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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Skip Counting by 1, 2, 5 and 10 Sorting Activity
Set up this sorting activity as a small group or rotation task for your students to practise thier skip counting skills.
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Estimating Quotients Sorting Activity for 5th Grade
Guide your students to use rounding and compatible numbers when estimating quotients with this 24-card sorting activity.
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Addition and Subtraction Rules for Odd and Even Numbers Matching Activity
A matching activity to use when learning addition and subtraction rules for odd and even numbers.
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2nd Grade Odd or Even Number Popcorn Sorting Activity
Sort popcorn shaped numbers into either the odd popcorn bucket or the even popcorn bucket.
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Verbal and Nonverbal Communication Sorting Activity
Use this sorting activity with your First Grade and Second Grade students to practice differentiating between verbal and nonverbal communication methods.
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Interior Angles of Shapes Sorting Activity
Play this sorting game when learning about the interior angles of common two-dimensional shapes.
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2nd Grade Odd and Even Monsters Sorting Activity
Sort odd and even numbers in this fun monster-themed sorting activity.
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Classifying Triangles (By Angles) – 4th Grade Math Activity
Play this sorting game when learning how to classify triangles according to their internal angles.
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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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Create a Silly Story – Sorting Activity
Explore story characters, settings, problems and solutions by creating a silly story!
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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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Is It Cooperative? Social Skills Activity
Explore the difference between cooperative and non-cooperative behavior with a sorting activity.
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Adding Within 100 - Strip Diagram Match-Up Activity
Practice using the tape diagram to add numbers within 100 with this match-up activity.
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Build a Food Chain - Sorting Activity
Create food chains for a variety of ecosystems with this hands-on, student-centered 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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Affixes Word Building Puzzle Activity
Build words with affixes with a pack of printable word-building puzzles.
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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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Plant Vocabulary Words - Matching Activity
Help students become familiar with vocabulary related to plants with a hands-on matching game.
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Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition – Sorting Activity
Categorize examples of deposition, weathering, and erosion with this 24-card 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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Number Neighborhood - Printable Number Line Sequencing Cards
Print a set of colorful numbered houses to use for skip counting, ordering, and comparing numbers.
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Building Words with Suffixes Sorting Activity
Build words by matching the root word to suffixes, recording the new words on the answer sheet.
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Sorting 3 to 5 Phoneme Words - Segmentation Activity
Practice segmenting 3 - 5 phonemes in words in this sorting activity
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Types of Weather – Sorting Activity
Observe and categorize pictures showing different types of weather with this sorting 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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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.
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Sustainability Activity - Caring for the Environment Sort
Promote sustainable living with a sustainability sorting activity.
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Dictionary Skills - Guide Words Sorting Mats
Practice using guide words in a dictionary with this popcorn-themed sorting activity.
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North American Indigenous People - Fact Sorting Worksheet
Review information learned about the indigenous people in the different regions of North America with a cut-and-paste worksheet.
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CVC Word Chain Sequencing Cards
Practice building word chains involving CVC words with these word chain sequencing cards.