Sorting Activities Teaching Resources
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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Story Setting or Not? - Sorting Activity
Explore the difference between story settings and non-settings with this hands-on sorting activity.
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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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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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Making Mistakes – Sorting Activity
Help your students recognize different types of mistakes and discuss ways to learn from them with this SEL activity.
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Forgiving Friends – Character Education Activities
Use these character education activities to encourage students to maintain and repair friendships by forgiving others.
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Is It Magnetic? Sorting Activity
Use this sorting activity when classifying objects as magnetic or not magnetic.
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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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Sustainability Activity - Caring for the Environment Sort
Promote sustainable living with a sustainability sorting activity.
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Synonym Roll Sorting Center
Encourage your kids to take a bite out of language learning with our sweet “Synonym Roll” sorting activity.
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Man-made vs. Natural Features - Sorting Activity
Identify the natural and human features of environments with this 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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St. Patrick's Day Math Center - Odd and Even Number Sort
Sort odd and even numbers into their corresponding pots with a St. Patricks Day math activity.
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Animals and Their Habitats - Sorting Activity
Discover the habitats that are home to Earth’s wildlife with a printable animal habitat sorting activity.
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CVC Word Chain Sequencing Cards
Practice building word chains involving CVC words with these word chain sequencing cards.
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Famous Colonists Cut and Paste Worksheet
Show what you know about famous American colonists with a cut-and-paste Colonial Americans worksheet.
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Synonym Word Match Cards
Match pairs of synonyms with a set of printable synonym flash cards.
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Spring Short and Long Vowel Sort
Practice distinguishing short and long vowels with a Spring-themed short and long vowel sorting activity.
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Presidents' Day Sorting Activity
Engage your learners in Presidents’ Day activities with a printable sorting center about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
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Presidents' Day Matching Activity
A matching activity to use around Presidents' Day or Independence Day.
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Animal Classification Sort
Determine if an animal is an amphibian, reptile, mammal, or bird with this sorting activity.
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Singular and Plural Possessives Task Cards
Practice writing phrases using the correct singular or plural possessive noun with a set of task cards.
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Businesses and Types of Industry – Sorting Activity
Help your students distinguish between different economic industries with this sorting activity.
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Rotation vs. Revolution – Sorting Activity
Determine if examples are due to Earth’s rotation or revolution with this sorting activity.
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Synonyms or Antonyms? Upper Grades Sorting Activity
Identify synonyms and antonyms with a sorting activity designed for upper elementary students.
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Alien Grab - Sorting by Category Activity
A fun sorting activity to identify toys from other everyday objects.
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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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Types of Taxes – Sorting Activity
Differentiate between different types of taxes with this 24-card sorting activity.
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Groundhog Day Syllable Sort
Practice identifying and sorting syllable types in two- and three-syllable words with this Groundhog Day syllable sorting activity.
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Syllable Examples Sorting Activity
Practice identifying and sorting syllable types in two- and three-syllable words with this treasure-themed sorting activity.
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Sweet Phonemes - Segmentation Sorting Activity
Practice segmenting phonemes in common words with this sweet sorting activity.