Sorting Activities for Teachers
Download printable sorting activities to help your elementary students practice grouping different items into categories.
With activities aligned with the Common Core curriculum and editable options, this teacher resource collection is stocked with hundreds of resources perfect for elementary and middle school teachers,
Each sorting and grouping resource in this teaching resource collection has been created by a teacher, and each resource has undergone a rigorous review by the teachers on the Teach Starter team to ensure it's ready to download and use in your classroom.
Choose from sorting activities for math, ELA, science or social studies with printable and digital options available! This collection also includes sorting activities that can be used for whole class, group or independent tasks.
Curious about how our teacher team uses sorting activities to keep kids engaged and make learning more fun? Read on for a primer!
What Are Sorting Activities?
Let's start with a definition. When we talk about sorting activities at Teach Starter, we're referring to hands-on activities for students that require them to identify, sort, and group different items into alike categories.
This tests recognition and helps students develop their problem-solving skills.
Are you mostly familiar with sorting activities for preschool or kindergarten? We have those, but you'll also find activities designed for older students from 1st and 2nd grade all the way up through 5th and 6th grade.
The goal is to strengthen students' comparison skills and deepening their understanding of a particular topic by sorting cards, playing games and often matching items.
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Forms of Energy Sorting Activity
Help students identify the different forms of energy with this set of 24 sorting cards.
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Singular and Plural Possessives Task Cards
Practice writing phrases using the correct singular or plural possessive noun with a set of task cards.
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Simple Sentence Building Activity - Caterpillar
Use this simple sentence building activity in the form of a caterpillar to have students identify the parts of a simple sentence.
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Word Family Pumpkin Sort
Enhance your phonics lessons with a pumpkin-themed word family sorting activity.
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Using Commas in Dates and Series Sorting Activity
Practice correct comma placement in dates and series with a sorting activity.
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Sort It Out! Common and Proper Nouns Game
Use common and proper noun games to help your students practice identifying examples of different types of nouns.
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Percent Decimal Fraction Worksheet
Download this percent decimal fraction worksheet to give your students hands-on practice matching fraction, decimal, and percent equivalents.
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Word Building Bricks - Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots Activity
Build, read and write multi-syllable words using prefixes, suffixes, and base words with a fun word-building literacy activity.
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Where’s the Schwa Sound? Sorting Activity
Explore the schwa sound using this engaging sorting activity that helps students identify whether the schwa occurs in the first, middle or final syllable of a word.
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Multiplication and Division — Word Problem Solving and Sorting Cards
Build multiplication and division word problem skills with a hands-on sort and solve activity.
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Does It Lay Eggs? Classifying Animals Game
Use our Does It Lay Eggs? Classifying Animals Game to identify examples of oviparous and viviparous animals.
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Noun Phrase Examples Sorting Activity
Teach noun phrase examples with this hands-on sorting activity where students decide whether the order of adjectives in each noun phrase is correct or incorrect.
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Build a Sentence Activity - Sentence Clothesline
Create simple sentences with this printable Build a Sentence Activity Sentence Clothesline resource.
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Fiction and Nonfiction Sorting Cards
Explore fiction and nonfiction book features with this sorting activity.
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Sentence Building Cards and Mat
Use these Sentence Building Cards with Mat to explore the main features of a simple sentence with your Kinder students.
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Formal vs. Informal Language Sorting Activity
Engage students in identifying formal vs informal language with this sorting activity that helps build understanding through real-world sentence examples.
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Metamorphic, Sedimentary and Igneous Rock Sorting Activity
Sort metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous rocks into collections with a printable rock sorting activity.
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Uses of Materials Sorting Activity
Explore the materials objects are made of with a fun sorting activity for students.
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Exaggeration and Hyperbole Sorting Activity
Explore examples of hyperbole with your students using this set of 24 sorting cards perfect for your reading centers.
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Main Idea Ice Cream Cones Sorting Activity
Practice distinguishing the main idea and the supporting detail with this fun ice cream sorting activity.
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Prime and Composite Number Sort
Identify prime and composite numbers by sorting 30 number cards into their proper category.
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Counting Objects Sorting Numbers 6-10
Practice counting 6 – 10 objects with this colorful sorting activity.
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Figurative Language Sorting Activity
Explore figurative language in context with this set of 28 sorting cards.
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Light Interactions Sorting Activity (K)
Explore light interactions and materials that allow all, some, and none of the light to pass through them with our Light Interactions Sorting Activity.
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Compound Sentence Strip Activity
Use these simple sentences and coordinating conjunctions to help students practice forming compound sentences.
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Affixes Word Building Puzzle Activity
Build words with affixes with a pack of printable word-building puzzles.
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Roll, Slide or Bounce? Toy Sorting Activity
Explore movement, sorting, and classification with a printable ‘How It Moves’ Toy Sorting Activity.
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Sorting Heat Conductors and Insulators Activity
Explore and identify examples of thermal energy conductors and insulators with a printable Heat Conductors and Insulators Activity.
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Parts of Plants Sorting Activity (K-2)
Identify roots, seeds, fruits, and other plant parts with a printable Parts of a Plant Sorting Activity for early learners.
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Alliteration Sorting by Beginning Sound Activity
Explore beginning sounds and alliteration with this engaging and age-appropriate picture sort activity—perfect for your phonics and early literacy lessons.
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Identifying Colors Game
Explore colors with your students using this fun and engaging identifying colors game.
- Free Plan
Rounding Whole Numbers Worksheets
Share these rounding whole numbers worksheets with your students so they can cut-and-paste their way to understanding rounding.