Object inquiry skills, Problem-solving
A toddler sorts two different types of toys.
Be Prepared: Select two different types of toys that are of interest to the toddler participating in this activity. Gather six toys of each type. Example: Six toy animals and six toy cars. The toys within a category do not need to be identical. Example: The six toy animals could be different animals. Use toys that are approximately the same size. The activity description assumes toy animals and cars are used. These are examples only.
[Invite a toddler to play with some toys at a low table with you. Sit next to the toddler. Put two toys of each type on the table in front of you in a random arrangement. Example: two toy animals, two toy cars. Put the remaining toys on the floor by your side (away from the toddler).]
[Point to specific toys as you name them. Use gestures to complement your words. When you sort the toys, put them in front of the toddler and put space between the two groups of toys.]
Let’s look at these toys. There are toy animals. There are toy cars. These are different types of toys.
I am going to put our toy animals together. Now I am going to put our toy cars together.
Our animals are the same type of toy. Our cars are the same type of toy.
[Give the toddler one toy car and one toy animal. Place the two toys on the table in front of the toddler, separate from the toys you just sorted.]
Here are some more toys for us to look at. Here is another toy car. Here is another toy animal.
[Point to a toy as you name its type, or invite the toddler to say whether a toy you point to is a car or an animal.]
You can put the toy car with our other toy cars on the table. You can put the toy animal with our other toy animals.
[See Extra Support tip if the toddler seems unclear about what to do.
Give the toddler more toys from the preselected collection and invite him/her to put each car with other cars and each toy animal with other animals. If the toddler readily sorted the two toys in the first round, place the remaining six toys in front of him/her (three of each type). If it was challenging for the toddler to sort the two toys, offer two more toys (one of each type) to sort and then offer the remaining four toys to sort if the toddler remains interested.]
We looked at toy animals and toy cars. These are different types of toys. You put the toy animals together. You put the toy cars together. You put together the same types of toys.
Selecting toys that are of interest to the toddler means you may use different toys for different toddlers. Keeping some of the preselected toys on the floor next to you during the activity may seem logistically awkward, but this procedure can help a toddler maintain focus by placing on the table only those toys he/she is to work with at the moment.
Pay close attention to the ease with which the toddler sorts the toys. The activity description and scaffolding tips suggest ways to respond to a toddler’s approach to the task. Offer the activity at a later point if the toddler is not interested in sorting. Also, look for opportunities to informally point out groupings of similar or identical items as part of a typical day. Example: “Here is our tray of snacks. Look, all of the juice glasses are together. The plates of crackers are together.”
Some toddlers may focus on toy characteristics, such as color or specific type of animal, that are not part of sorting in the current activity. Positively acknowledge a toddler’s attention to details of a toy and consider adapting the activity to help the toddler sort by characteristics of his/her interest. Example: Help the toddler sort the toys by color or by specific type of animal, such as putting all horses together in one small group, and all pigs together in another small group. In future offerings of the activity, you may wish to select two types of identical objects, such as red counters and blue counters of the same size. This approach is used in later ELM sorting and matching activities, especially for toddlers 24–36 months of age, when attention to more specific characteristics of objects is promoted.
It is not necessary for toddlers to understand the term sorting in order to successfully participate in this sorting activity. Helping a toddler notice what is the basically the same and what is basically different about the toys is valuable to promote, as suggested in the activity description. Introducing the concept of sorting is a suggested Enrichment tip aimed at toddlers who seem ready to learn a new word.
Extra support
Enrichment
Object inquiry skills, Problem-solving
Toddlers participate together in sorting three different types of toys.
Be Prepared: This activity is an adaptation of Option 1 for a gathering of two or three toddlers. Determine three different types of toys to use in the activity. Secure one toy of each type per toddler participating in the activity. Example: For three toddlers, secure three balls, three blocks, and three people figures. Also secure two toys of each type for yourself, to be used at the beginning of the activity. Example: two balls, two blocks, and two people figures. Use identical toys, if possible, or toys of similar size. The activity description assumes balls, blocks, and people figures are used. These are examples only. Begin the activity with all toys in an open basket or container on the floor next to you.
Invite two or three toddlers to join you at a low table to play with some toys. Place toddlers at the table (standing or sitting) so each has work space in front of him/her. Take two toys of each of the three types from the basket and place them on the table in a random grouping of six. Encourage the toddlers to look at, touch or manipulate, and name each type. Emphasize there are three different types of toys on the table. Some are blocks, some are balls, and some are people figures. Avoid sorting the toys as you talk with toddlers about the types.
Explain that we can put together the toys that are the same. Put in the center of the table one of each of type of toy, with about 12 inches of space between each. Point to and name each type of toy. Example: “Here is a ball. Here is a block. And here is a people figure.” Then put each of the remaining three toys next to its similar type positioned in the middle of the table. Explain your actions. Example: “I am putting this block next to the other block. I am putting this ball next to the other ball. I am putting this people figure next to the other people figure.”
Explain that each toddler can do the same thing. Place on the table in front of each toddler three different toys; one of each type. Invite the toddlers to put each of their toys with the same type of toy. Help toddlers take turns and offer verbal support if appropriate. After toddlers have placed their toys with the appropriate type of toy in the middle of the table, emphasize again that we put together the types of toys that are the same. Example: (while pointing) “Here are our blocks, all together. Here are our balls, all together. Here are our people figures, all together.”
If toddlers remain interested, take apart the toy groupings on the table and repeat the activity. This time, add your toys to the toddlers’ collections to sort. Depending on the number of toddlers who participate in the repeat round, the number of toys you give to each toddler to sort may not be equal after your toys are added to the collection. See Enrichment tips for adding challenge.
This activity is more challenging than Option 1 because it involves three, rather than two, different types of objects and occurs within a small gathering of peers. Most of the considerations described in Option 1’s What to Look For section apply to the current option.
The small gathering arrangement offers an opportunity to help toddlers experience turn-taking, a skill that takes time for young children to understand and practice. Help toddlers take turns putting their toys with the appropriate group of toys. In addition to supporting toddlers’ awareness of taking turns, this approach enables you to give individualized verbal guidance, if necessary, and avoids distractions that could occur if everyone attempts to put a toy in a specific group at the same time.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: see below
Provide 10–15 toys that represent 2–3 different types on a low table for toddlers to sort individually or with a peer. Consider using toys that were not part of Option 1 or 2. There are commercially-available toys, such as My First Sorting Bears, designed to support sorting skills.
Materials Needed: see below
In addition to offering Option 1 and 2 for toddlers, provide opportunities for preschool-age children to sort items in your setting, such as play dishes and utensils. A more advanced approach to sorting for preschool-age children involves distributing one of each type of item per person. Example: Give each child a cup of juice, a napkin, and 2–3 crackers for snack.
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