Sorting NON-Identical Pictures and FREEBIE

One of my little guys has an IEP goal for sorting pictures.  He is awesome at sorting OBJECTS by color or size, but struggles more when it comes to sorting PICTURES of items.  He is also non-verbal and struggles to use his PECS book consistently since he isn't discriminating between pictures.  I though an IEP goal that had to do with discriminating photos while sorting could only help him with his communication as well.  We had been working on sorting full size note cards by color and he can do that now with ease.  So next, I upped the ante and had him work on sorting non-identical pictures.  For example, this would consist of sorting a variety of pictures of apples on one page, while sorting a variety of pictures of balls on another page.  This type of sorting is a step-up from sorting by color, but not quite as difficult as sorting by category or function.

The actual file folder I made is just blank (seen below), that way, I can switch up the items we are sorting.  I used boardmaker to get some of the pictures, and then went on google images and searched for real pictures as well as cartoon pictures of the different items.  Being able to sort a variety of pictures of the same item not only helps my student work on discriminating between photos, but it also helps him understand that an item can look a lot of different ways.  For instance an apple can be green, red, or yellow; an apple can be depicted as a cartoon or as a photo; an apple can be alone or in a group; and no matter what, these are all still examples of apples.

I take data on this task as well for this student by indicating how many prompts he needed, and how many pictures he was able to sort independently.  For apples vs. balls (which are actually kind of similar looking if you think about it!), it only took him 3 times completing the activity (with physical prompts for incorrect answers) to go from getting 50% correct to 90% correct!  We will continue to work on balls vs. apples, but I decided it was time we could introduce two more sets of pictures.  So, next we started working on sorting plants vs. fish.  Once this is mastered, we will intermix them (i.e. apples vs. fish, plants vs. balls, etc.) until he can sort them all at mastery levels.

Here are some pictures of my student working on his new set of pictures (plants vs. fish).  If he goes to put it on the wrong side, I quickly point to the correct side for him as a prompt.

If you want a copy of this FREEBIE (sorting plants vs. fish), click here!  This also includes the blank pages that can be laminated separately or put onto a file folder like I did.  Let me know how it works out in your class.

Today is the last day of the Teacher Appreciation Sale!  Check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store here

or by clicking on the photo below!

Subscribe to receive free email updates: