Give children 4 sorting hoops and ask them to label them rough and smooth and dull and shiny. Children find objects from around the classroom to put into each hoop. Play ‘Guess the rule’. Students have one card between each pair. They approach the teacher with their card and the teacher tells them ‘yes’ if their card is accepted or ‘no’ if it is not. Students reason what rule the teacher has for saying yes or no to the cards. By 6, children will begin to learn that shapes can be cut and placed together to create new shapes. The objects span from common household items to slightly more complex pictures - perfect for challenging your young students to sort 2D shapes. It's a fantastic way to help children get to grips with learning how to practice identifying and sorting shapes based on their properties, an important skill to master as part of the KS1 National Curriculum.

Our Sorting Activities for EYFS can be used to help children to achieve a large range of EYFS learning outcomes such as- Encouraging social interaction and language development as they vocalise with friends what they are doing

I found some baskets and wrote out 4 phonemes that I wanted her to practise onto card, then cut them out. I collected a number of small items from around the house that had those phonemes as their initial sound and then mixed them up in a pile in front of the baskets, ready to be sorted. Obviously you need to base this on your own child’s ability and focus on sounds they may need help with. This is a good way to introduce new phoneme sets in small groups in the classroom too. Developing Use the sorting hoops to complete the statements. Supports sorting 3D shapes, with reference to the number or faces, edges and vertices. All shapes are presented in the same orientation and size. Perspective lines visible on all shapes. These free printable 2D shapes worksheets are easy to print, and they'd work brilliantly either as a classroom activity or as a homework assignment to help reinforce learning at home. Try this 2D display for your working wall too!

All objects in one group have to look exactly the same, eg all triangles also have to be the same colour. You really can adapt this activity to suit your class's needs. We think it's a great idea to laminate this resource, if you can. This way, you can use it again and again, in a variety of different contexts. Simply use a whiteboard marker to decide what the theme is for today's lesson.

For a helpful guide to introduce children to 2D shapes and their properties, why not try out our fantastic Properties of Shape and Objects Maths Warm-Up PowerPoint, or this great Shapes PowerPoint Quiz? This Gardening Comparison Activity challenges children to read two passages and compare the information in each; This Venn diagram activity is just one of many Venn diagram exercises that we have for you to choose from. The great thing about these teacher-made resources is that they can be applied to almost any subject - from Maths to History. Once circle will contain one set of objects, while the other circle will contain another. If any items can be a part of both sets, then they will be written in the central overlap section. Expected Circle the shape that cannot be sorted into the Venn diagram. Supports sorting 3D shapes, with reference to the number of faces, edges and vertices. All shapes presented in different orientations and sizes. Perspective lines visible on some shapes and some real-life objects.