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Sorting into categories

PROCEDURAL
MathematicsData & Statistics|Ages 5—6|ID: mt_xppl18avyY

Classify objects into given categories, count the number in each category, and sort the categories by count

Mastery Evidence

  • Sort a set of shapes by colour and count how many in each group
  • Sort objects by size (big/small) and state how many in each category
  • Identify which category has the most/fewest after sorting and counting

Assessment Prompt

“Can [child] sort a pile of objects — like buttons, coins, or toy animals — into groups and count how many are in each group?”

Curriculum Standards1 alignment

K.MD.3Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
Classify and Count Objects

Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count.

Measurement and Data

Prerequisites2

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  • Comparing groups: more or fewer soft

    Sorting categories by count benefits from ability to compare quantities

    • Counting objects to 20 soft

      Counting a set helps when comparing groups, but younger children (GB age 4) can compare using matching without formal counting to 20

      • How Many in Total? hard

        Answering 'how many?' requires the cardinality principle

        • One-to-one counting hard

          Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'

      • One-to-one counting hard

        Counting objects to answer 'how many?' requires one-to-one correspondence

  • Counting objects to 20 hard

    Counting objects in each category requires being able to count sets of objects

    • How Many in Total? hard

      Answering 'how many?' requires the cardinality principle

      • One-to-one counting hard

        Cardinality principle builds on one-to-one correspondence — you must count correctly to know the last number tells 'how many'

    • One-to-one counting hard

      Counting objects to answer 'how many?' requires one-to-one correspondence