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Sorting: Putting Things Into Groups

Students learn to sort — putting things into groups that go together — by looking at how they are alike, such as their color, an early skill for thinking about data.

KindergartenSorting30 minutes1 class periodGradual ReleaseExplicit teaching4 StandardsCommon Core
Start the Lesson
Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Sort things into groups.
  • ✓Sort by color.
  • ✓Tell how things are alike.
  • ✓Explain a sorting rule.
Essential Question

If you had a big pile of red and blue toys, how could you put them into groups that go together?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Sort by Color

Project this and sort each thing into “Red” or “Blue.” Tap one, then tap its basket — things that are alike go together!

🔴 Sort each thing — red or blue?Try it
🔴 Red things
🔵 Blue things
Tap a thing, then tap a basket.
The Lesson · Gradual Release (I Do · We Do · You Do)

30 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Launch — Things That Go Together

5 min

How would you sort a pile of toys?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show mixed objects.
  • Ask how to group them.
  • Set the goal: sorting.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Look at the mix.
  • Suggest a group.
  • Predict a rule.
2

I Do — Sort by Color

8 min

Teacher models.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Pick a rule (color).
  • Put like things together.
  • Name each group.

🎒 Student Actions

  • See the rule.
  • Watch sorting.
  • Name a group.
3

We Do — Sort Together

9 min

Class uses Sort by Color.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Sort each thing.
  • Say why it belongs.
  • Name the groups.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort each thing.
  • Say the rule.
  • Name groups.
4

You Do — On Your Own

8 min

Students sort.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Give objects to sort by color.
  • Then sort by shape or size.
  • Explain the rule.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort by color.
  • Try another rule.
  • Explain it.
5

Close — Close

5 min

Explain a sort.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show a sorted set.
  • Ask the sorting rule.
  • Hand out the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name the rule.
  • Explain the groups.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.

CCSS
K.MD.3

Classify objects into given categories; count and sort by category.

CCSS
K.MD.1

Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight.

CCSS
K.MD.2

Directly compare two objects with a measurable attribute.

CCSS
K.CC.6

Compare the number of objects in groups.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Sort real objects into hoops.
  • Sentence frame: “These are all ___.”
  • Name the color of each group.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Sort into two clear colors.
  • Use very different objects.
  • Sort one at a time.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Sort by shape or size.
  • Count each group after sorting.
  • Make your own sorting rule.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 📓Math journals
  • 💻Sort by Color
  • 🧸Objects to sort
  • ⭕Sorting hoops
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

sortto put into groupsgroupthings that go togethercategorya kind or typealikethe same in a waydifferentnot the samecolorred, blue, and so onrulehow you decide to sortsamematching
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What does it mean to sort?
To put things into groups that go together.
QUESTION 2
Name one way you could sort a pile of blocks.
By color, by shape, or by size.
QUESTION 3
If you sort by color, what makes things go in the same group?
They are the same color.

Going deeper? Sort a new way.

Have students sort the same objects two different ways (first by color, then by shape) and count each group. A printable sorting mat is in the Math library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 SortingFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 SortingQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ SortingPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: alike, category, color, different, group, rule, same, sort
  1. not the same
  2. red, blue, and so on
  3. how you decide to sort
  4. a kind or type
  5. the same in a way
  6. things that go together
  7. matching
  8. to put into groups

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What does it mean to sort?
  2. Name one way you could sort a pile of blocks.
  3. If you sort by color, what makes things go in the same group?
Answer key — Part A: 1) different · 2) color · 3) rule · 4) category · 5) alike · 6) group · 7) same · 8) sort
Part B: 1) To put things into groups that go together. 2) By color, by shape, or by size. 3) They are the same color.