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.
- Plus Plan
Modal Language Sorting Activity
Explore examples of modal language with your students using this set of 24 sorting cards perfect for your persuasive writing unit.
- Plus Plan
Rhetorical Questions Sorting Activity
Explore examples of rhetorical questions with your students using this set of 28 sorting cards perfect for reading centers.
- Plus Plan
How Long Does It Take? – Sorting Activity
A set of 18 daily events for students to sort based on how long they take (second, minute, hour).
- Plus Plan
Instinct vs. Learned Behavior Sort
Help your students determine the difference between a learned behavior and an instinct with a thought-provoking sorting activity.
- Plus Plan
Natural and Human Made Heat Sources Sort
Explore the different man-made and natural heat sources with this sorting activity.
- Plus Plan
Singular or Plural? Christmas Noun Sort
Help your students determine if words are singular or plural with a fun Christmas-themed noun sorting center.
- 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
Analyzing Situations Sorting Activity
Use this sorting activity with your students to practice analyzing situations for their problems, consequences and possible solutions.
- Plus Plan
Color By Vowel Sound (Winter Worksheet for Kindergarten & 1st Grade)
Use a "cool" color by vowel sound worksheet to bring a bit of Winter into the classroom this season.
- Plus Plan
Matching Expanded and Standard 2-Digit Number Cards
Explore double digit numbers in standard and expanded form with this sorting activity for your math groups.
- Plus Plan
Parts of Speech Word Cards Sorting Activity
Engage your students with this parts of speech group activity where they sort 112 word cards into categories (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, coordinating conjunctions or prepositions).
- Plus Plan
Heat Sources Sorting Activity
Explore various sources of heat with this printable sorting activity for your students.
- Plus Plan
3rd Grade Divisible by 2 Sorting Activity
Explore numbers divisible by 2 with this fun snowboard-themed sorting activity.
- Plus Plan
How Seasons Affect Plants and Animals Sorting Activity
Set up this sorting activity in your classroom to teach students how the seasons affect plants and animals by categorizing them.
- Plus Plan
Odd and Even Properties Sorting Activity
Explore the properties of odd and even numbers when added, subtracted, divided and multiplied with this fun sorting activity
- Plus Plan
Hansel and Gretel Retelling Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for Hansel and Gretel.
- Plus Plan
Jack and Jill Nursery Rhyme- Retell Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for Jack and Jill.
- Plus Plan
Rhetorical Devices Sorting Activity
Explore rhetorical devices with your students using this set of 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.
- Plus Plan
Little Red Riding Hood Retelling Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for Little Red Riding Hood.
- Plus Plan
Jack and the Beanstalk Retelling Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for Jack and the Beanstalk.
- Plus Plan
Growth or Fixed Mindset Sorting Activity
Help students understand the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset with this sorting activity.
- Plus Plan
2nd Grade Odd or Even Sorting Game (Coins)
Help your students practice their knowledge of odd and even numbers with this fun coin sorting activity.
- Plus Plan
Focusing on Strengths Sorting Cards
Identify individual strengths with this set of strength vocabulary sorting cards.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
2nd Grade Odd or Even Number Popcorn Sorting Activity
Sort popcorn shaped numbers into either the odd popcorn bucket or the even popcorn bucket.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
Interior Angles of Shapes Sorting Activity
Play this sorting game when learning about the interior angles of common two-dimensional shapes.
- Plus Plan
Classifying Triangles (By Angles) – 4th Grade Math Activity
Play this sorting game when learning how to classify triangles according to their internal angles.
- Free Plan
Odd and Even Numbers Sorting Activity
Identify and sort 2- and 3-digit numbers into odd and even categories.
- Plus Plan
Plant Life Cycle Sorting Activity
Help your students identify the stages in a plant’s life cycle with a sorting activity..