3
Sorting things into groups
Joyful Mathematics: Chapter 1
GoalSort things into groups and say why they go together.
New words
sort · put things that are alike togethergroup · things that are put togethersame · alikedifferent · not alike
Explanation
To sort is to put things that are alike together. Each set of things is a group. We can sort by colour. We can sort by kind. We can sort by size. The same things can be sorted in many ways.
Worked examples
Sorting by kind. Birds go together. Animals with four legs go together.
Sorting by size. Big things go in one group and small things in another.
A box of buttons can be sorted by colour, or by size, or by how many holes they have. There is more than one way.
Class activity
Kitchen sorting. Take a handful of things from the kitchen: spoons, bottle caps and two kinds of dry beans or dal. Sort them into groups. Ask a friend: why are these together? Then sort the same things in a new way, for example big and small.
Practice
1
Sort these into fruits and vegetables. How many are fruits?
3 fruits (apple, banana, mango) and 3 vegetables.
2
Which one does not belong with the fruits?
The carrot.
3
Sort these by colour. How many are red? How many are yellow?
2 red (tomato, rose) and 2 yellow (corn, sunflower). The pepper is green, so it goes in a third group.
4
Name two things in your bag that go together in one group.
Any right answer, for example pencil and eraser.