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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Thermal Energy Transfer Sorting Activity
Learn about conduction, convection, and radiation with this set of 24 sorting cards.
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Long and Short Vowel Sort
A set of 40 sorting cards to practice long and short vowel sounds.
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Often and Sometimes Food Sorting Activity
A sorting activity to help students recognize healthy and unhealthy foods.
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Syllable Count Sorting Activity
Practice segmenting and counting syllables in words with this set of 24 picture sorting cards.
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Vowel Sounds Sort - /i/, /o/, and /u/
Practice distinguishing between long and short vowel sounds for letters /i/, /o/ and /u/ by sorting this set of 24 picture cards into categories.
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Vowel Sounds Sort - /a/ and /e/
Practice distinguishing between long and short vowel sounds for letters /a/ and /e/ by sorting this set of 24 picture cards into categories.
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Radiation Sorting Activity
A set of 20 cards to sort according to the type of electromagnetic wave.
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Think It or Say It? - Sorting Activity
Practice using a filter when speaking with others with this sorting activity.
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Sound Devices Sorting Activity
Reinforce sound devices used in text by sorting 16 poetic device cards into their appropriate category.
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Living vs Nonliving Things - Sorting Activity
Sort biotic vs. abiotic things and discuss their characteristics with a hands-on living and nonliving things picture sort.
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Fact Family Fishbowls - Multiplication and Division
Demonstrate an understanding of multiplication and division fact families with this sorting activity.
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How to Wash Your Hands - Sequencing Cards
A set of 8 cards showing the steps for how to wash your hands properly
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Syllable Sort
Use this Syllable Sort Game to assist your students in identifying syllables in different words.
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How to Make a PB and J Sandwich - Sequencing Cards
A set of 6 cards showing the steps to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
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Ordinal Stories and Sorting Activity
A fun, hands-on sorting activity to use when learning ordinal numbers.
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1 to 20 Clothesline Number Cards
A set of number cards to use in the classroom when learning to put the numbers 1–20 in numerical order.
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Silkworm Life Cycle Sort
Help your students concrete their understanding of silkworm life cycles with this interactive game.
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Let's Sort It! - 2D and 3D Shapes
Play this sorting game when learning about the properties of 2D and 3D shapes.
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Transportation Time Machine - Past and Present Transportation Sorting Activity
A fun sorting game for students to identify past and present modes of transportation.