Why learn to sort by size?
Sorting big and small items is a crucial skill for academic acquisitions in cognitive and math skills. Thus, we must offer children in preschool a variety of opportunities to grasp the size concept.
This process – sorting – of looking at a set of items, assessing their characteristics, and then organizing them according to a specific characteristic is important in both academic and nonacademic settings. It is also the first step in applying logical thinking to objects and establishing logical connections between objects.
Since pirate worksheets are very popular among children 6 years old and younger, we decided to create this free big and small worksheet activity on the Pirate theme.
What are the developmental stages of learning to sort by size?
Step 1: comparison with its own body
The child learns to distinguish different sizes by using his own body to compare other objects. For example: “I’m bigger than Anna et smaller the John”.
Step 2: Three-dimensional comparison
The child learns to distinguish between different sizes on a three-dimensional level. For example: “the blue car is smaller than the ball”.
Step 3: Two-dimensional comparison
The child is able to distinguish between sizes on a two-dimensional level on a page or worksheet. At this stage, the child can use the free worksheet down below.
How to teach size sorting for children?
In this activity, children learn how to sort objects belonging to the Pirate theme by size: from the biggest items to the smallest items.
This activity is easy to set up, you only need to print and laminate the pdf file in the download section below.
For durable materials, use a laminating machine to laminate the pdf file and velcro on the sorting objects and mats to make it easy to use and store this activity.
Keep in mind that there are two levels of difficulty in this big and small worksheet:
- In the easiest level, children use the size of the columns on the worksheet (small, medium, and big) as guidance. This guidance makes the sorting activity easier for the children.
- To make the sorting more difficult remove the worksheet. In this case, children are given the cards only to sort on their desk or work table.
Download the big and small activity pdf file
Sorting by size- big & Small activity worksheet Pirate theme
ABLLS-R aligned activities
- B25 Seriation (sorting images by size)
- B18 sorting by feature ( size )
If you want to practice more “big and small”
Sorting by size for ABA Special Education Sorting Speech Therapy big & Small activity worksheet