Goldilocks Learns to Sort

Sorting Activity for Kindergarten and Preschool

 

If you're looking for a new sorting activity for kindergarten classrooms, or preschoolers, young children will have fun with this sorting activity.

 

Age/Grades:

Preschool/Kindergarten

Domains or Early Learning Standards:

Mathematics Knowledge and Skills; Language Skills

Materials Needed:

2 poster board sheets; write Hard at the top of one and Soft at the top of the other

Glue sticks

Samples of items that are soft and some that are hard

Pictures of items that are typically soft or hard

Preparation:

Cut out pictures from magazines and print pictures from the internet that represent items that are soft and hard. Put the pictures into a flat box. Set out glue sticks and the labeled poster boards.

Set the Stage:

At circle time, talk about how Goldilocks describes the chairs as too hard or too soft. What does soft feel like? What does hard feel like? Bring some household items to circle time that children can touch and describe as soft or hard (pillow, stuffed animal, book, something made from wood). It’s important that children have a hands-on experience before they are asked to sort representational pictures of items.

Activity:

Children can work in small groups to make 2 collages on poster board. Children take turns picking a picture from the box. They need to look at the picture, confer with their classmates and decide if it should be added to the Hard Poster or the Soft Poster. The beauty of a collage is that pictures can be pasted anywhere on the paper. Children take turns gluing their pictures to the matching poster.