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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Word Family Sorting Cards
Reinforce word families and rhyming words with your students with this set of 36 sorting cards.
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Communication in the Past and Present- Sorting Activity
A fun sorting activity for students to identify old and new communication devices.
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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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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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Cut and Paste: Characteristics of Communities
Identify characteristics of the different types of communities (urban, rural, suburban) with a cut-and-paste sorting worksheet.
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Apple Activities - Short and Long Vowel Sort
Supplement your phonics lessons with an apple-themed initial sound sorting activity.
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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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Apple Barrel Blends - Sorting Center
Supplement your phonics lessons with a consonant blend “Apple Barrel” sorting center.
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Rules Around Us Sorting Activity
Identify rules at home, in school, and around the community with a sorting activity.
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Subject Verb Agreement Sentences Sort
Get your students sorting subject-verb agreement sentences quickly and effectively with this engaging hands-on activity.
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Counting Objects Sorting Numbers 6-10
Practice counting 6 – 10 objects with this colorful sorting activity.
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Alphabetical Order Card Sort - Set 1
A set of word cards to practice putting words in alphabetical order.
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Push and Pull Sorting Activity
Use these push and pull sorting cards as a hands-on activity during your science lessons on forces.
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Beginning Sounds Sorting Activity
Practice identifying beginning sounds of words by sorting this set of 24 picture cards.
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Punctuation in a Pouch - End Punctuation Sorting Center
A fun, marsupial-themed activity to help your students with editing and punctuation.
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Who Would You Say It To? Speech Sort
Build social‑language skills with this engaging Who Would You Say It To? Speech Sort activity.
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Area of Rectangles Sorting Activity
Strengthen area of rectangles skills with this engaging hands-on sorting activity.
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Author’s Purpose Sorting Activity
Use this Text Type Sort activity to engage students in understanding the different features and purpose of imaginative, informative and persuasive texts.
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Types of Heat Transfer Sorting Activity
Explore examples of conduction, convection, and radiation with an engaging Types of Heat Transfer Sorting Activity.
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Push and Pull Toy Sorting Activity
Explore types of forces and practise classification skills with a printable Push and Pull Toy Sorting Activity.
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Patterns in Nature - Science Sorting Activity
Explore and observe patterns in nature with a printable Patterns In Nature Sorting Activity.
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Comparing Collections Sorting Activity
Support students in comparing quantities by providing an easy, hands‑on activity that lets them sort items and decide if they can be shared evenly.
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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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Spin or Slide Sort - Science of Movement Activity
Group objects based on how they move with an engaging Spin or Slide? Science of Movement 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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Hunting for Heat Sources Activity
Identify heat sources in the world around you with a printable Hunting for Heat Sources activity sheet.
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Metamorphic or Not? Life Cycle Sorting Activity
Identify animals with metamorphic and non-metamorphic life cycles with an engaging Life Cycle Sorting 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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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.
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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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'Is It An Investigable Question?’ Sorting Activity
Help students determine examples of investigable science questions with our ‘Is It An Investigable Question’ sorting activity.
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Ways Things Move - Science Sorting Activity
Introduce your K-1 students to the world of motion and scientific categorization with a printable ‘How Things Move’ Sorting Activity.