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.
- Free Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Free Plan
Affixes Word Building Puzzle Activity
Build words with affixes with a pack of printable word-building puzzles.
- Plus Plan
First, Then, Finally Sort and Writing Template
Help your students sequence ideas for a narrative story with these narrative element prompts and a First Then Finally Writing Template.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Free Plan
Percent Decimal Fraction Worksheet
Download this percent decimal fraction worksheet to give your students hands-on practice matching fraction, decimal, and percent equivalents.
- Plus Plan
Vowel Teams Sort OA, OW, and OE
Decode words with "oa", "oe", or "ow" long "o" vowel teams using 18 picture cards with sorting mats.
- Plus Plan
Vowel Teams Sort EE, EA, and EY
Decode words with EE, EA, or EY long "e" vowel teams using 18 picture cards with sorting mats.
- Plus Plan
Communication in the Past and Present- Sorting Activity
A fun sorting activity for students to identify old and new communication devices.
- Free Plan
Odd and Even Number Sort
Sort even and odd numbers with this engaging task‑card activity that helps teachers confidently reinforce number concepts while keeping students motivated and on task.
- Plus Plan
Push and Pull Toy Sorting Activity
Explore types of forces and practise classification skills with a printable Push and Pull Toy Sorting Activity.
- Plus Plan
Build a Sentence Activity - Sentence Clothesline
Create simple sentences with this printable Build a Sentence Activity Sentence Clothesline resource.
- Plus Plan
Complete Sentence vs Fragment Sentence Sort
Make sentence structure lessons engaging and hands-on with this playful Complete Sentence vs Fragment sorting activity.
- Plus Plan
Simple Machines Sorting Activity
A fun sorting activity to use in the classroom when learning about simple machines and how they work.
- Plus Plan
Musical Instruments Game — Instrument Family Sort
Share this musical instruments game with your students to assess their ability to sort instruments into their correct orchestra families.
- Plus Plan
Sorting by Category - Vocabulary Activity
Early readers can practice sorting and decoding with this category sorting board activity for 1 to 4 players.
- 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.
- Plus Plan
Ordering Large Numbers Sorting Activity
Practice ordering large numbers with this easy-to-prepare sorting activity.
- Plus Plan
Metamorphic, Sedimentary and Igneous Rock Sorting Activity
Sort metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous rocks into collections with a printable rock sorting activity.
- Free Plan
Uses of Materials Sorting Activity
Explore the materials objects are made of with a fun sorting activity for students.
- Plus Plan
Physical and Chemical Changes - Sorting Activity
A set of 24 sorting cards to practice identifying physical and chemical changes.
- Plus Plan
Verb Tense Regular and Irregular Sorting Activity
Help students understand the difference between a regular and irregular verb tense group with this hands-on verb sorting activity.
- Plus Plan
Heavier or Lighter? Sorting Activity
Sort cards into heavier and lighter headings after looking at the balance scales on each card with this mass sorting activity.
- Plus Plan
Yes Or No? Phonics Sorting Activity
Use this phonics activity to help your students identify the different phonemes that make up a word.
- Plus Plan
Beginning Digraphs Sorting Activity
Practice decoding words by their initial digraphs with a set of 20 picture sorting cards.
- Plus Plan
3 Billy Goats Gruff Retelling Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for 3 Billy Goats Gruff.
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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.
- Free Plan
Odd and Even Numbers Sorting Activity
Identify and sort 2- and 3-digit numbers into odd and even categories.
- Plus Plan
Plant Vocabulary Words - Matching Activity
Help students become familiar with vocabulary related to plants with a hands-on matching game.
- Plus Plan
Place Value Cacti - 3-Digit Expanded Form Activity
A fun place value activity for students to play in the classroom when exploring 3-digit numbers and expanded forms.