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

It looks like you've uploaded a worksheet titled "ALPHABETICAL ORDER" from www.schoolexpress.com, where the task is to write the word that would come first if they were in ABC order for each numbered list.

Let’s go through each line and determine which word comes first alphabetically. We’ll compare the words in each list based on the standard alphabetical order (a, b, c, ..., z).

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1. cardie, mouse, after, table

- Compare first letters:
- cardie → c
- mouse → m
- after → a
- table → t
- The earliest letter is a → after

✔ Answer: after

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2. book, litten, plant, faucet

- First letters:
- book → b
- litten → l
- plant → p
- faucet → f
- Order of first letters: b, f, l, p → b is first

✔ Answer: book

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3. green, kettle, floor, gray

- First letters:
- green → g
- kettle → k
- floor → f
- gray → g
- f comes before g, so floor comes first

✔ Answer: floor

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4. stove, step, stamp, stair

- All start with s, so we look at the second letter:
- stove → t
- step → t
- stamp → t
- stair → t
- All second letters are t, so check third letter:
- stove → o
- step → e
- stamp → a
- stair → a
- Now compare third letters: a, a, e, o → a is earliest
- Between stamp and stair, both have s-t-a, now fourth letter:
- stamp → m
- stair → i
- i comes before m, so stair comes before stamp

But wait — we're looking for the first one in alphabetical order.

So among:
- stove → s-t-o
- step → s-t-e
- stamp → s-t-a
- stair → s-t-a-i

We compare:
- stamp: s-t-a-m
- stair: s-t-a-i
- Since i < m, stair comes before stamp
- But step: s-t-e → e comes after a → so stamp and stair come before step
- And stove: s-t-o → o is last

So the earliest is stair? Wait — no:

Wait! Let's recheck:

Actually, let's write all with full spelling:

- stamp → s-t-a-m-p
- stair → s-t-a-i-r
- step → s-t-e-p
- stove → s-t-o-v-e

Now compare by position:

1. First letter: all s
2. Second letter: all t
3. Third letter:
- stamp: a
- stair: a
- step: e
- stove: o

So a < e < o, so stamp and stair come first.

Now between stamp and stair:
- Fourth letter:
- stamp: m
- stair: i
- i < m, so stair comes before stamp

So the first word is stair

✔ Answer: stair

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5. box, dish, door, bridge

- First letters:
- box → b
- dish → d
- door → d
- bridge → b
- So b vs d → b comes first
- Between box and bridge, both start with b
- Second letter:
- box → o
- bridge → r
- o < r, so box comes before bridge

✔ Answer: box

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6. water, wide, window, waste

- First letters:
- water → w
- wide → w
- window → w
- waste → w
- All start with w, so look at second letter:
- water → a
- wide → i
- window → i
- waste → a
- a < i, so water and waste come first
- Now compare water and waste:
- water → w-a-t-e-r
- waste → w-a-s-t-e
- Third letter:
- water → t
- waste → s
- s < t, so waste comes before water

✔ Answer: waste

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7. castle, candy, cow, coal

- First letters:
- castle → c
- candy → c
- cow → c
- coal → c
- All start with c, so second letter:
- castle → a
- candy → a
- cow → o
- coal → o
- a < o, so castle and candy come first
- Compare castle and candy:
- castle → c-a-s-t-l-e
- candy → c-a-n-d-y
- Third letter:
- castle → s
- candy → n
- n < s, so candy comes before castle

✔ Answer: candy

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8. paper, page, paste, pain

- All start with p
- Second letter:
- paper → a
- page → a
- paste → a
- pain → a
- All have a as second letter → look at third:
- paper → p
- page → g
- paste → s
- pain → i
- Third letters: p, g, s, i
- Alphabetical: g < i < p < s
- So page comes first

✔ Answer: page

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9. roam, rock, rose, rode

- All start with r
- Second letter:
- roam → o
- rock → o
- rose → o
- rode → o
- All have o → third letter:
- roam → a
- rock → c
- rose → s
- rode → d
- Third letters: a, c, d, s
- a < c < d < s → so roam comes first

✔ Answer: roam

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10. seed, seal, sell, send

- All start with s
- Second letter:
- seed → e
- seal → e
- sell → e
- send → e
- All have e → third letter:
- seed → e
- seal → a
- sell → l
- send → n
- Third letters: e, a, l, n
- a < e < l < n → so seal comes first

✔ Answer: seal

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11. tock, toad, toy, toll

- All start with t
- Second letter:
- tock → o
- toad → o
- toy → o
- toll → o
- All have o → third letter:
- tock → c
- toad → a
- toy → y
- toll → l
- Third letters: c, a, y, l
- a < c < l < y → so toad comes first

✔ Answer: toad

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12. budgie, buzz, buck, bull

- All start with b
- Second letter:
- budgie → u
- buzz → u
- buck → u
- bull → u
- All have u → third letter:
- budgie → d
- buzz → z
- buck → c
- bull → l
- Third letters: d, z, c, l
- c < d < l < z → so buck comes first

✔ Answer: buck

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Final Answers:

| Number | Word that comes first |
|--------|-----------------------|
| 1 | after |
| 2 | book |
| 3 | floor |
| 4 | stair |
| 5 | box |
| 6 | waste |
| 7 | candy |
| 8 | page |
| 9 | roam |
| 10 | seal |
| 11 | toad |
| 12 | buck |

You can fill these in the blank lines on the worksheet.

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