Why Teach Categories?

Categories are a group of items with shared characteristics. Knowing how to categorise is crucial for relating, storing and recalling words. We use categories in our everyday lives in many ways. For example, we use them to organise our home – the eating utensils belong in the kitchen, our clothes are kept in the bedroom closet and the kids toys go in the toy box.

Teaching categories helps to expand a student’s vocabulary. It also supports their ability to understand language and to remember it. Students with a language disorder may struggle with organising and remembering words. Learning how to categorize is a great way to address these challenges.

Categories Flashcards

What’s included

  • 40 clear and captivating cards
    So it’s easy to keep your student engaged

  • 8 categories and 5 cards per category
    Which means there’s plenty to teach

  • A clear label on the reverse side of each card
    So you can stay on track with your teaching

  • A step by step activity guide that’s easy to use
    This encourages you to use the cards in a variety of ways

Teaching Targets

There are 8 types of categories included in this set. These categories are relevant to everyday life.

cat, dog, horse, tiger, monkey

kettle, microwave, mixer, sewing machine, toaster

belt, jacket, dress, hat, shoes

bread, cherries, chicken, doughnut, pizza

bed, cabinet, chair, couch, table

guitar, piano, tambourine, violin, xylophone

building blocks, spinning top, teddy bear, wooden car, wooden train

bus, boat, car, motorbike, plane

Teaching Support

  • A step by step activities guide is included
    That gives focus and direction to your lessons

  • The activities are listed in order of complexity
    Starting with the earlier activities fosters a feeling of success

  • Suitable for early through to more advanced learners
    So the way the cards are used can evolves as your student progresses

  • There are a variety of touching, sorting and saying activities
    This variety adds interest and will deepen you student’s understanding of categories

  • There are suggestions for how to generalise to everyday life
    The greatest success come with integrating the lessons learned into everyday life

Activity Examples

Two activity examples are described below.

  • Touching

  • Sorting

About
This is a simple activity that requires the student to touch a category flashcard when asked to do so.

How to
Place 4 categories cards on the table.
Example: an apple, a horse, a car and a jacket.
Ask the student to “Touch the (category).”
Example: “Touch the food.”
The student is expected to touch the apple card.

Prompting for success
If the student is struggling, gently guide their hand to touch the correct card and state the name of the category (Say “Food”)

About
This is a simple activity that requires the student to sort a range of flashcards by category.

How to
Place 4 categories cards on the table.
Example: a piano, a toaster, a chair and a toy spinner.
Hand the student up to 12 cards.
The student is expected to place the cards they are holding on top of the matching cards on the table.
So the violin would go on top of the piano and the kettle on top of the toaster.

Prompting for success
If the student is struggling, gently guide their hand to place each card they are holding on top of the correct card on the table.

Categories buying options

Purchase the Categories flashcards separately or as part of a larger language pack.

Categories Flashcards
Our single set option consisting of of 40 categories cards in a single box. The 8 categories included are animals, appliances, clothes, food, furniture, instruments, toys and transport.

Language Flashcard Set
Our five sets in one box option. The five sets are Categories, Go Togethers, Emotions
Vol 1, Prepositions and Verbs Vol 1. There are color coded dividers that carefully organise each set.

Language Flashcard Library
Our eight sets in one box option. The eight sets are Categories, Go Togethers, Emotions
Vol 1 and 2, Opposites, Prepositions and Verbs Vol 1 and 2. Buy this product and our Nouns Set to purchase our entire range.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you can use these cards with both verbal and non-verbal students. A non-verbal student could sort the cards by type, such as animals, appliances and transport. They could also identify (by touch) the correct card among a field of 4 to 6 cards. For example, the teacher might ask a student to “Touch the food” or “Touch the toy”.

We’ve selected categories your student is likely to come across in their everyday lives, such as food and transport. This makes it easier for them to relate to and understand.

It also gives the teacher an opportunity to easily extend their teaching to other items within that group. For example, you can give the student examples of other food items (such as a pear, a sandwich and a slice of cheese) and clothing items (such as a swimsuit, a pair of pyjamas and a beanie) during the teaching session. A fun activity with a young student might involve them finding other items from around their home (such as a toy truck for the transport category and a stuffed bear for the animal category).

Categories are a group of items with shared characteristics, be it color, shape, size or what it’s used for. The process of categorising (or sorting by type) helps students develop both their literacy and numeracy skills. Knowing how to categorise gives us a foundation to learn, relate, store and recall words.

When a student is learning about categories they are enhancing their vocabulary, which encourages better comprehension and retention of information. And knowing how to categorise is a prerequisite skill for understanding more advanced items with shared character numerical concepts, such as grouping numbers that are odd/even or larger than/smaller than.

Five images (cards) per category have been intentionally included to cater to the types of activities this set is designed for. For example, a number of cards per category are helpful for sorting cards by type (eg by transport, appliance, animal). Likewise, having plenty of examples works well with matching activities, such as finding a card belonging to the same category as shown by the teacher, among a field of cards on a table.