This is part of a series of blog posts outlining some ways that I use Google Classroom with my third graders.
I haven't used traditional sorts very often in my classroom, in part because it takes my third graders so much time to cut and paste things (not to mention it makes a huge mess!). If I want to save class time by not having my students do the cutting, then it takes lots of my own planning time to cut and organize the materials, which is a sacrifice I can't often afford to make. With that being said...sorts are often a great learning activity! They require students to closely analyze concepts, compare and contrast, and explain their thinking (when working with partners or groups).
This year I've been experimenting with a way to get all of the academic benefits of a sort while saving time for me and my students: digital sorts in Google Classroom.
STEP ONE: I create the background for my sorts in MS Powerpoint. You can also do this in Google Slides, but I prefer to use the fonts I have downloaded on my computer, so I use Powerpoint. This is where I put the instructions for students, and if I have predetermined the categories for the sort, I go ahead and label the sections.
STEP TWO: I save this slide to my computer as an image (JPEG or PNG).
STEP THREE: Now I create a new Google Slides document in my Google Drive. Ultimately this will be what I assign to my students via Google Classroom. After creating the new presentation, I right click on a blank slide and select "Change background." I find and select the image I created in steps 1-2.
Setting this as the background of the slide, rather than inserting the image on top of the slide, is important. Because it is the background, students can't accidentally move it around or delete it! It's rooted in place in the background of the slide.
STEP FOUR: When creating the items that the students will sort, I have found that there is a fast way and a good way. The fast way is to insert a text box for each item and type inside. This is quick, but I have found that my students have a tendency to mess with the text boxes (even though sometimes it's on accident). They might type in them, delete part of them, change the fonts...you name it, my kids have done it!
Instead, I prefer to type the text in text boxes in Powerpoint (or Google Slides) instead. Then I select the text box, right click, and "Save as Picture." Then I can insert the images into my sort. My students have had a much easier time with this option than straight text boxes!
STEP FIVE: When I insert the images of the text boxes into my sort document in Google Slides, I usually spread them out outside of the slide itself. This leaves my students room to read them clearly and move them around as needed.
STEP SIX: I assign the sort to my students through our Google Classroom. I select the Google Slides document, and choose "Make a copy for each student." This is really important! Once I forgot to do this step, and every student started editing in the same document at the same time -- it was chaos!
Google Classroom is like a treasure trove of opportunity. I'm so excited to share this little piece of it with you! If there is something else you would like to learn about regarding Google Classroom, drop a comment below and I will try to address it in a future installment in this Google Classroom series.
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