Put them together by colour

Look at all of them. Which ones look like they belong together?

MathAges 2–310 minutes3 pagesEnglish textInk-light

Being written

This one is planned but not finished yet. Everything below is what it will contain.

Not drawn yet

I can put things together that are the same colour.

How the fifteen minutes go

The five steps on this sheet, in the order a child meets them. This is what you will actually be doing, not a description of the method.

Print the one that fits today. Same skill, three depths — and on this sheet they differ like this.

Support

Two colours, six objects.

Fewer items, more pictures, hints included, parent reads the instructions.

Core

Three colours, nine objects.

The standard task, recognition, practice and explanation.

Challenge

Sort the same nine a second way, by size, and notice the groups change.

Open-ended. Explain why, make your own example, use it somewhere new.

The same guide that is printed on the back page, so you can read it before you decide to print anything.

The answers

Red: apple, fish, ball. Blue: whale, water drop, shoe. Yellow: sun, star, banana.

If they get stuck

Hand them real objects, socks, blocks, spoons, and sort those first. Paper second.

Common mistakes

Sorting by category instead, all the food together. Not wrong; ask for the rule and then ask for a colour rule as well.
Ringing one object twice. Good problem. Let them solve it.

When they finish early

Sort the laundry by colour. Genuinely useful and exactly the same skill.