Sorting and Classifying Objects into Groups Worksheets
How to Sort and Classifying Objects into Groups - A pre-number learning concept that helps children in identifying objects is the concept of classification. The interesting thing about classifying is that it can be done with or without the involvement of the numbers. It is not only a mathematical concept. For example; separating objects into a distinct group, such as the same color t-shirts, and same color balls. Before children move forward, they need to learn how to sort and classify the objects before they come across problems like these. Classifying and sorting is the act of placing things that are the same or similar in a category. Grouping them requires them having some specific traits and attributes. For example, animals can be grouped or classified based on their nature or type. You can have your kids classify anything including from toy cars, balls, toy animals, leaves and books to plates and spoons. You can expose your children to a variety of opportunities to let them classify the objects. Grouping can also be done on the basis of the same color, big/small and long/short. These worksheets and lessons show students how to identify similarities and differences between things and then we work on how to group items based on these characteristics. This skill will serve as a foundation to build up their math skills from.
Aligned Standard: Kindergarten - K.MD.3
- Classifying into Groups Step-by-step Lesson- Animals versus fruits. Where does each go?
- Compare Sets Guided Lesson - You will compare and contrast 3 rows of objects that include milk, whales, and fish.
- Guided Lesson Explanation - I tried to keep this one short and sweet, but still found myself rambling a bit.
- Same or Different Worksheet - Circle anything in the row that is the same as the first object in the row.
- 2 Groups Worksheet - Forms of land or air transport. Take off with this one!
- Sorting Into 4 Groups- A much more advanced skill than the standards ask for, but this great for quick learners.
- Sort the Objects into Two Groups- Sort items between groups of sweets and writing instruments.
- Reading Venn Diagrams - I saw a problem like this on a test once, but I have never seen a practice sheet on it. So, I created it.
- What Category Do I Best Fit Into? - This is more of a rapid fire worksheet. You will probably like it.
- Answer Keys - These are for all the unlocked materials above.
- Classifying Objects into 3 Groups Worksheet- I set these up so that you could even cut and paste them and break out the glue.
- Classifying into Group Step by Step Lesson - You can use many different criteria to sort these, but I chose can fly and can't.
- Classifying in Groups Guided Lesson Explanation- Automobiles or transportation versus athletic sports balls.
- Data Chart of Sets of Objects Guided Lesson - We do our comparison after charting all the data.
- Compare Sets Guided Lesson- You have to sort these in order to answer the questions. This can help students see another approach.
- Compare Sets of Objects Guided Lesson Explanation- I always like to do my counts first.
- Making Data Charts of Sets Worksheet- We get some more work in on plotting data charts and the comparing items.
- Classifying Same Themes into Categories Worksheet- The labels help you understand the pictures and vice versa.
- Understanding and Describing Sets Worksheet- This is somewhat of a primer activity for this skill.
Why is it Important to Understand How to Sort and Classify Objects?
The importance of this skill is often overlooked by many. While this skill is often disregarded as a play skill, it houses the foundation of learning how to interact with beginning math skills. When you comprehend that some things are from the same group this lends itself to the concept of counting. You need to know what you are counting before you can count them. This simple concept leads students to understand the basis for numeration. In this fashion students are grasping what a real number is rather than just counting from rote memory. Counting innately lends itself to addition (counting forward) and subtraction (counting in reverse). Addition lends itself to multiplication and subtraction to division. As you can begin to see, it all starts with a foundation rooted around sorting and classifying. This also lends itself to help students understand that things can be grouped by possessing similar attributes. While we are focused on physical objects, at this point, it makes a seamless transition to ordering and rearrange math problems that share similar attributes. There are five core skills that students learn in a progression from this topic which will serve them well as they progress forward with math. As we mentioned previously the base skill is being able to identify the attributes of an object. They then can match objects based on these features. Once we match two or more groups, we can sort those objects. We can then refer back and compare those objects. They can then order those objects based on the differences between them.