Page 112 - Routines-Based Early Intervention Guidebook
P. 112
Routines-Based Early Intervention Guidebook
Teaching Categorization 8.4
categories. Nothing special has to be done when reading them. Just make sure to
frequently include this genre of books with all your other favorites. Some
examples include:
Books that name mother and baby animals: horse/colt/foal, cow/calf, sheep/
lamb, dog/puppy, cat/ki en.
Books that describe a ributes of a single category: animals by color, animals by
sizes.
Books that name objects found in specific places: furniture in different rooms of
the house, tools and buildings found on a farm, businesses found along Main
Street, items found in various sec ons of the grocery store, and so on.
2. Sor ng ac vi es – Sor ng ac vi es are best begun with physical objects. If you are
at a school, math manipula ves are perfect as they have a high number of similar
objects used for coun ng. It is best not to have two variables ini ally. For
instance, use the colored bears in the math manipula ves to sort by color. Don’t
use the colored animals to sort by color because a child could put all of the animals
together, all of the colors, or a combina on of the both. If you start by sor ng
animals, make sure they are all the same color.
3. Similari es and Differences – The first categoriza on skill that is usually taught in
school is “same and different.” For children who are struggling with categoriza‐
on, this is s ll a great ac vity but make sure not to jump up to WHY ques ons too
soon. Talk out loud about why things are grouped but allow the child to make her
own inferences.
4. Sort by A ribute – Building blocks are perfect for sor ng by size, color, or shape.
Again, for struggling learners or very young children, only focus on one a ribute at
a me. Building towers is really exci ng for children because they love to knock it
down. Towards the top, request specific blocks that you will add so that the tower
gets taller. This tests their recep ve language skills (understanding).
5. Loca on, Loca on, Loca on – Objects belong in a certain place. Whether it is
around the house or the classroom. Children can help clean up or retrieve objects.
Copyright © 2014 Bilinguis cs, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
104