Word Sorts

As I present to teachers in Greenville County this summer, one strategy I have included in all my sessions is Word Sorts. There are many reasons I decided to remind teachers how to incorporate word sorts into their classrooms. First, word sorts has a strong research base, proving that it is beneficial to people to place information into categories and make connections between concepts. Also, word sorts helps students recognize common relationships between core concepts, and allows them to visually place those relationships into groups. My reasons for using word sorts goes on and on.

There are two types of word sorts; closed and open. In a closed sort, participants are to sort using predetermined category headings or topics. For example, tulips and roses would be sorted under the heading of Flowers. An open sort does not give the category headings. Participants must sort according to their own criteria. For example, one may place all the people in a category, all the events in a category, and so on. The key is to get students to think further. Ask students to sort their words/concepts a different way. For example, place together the person, event, location, etc. That's higher order thinking!

How can you make a word sort in your classroom? My suggestion is to find a worksheet that you already use, one that has two or more columns, and create a sort out of it. Type the information in the columns seperate, laminate, and cut out for the sorting. White out the information in the columns on the worksheet. You now have a closed sort.

Check out these resources:
scdoe.net
abcteach.com
spunkyenglish.com
mypearsontraining.com

Below are pictures of some participants from my workshops sorting through a closed sort. Thank you for all the willing participants so far this summer, and keep on sorting!
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