Sorting game
Type of Submission:

This idea is a submission for:
X A curriculum idea
__Cool things to do
__A special issue
Age group for whom this activity is appropriate:
3-5 years
 
Brief description of activity:
A sorting game to accompany the sorting activities my kids play on the computer.
What I did to set this up and how I followed through:

I did sorting in my classroom before I had a computer and thought doing a hands on activity in addition to the computer would extend the experience. After all of the kids had a chance to play the computer sorting game, we did a whole class lesson with beans and muffin tins
Materials used:
Sammy’s Science House; muffin tins; assorted objects for sorting such as a jar of buttons; a container of colored beans, or anything else that can be sorted!
What the children had to do and what I wanted them to learn:
  • The children had to sort objects according to categories they identified
  • The categories were not pre-determined. For example, you could sort the buttons by the number of sewing holes each had or by the color or by the size.
  • I wanted them to understand that objects can be categorized in different ways.
Images of the Activity:
   
Background: How I got the idea:
The sorting game on the computer gave me the idea to try sorting with everyday materials. I’m really not sure that the kids understand the categories in the computer game; some of which are very complicated. I wanted them to have an opportunity to work with them with everyday objects so they’d start getting an idea about classifying.
Analysis: How the kids and/or parents responded:
This became a good workstation in our classroom. The kids enjoyed thinking up their own categories for sorting. I periodically changed the materials on the table to stimulate more sorting games.
Extension

 
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Assessment Opportunities
How can I keep track of children’s learning with computer games?
 Creative Play
How can I foster the free expression of children’s ideas with the computer?
 Skill Levels
How can I present children with increasing levels of challenge at the computer?
 Helping Others
How can I help children learn computer games together, sharing their knowledge with their peers?
 Making Decisions
How can I help children become
more autonomous when playing with the computer?
 Mastery
How can I help children rehearse
new skills on the computer until they are fully mastered?
 Solving Problems
How can I make sure children are solving meaningful problems when playing computer games?