Homologous chromosomes: same genes at the same loci, one maternal and one paternal; may carry different alleles. Similar size and centromere position.
Meiosis I is reductional: homologues separate, 2n → n. Meiosis II is equational: sister chromatids separate, n → n (like mitosis).
Metaphase I: homologous pairs line up. Metaphase II / mitotic metaphase: single chromosomes line up.

Meiosis stage	What you'd see
Prophase I	Chromosomes condense; homologues pair up (synapsis) and cross over between non-sister chromatids. Oocytes arrest here for years.
Metaphase I	Homologous PAIRS line up side by side at the plate; each pair's orientation is random (independent assortment)
Anaphase I	Homologues separate; sister chromatids stay together (this is where Mendel's segregation happens)
Telophase I + cytokinesis	2 haploid (n) cells, each chromosome still 2 chromatids (2C per cell)
Prophase II	No DNA replication before it; n chromosomes condense again
Metaphase II	n chromosomes line up single file (looks like a mini mitosis)
Anaphase II	Sister chromatids separate
Telophase II + cytokinesis	4 haploid cells, unreplicated chromosomes (1C each)

Meiosis II and mitosis share: ploidy stays the same and sister chromatids separate.
Spot the stage fast: pairs at the plate → metaphase I. Single file with 2n chromosomes → mitotic metaphase. Single file with n chromosomes → metaphase II. In anaphase, count what's moving to each pole and whether it's single chromatids or whole duplicated chromosomes.