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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Environmental Awareness Flip Book - Earth Day Activity
Use this flip book to build awareness of actions that are good and bad for the environment.
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Self-Esteem Heart Activity
Help students boost their self-esteem with this lovely heart-themed activity
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Plant and Animal Sort - Task Cards
Sort plants and animals using different characteristics with a set of task cards and picture cards.
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Uses of Materials Sorting Activity
A fun sorting activity for students to explore the materials objects are made of.
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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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Comparing Fractions – Sorting Activity
Strengthen fraction comparison skills by sorting cards according to the inequality symbol that makes each statement true.
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Classifying Angles – 4th Grade Sorting Activity
Help students recognize different types of angles in everyday life with this hands-on sorting activity.
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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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Insulators & Conductors Sorting Activity
Distinguish between insulators and conductors with a picture-based sorting activity.
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Figurative Language Sorting Activity
Explore figurative language in context with this set of 28 sorting cards.
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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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Author's Purpose Sorting Activity
In this author's purpose activity, students will sort 20 phrase cards into groups by identifying whether the text is meant to inform, persuade, or entertain.
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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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Text Structures Sorting Activity
A set of 24 text structure cards to use in a sorting or scoot 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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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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Author's Purpose SORT IT!
Analyze 24 text examples and determine which of the 5 purposes of writing each of the sorting cards belongs to.
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Five Senses Sorting Activity
Explore the five senses with your little learners using a printable 5 Senses Science Sorting Activity.
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Unit Fraction Sorting Activity
Explore different images of unit fractions with your students in this unit fraction sorting activity with fraction word and fraction heading cards.
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Little Red Riding Hood Retelling Activity Cards
Teach your students about retelling with this set of sequencing cards for Little Red Riding Hood.
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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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Sustainability Activity - Caring for the Environment Sort
Promote sustainable living with a sustainability sorting activity.
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Presidents' Day Matching Activity
A matching activity to use around Presidents' Day or Independence Day.
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Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources – Sorting Activity
Categorize resources as either renewable or nonrenewable with this 24-card sorting activity
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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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Fact and Opinion Sort - Interactive or Printable Activity
Practice differentiating between fact and opinion with this set of 24 sorting cards or a Google Slides Interactive activity.
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Google Interactive CVCC Word Building Activity
Practice building, reading, and writing words with consonants, vowels, blends, and digraphs while spelling CVCC words.
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Picture, Word, Letter, or Sentence – Sorting Activity
Help your students distinguish between pictures, letters, words, and sentences with this sorting activity.
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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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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.