Teaching Sorting in Kindergarten

by Megan Bacchus · October 3, 2021

What are the 3 most important things we teach in September in Kindergarten? Belonging, routines, and expectations. Once those foundations are built, students are ready to tackle deeper learning.

At the beginning of the year, what can you teach to begin learning about math AND reinforce routines? Sorting! It’s a great way for children to practice recycling, tidying up, and caring for their belongings.

In this blog post, we will explore sorting for Kindergarteners. We will talk about sorting strategies that are appropriate for kindergarten-aged students and why sorting is important. We will also discuss the best ways to incorporate sorting in your classroom – lessons, centres, and Math Talks – as well as how to make a lesson plan for teaching sorting in the classroom with your students. Finally, we’ll provide examples of different centre ideas that you can do with your students when they are learning about sorting!

Big Ideas:

When we sort, we compare similarities and differences.
Attributes are the ways in which we can describe and sort objects.
Collections can be sorted in different ways.

What is sorting and why does it matter to kindergarteners?

Sorting is when we order the items in different ways. It matters to Kindergarteners because sorting helps them to develop their early math skills, such as number sense and counting, which will help them later in school. It also helps them recognize similar and different attributes of objects.

We can teach sorting by using hands-on activities with the students that include sorting things by attributes like shapes, sizes, colours, and more.

Sorting Strategies for Kindergarteners

Real Scenarios: Observe students as they sort toys when tidying up. Can they sort crayons by colour into different containers? Do they recognize when objects are out of place? How can you support your students in recognizing sorting systems in your classroom?
Sorting Mats: You can make a sorting mat out of a piece of paper by drawing two separate circles on it. Label the circles with the attributes and provide materials for students to sort. When students use sorting mats, they can sort items by placing them in the correct circle.
Sorting Trays: Recycle old fruit and veggie trays or take out containers for a sorting provocation. Provide objects and have students decide how they can be sorted.

Sorting Centres

Sorting in nature is a great way to enjoy the beautiful fall weather during your math lessons. Sort different types of pinecones, different sizes of stones, or different lengths of sticks. Here, we sorted leaves by colour.

Take pictures of activities you do to send home to families. It might inspire them to try some sorting activities at home.

Notice and name when you see students sorting in classroom activities. Here, students organized the cups on the light table by colour.

Students were sorting magnetic letters and numbers by colour so we drew some sorting circles on the chalkboard and more students joined in to sort.

Here is a Kindergarten Sorting Lesson:

Whole Class Math Lessons in Sorting

I originally created these Google Slides lessons when I was teaching online but they are so engaging for children that I use them as whole group lessons in class. The slides are highly visual, which are great for math talks in your Kindergarten class.