FM.I Matching and Sorting: Objects and Pictures
Matching means bringing together things that are the same. Matching is one of the most important ways in which children explore the world. They learn that things that are the same can be given the same name. They learn that things can be the same in some respects, but not in others, and in this way learn such crucial concepts as colour, shape and size. They learn to observe fine differences between similar objects and pictures – a skill that is vital to reading. When you teach your child to match, you are providing the basis for much further learning.
In this sequence, your child will learn to classify objects and pictures, by matching together those that are the same.
In the following sequence, FM.J, your child will learn to classify things according to the ‘pre-academic’ concepts of colour, shape, size and number, and will begin some pre-reading activities.
The first 3 skills in this sequence (FM.I) are taught first, and then the 2 sequences are taught in parallel.
While all the skills in this sequence, and many in FM.J, are mainly concerned with visual discrimination, always talk to your child about the objects or pictures he is matching. In this way you will be helping him to develop his language skills as well.
It is easy to find objects to match – just about anything will do. We have used teaspoons, pegs, cotton reels, small blocks, plugs, large screws and other hardware items, party favours from the novelty sections of supermarkets and all kinds of odds and ends! The only criterion is that you have at least 2 of each object.
Pictures for matching are a little harder to find. Nine-piece lot to games are readily available, but in the early stages, when pairs of pictures are required, we rely mostly on home-made materials, When large pictures are needed, you could buy 2 identical Ladybird picture books, remove the pictures and mount them on cardboard – perhaps with a cover of self-adhesive plastic. We find that these pictures have many uses other than matching. Another handy source of pictures is a game of Concentration or Memory or Snap.
In the early stages, some children find it easier to match when the objects or pictures are placed in separate dishes. Choose very plain dishes with low sides – pot-plant saucers work well.
Although this sequence is called Matching and Sorting there is only one sorting activity, at the end of the sequence. You will find many more sorting activities in Sequence FM.J. What is the difference between matching and sorting? In matching, the child is given the objects or pictures one by one and asked to put each one with something that is the same. In sorting, the child is given a pile of objects or pictures and directed to divide them into groups. Sorting is a self-directed activity. Although there is just the one sorting activity in this sequence, most of the earlier matching items can be adapted into sorting activities for extra practice and extension.
Below we list all the skills in this sequence.