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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Classifying Angles – 4th Grade Sorting Activity
Help students recognize different types of angles in everyday life with this hands-on sorting activity.
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Fall Math Center - Odd and Even Number Sort
Identify and sort 2- and 3-digit numbers into odd and even categories with a Fall math 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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Beginning Sound Sort - Apple Edition
Fall into letter-sound correspondence with this apple-themed letter/sound match-up center activity.
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Forms of Energy Sorting Activity
A set of 24 sorting cards to help students identify the different forms of energy.
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Poetry Match Game - Elements of Poetry Activity
Practice identifying poetic elements in examples of poems with a poetry sorting activity for fourth grade and fifth grade.
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Insulators & Conductors Sorting Activity
Distinguish between insulators and conductors with a picture-based sorting activity.
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Environmental Awareness Flip Book - Earth Day Activity
Use this flip book to build awareness of actions that are good and bad for the environment.
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R-Controlled Vowel Clip Cards-Digital and Print
Build an engaging literacy center or station activity around r-controlled vowels with these digital and/or printable r-controlled vowel clip cards.
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Short and Long Vowels Google Interactive Activity
Read and identify short and long vowel sounds and place the pictures into the correct columns.
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Figurative Language Sorting Activity
Explore figurative language in context with this set of 28 sorting cards.
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Percentages, Fractions, and Decimals Sort
A worksheet connecting percentage, decimal, and fraction values.
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Comparing Fractions – Sorting Activity
Strengthen fraction comparison skills by sorting cards according to the inequality symbol that makes each statement true.
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Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences Sort
Practice reading, identifying, and writing simple, compound, and complex sentences with a sorting activity.
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Solids, Liquids, and Gases – Sorting Activity
A sorting activity to help students identify solids, liquids, and gases.
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What's the Matter? Task Cards
An activity for students to use when learning about the properties of solids, liquids, and gases.
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Fall Parts of Speech Sort - Nouns Verbs Adjectives
Review three parts of speech by sorting nouns, verbs, and adjectives with a parts of speech sorting activity.
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Plant and Animal Sort - Task Cards
A set of task cards and picture cards to sort plants and animals into groups.
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Odd and Even Numbers Sorting Activity
Identify and sort 2- and 3-digit numbers into odd and even categories.
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Plant Life Cycle Sorting Activity
Help your students identify the stages in a plant’s life cycle with a sorting activity..
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Force and Motion – Sorting Activity
Explore the effects of a force on an object with this sorting activity.
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Selecting Units of Capacity – Sorting Activity
A sorting activity to help students identify containers that should be measured in fluid ounces, cups, pints, quarts, and gallons.
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Selecting Units of Length – Sorting Activity
A sorting activity to help students identify lengths and distances that should be measured in centimeters, inches, feet, and miles.
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Physical and Chemical Changes - Sorting Activity
A set of 24 sorting cards to practice identifying physical and chemical changes.
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Procedure Text Sequencing Activity - How to Cross a Road Safely
A hands-on learning activity to consolidate students' understanding of the structure of procedure texts.
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Chance Scenario Sorting Game
A hands-on sorting activity to use when describing possible events and their chances of occurring.
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Food Choices Sorting Activity
A sorting activity to help students recognize healthy and unhealthy foods.
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Hansel and Gretel Retelling Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for Hansel and Gretel.
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Little Red Riding Hood Retelling Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for Little Red Riding Hood.
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Create a Silly Story – Sorting Activity
Explore story characters, settings, problems and solutions by creating a silly story!
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Dictionary Sorting Game
Get students in the habit of researching with our dictionary activity that helps learners match a word to its definition and part of speech.
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Man-made vs. Natural Features - Sorting Activity
A sorting activity to help students identify the natural and human features of environments.