- Words: roan, rock, rose, rode
- First letters: r, r, r, r → all same
- Second letters: o, o, o, o → all same
- Third letters: a, c, s, d
- Order: a, c, d, s
- So "roan" → a → first
✔ Answer: roan

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10. seed seal sell send

- Words: seed, seal, sell, send
- First letters: s, s, s, s → all same
- Second letters: e, e, e, e → all same
- Third letters: e, a, l, e
- 'a' is smallest → "seal" → third letter 'a'
- Then "seed", "send", "sell" → third letters: e, e, l
- "seed" and "send" both have 'e' → check fourth letter
- "seed": s-e-e-d
- "send": s-e-n-d
- Third letter: e vs e → same
- Fourth letter: d vs n → 'd' < 'n' → "seed" before "send"
- "sell": s-e-l-l → third letter 'l' → after 'e'

So order: seal, seed, send, sell

✔ Answer: seal

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11. toad toad toy tot

- Words: toad, toad, toy, tot
- Two "toad" → same word
- First letters: t, t, t, t → all same
- Second letters: o, o, o, o → all same
- Third letters: a, a, y, t
- 'a' < 't' < 'y'
- So "toad" (third letter 'a') comes first
- There are two "toad" → but only one needs to be written
✔ Answer: toad

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12. budge buzz buck bull

- Words: budge, buzz, buck, bull
- First letters: b, b, b, b → all same
- Second letters: u, u, u, u → all same
- Third letters: d, z, c, l
- Order: c, d, l, z
- So "buck" → c → first
- Then "budge" → d
- Then "bull" → l
- Then "buzz" → z
✔ Answer: buck

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Final Answers:

1. after
2. book
3. floor
4. stair
5. box
6. waste
7. candy
8. page
9. roan
10. seal
11. toad
12. buck

✔ These are the words that come first in alphabetical order for each list.