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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Numerical Expressions Sort!
Solve and sort numerical expressions according to different categories with this sorting activity.
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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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Past, Present, and Future Verb Tense Sentence Sort
Identify sentences written in past, present, and future tense with task cards designed for primary grades.
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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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Simple Machines Sorting Activity
A fun sorting activity to use in the classroom when learning about simple machines and how they work.
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Butterfly Life Cycle Sort
Help your students concrete their understanding of life cycles with this interactive game.
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Time Sort - Morning, Afternoon & Evening Activity
Help your students learn about different times of day (morning, afternoon, and evening) with a Times of Day Sorting activity.
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Instinct vs. Learned Behavior Sort
Help your students determine the difference between a learned behavior and an instinct with a thought-provoking sorting activity.
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Christmas Writing Center - Types of Sentences for 2nd Grade
Help your students answer “What Type of Sentence Is This?’ with a printable Christmas sorting activity on the 4 types of sentences.
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Santa's Syllable Sort - Christmas Reading Center
Help students practice breaking words into syllables with a Christmas literacy center.
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Jack and Jill Nursery Rhyme- Retell Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for Jack and Jill.
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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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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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10 More 10 Less Sorting Card Game
Engage your students and have them practice reading statements about values 10 more or 10 less, then and determining if the statement is accurate.
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Asking for Help Sorting Activity
Explore whether a question is an 'ask now' question 'wait' question with this sorting activity.
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Producer, Consumer and Decomposer - Sorting Activity
Explore the roles and relationships of producers, consumers and decomposers in food chains with this hands-on sorting activity.
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Real-World 3D Shapes - Sorting Activity
Practice identifying and sorting three-dimensional shapes with this set of 24 sorting cards.
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Fact Family Math Blast Off - Addition and Subtraction
Demonstrate an understanding of addition and subtraction fact families with a fun cut and sort activity.
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Objects in the Sky – Sorting Activity
Determine if statements about different objects in the sky are true or false with this sorting activity.
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Animal Classification Sort
Determine if an animal is an amphibian, reptile, mammal, or bird with this sorting activity.
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Rotation vs. Revolution – Sorting Activity
Determine if examples are due to Earth’s rotation or revolution with this sorting activity.
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Types of Taxes – Sorting Activity
Differentiate between different types of taxes with this 24-card sorting activity.
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Sorting Activity - Hard and Soft Sound of C
Practice identifying the different sounds made by the letter C with this hands-on sorting activity.
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Word Family Pumpkin Sort
Enhance your phonics lessons with a pumpkin-themed word family sorting activity.
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Pumpkin Syllables Sorting Center
Practice segmenting and counting syllables in words with this Fall syllable 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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Apple Barrel Blends - Sorting Center
Supplement your phonics lessons with a consonant blend “Apple Barrel” sorting center.
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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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Has/Have Subject Verb Agreement Task Cards
Practice using has and have correctly using a set of Subject-Verb agreement task cards.
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Do/Does Subject Verb Agreement Task Cards
Practice using DO and DOES correctly using a set of Subject-Verb agreement task cards.
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Singular and Plural Subject-Verb Agreement Sort
Provide students with additional grammar practice with a sorting activity focusing on singular and plural subject-verb agreement.
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Short and Long Vowel Sounds Sorting Center
Distinguish between long and short vowel sounds with a short and long vowel sorting center activity.