Shapes,

Numbers,
and Letters, Oh My!
Kindergarten Math 50 minutes Standards: K.MD.B.3

by Anna Parrish August 1, 2015

Where do they fit? In this lesson, students will discover how shapes, numbers, and letters can be
grouped into categories. With adaptable content, students can also be challenged to consider
attributes such as size and color!

Learning Objectives
Students will be able to recognize different types of categories, such as categories by number,
letter, shape, color, size, or similar properties and attributes. Students will be able to explain and
justify why certain objects belong with a chosen category.

Materials and Preparation

What Does Not Belong worksheets
SMART Board Teacher Modeling file or PDF
Assortment of letter cards, numbers, and shape manipulatives
Independent practice templates (shapes, letters, and numbers, 1 per student)
Crayons
Scissors
Glue
Construction paper or tagboard (1 per student)
White drawing paper

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 Attachments

PDF PDF PDF NOTEBOOKPDF PDF

Count and Independent What Does Teaching Teaching What Does

Classify Practice Not Belong: Modeling Modeling Not Belong:
Templates Back to Shapes Shapes Shapes,
School SMART Letters, and
Board File Numbers

Lesson
Introduction (5 minutes)
Introduce the lesson by asking students to participate in an identification activity of the
things that don’t belong.
Display the What Does Not Belong: Shapes, Letters, and Numbers worksheet on an
interactive whiteboard, or use a printed copy.
Invite students to find the objects that don’t belong and justify their thinking.

Explicit Instruction/Teacher Modeling (5 minutes)

Use the SMART Board file or PDF teacher modeling posters to model the process of
sorting shapes, numbers, and letters into groups and categorizing them.
As you move the objects around, conduct a think-aloud in which you share with the
students what you are thinking and why you are moving the objects in a certain way.

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Guided Practice/Interactive Modeling (10 minutes)
Using a variety of materials around the classroom (including objects such as number flash
cards, letter cards, and tactile shapes), invite the students to notice similarities and
differences.
Have the students sit in a circle and put all of the objects in the center of the circle.
Ask the students how the objects are alike and different.
Invite the students to move the objects around in the center so that they fit together into
specific categories.
Encourage students to name specific categories and explain why certain objects are in one
category but not included in another category.

Independent Working Time (15 minutes)

Distribute the template page with black and white letters, shapes, and numbers.
Have your students color the letters, shapes, and numbers. Encourage students to use a
variety of colors to color each object one color.
Next, have the students cut out their shapes, letters, and numbers.
Ask the students to sort their letters, shapes, and numbers into categories. Encourage your
students to be creative and sort by alternative categories, such as by color or size.
Have the students glue their letters, shapes, and numbers in categories on a piece of
construction paper or tag board and circle the entire group of objects that fit into that
category.

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Extend
Differentiation
Enrichment: Extend the independent working assignment by having students draw
pictures that can be added to the existing categories. Students can even create a new
category and develop new objects that would fit in that category! Challenge students to
create “mystery pictures” that show objects that can be grouped in different categories. Pair
students and allow them to trade pictures with one another and guess the categories shown
in the pictures.
Support: Modify the template to include limited numbers, letters, and shapes. Have
students cut out objects first and model an example of how two shapes, colors, or letters
can be grouped. If students struggle with the general concept of sorting, consider assigning
the Back to School worksheet to help identify ways to categorize common objects, such as
school supplies.

Technology Integration
Use a “Silent Graffiti” activity on an interactive whiteboard, as described below.
Have one student begin the activity by drawing an object somewhere on the interactive
whiteboard.
Invite another student to come up next and draw something close to that object or farther
away, depending on whether it fits into that category.
Continue the process with other students, adding pictures and objects until several different
categories are developed.

Related Books and/or Media

Sort it Out! by Barbara Mariconda
Same Same by Marthe Jocelyn
Dave’s Down-to-Earth Rock Shop by Stuart J. Murphy
GAMES: Sorting at the Zoo
GAMES: Which One Doesn’t Belong?

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Review
Assessment (5 minutes)
Circulate around the room and ask students how they sorted their objects, encouraging
them to justify their thinking and tell the reasons why they sorted the objects as they did.

Review and Closing (10 minutes)

Play a modified version of “I Spy!” where students look around the classroom for objects
that fit into a particular category.
Name the category of choice. For example, you could name the category “red” or the
category “numbers.”
Write that category on a piece of chart paper and underline the category.
Next, have the students “spy” any objects that fit into that category.
As the students name the objects, write and draw them on the chart paper under the
category name.
Continue with several different categories, repeating the process. By the end of this activity,
you will have several category lists using common classroom items. Students will see that
categorizing is relevant in the world around them!

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