🔢 Numbers & shapes · Ages 5–6 · about 2 weeks

Sorting and Tally Charts

Goal: Sort a small collection, record one tally for each item and compare the group totals.

For parents: A tally is a mark used to keep count. Make four upright marks, then draw the fifth across them to show a group of five. Begin with totals below five before practising that fifth mark.

Do together

  1. Sort and mark

    You need: Six large spoons of two types, paper and a pencil

    Sort teaspoons and tablespoons into two groups. Draw a spoon of each type as a heading. Move each spoon aside as your child adds one tally under its heading. Count the marks and compare with the real groups.

  2. The fifth mark

    You need: Paper and a pencil

    Draw six large circles. Cross off one circle at a time and record a tally. On the fifth, show the line across the first four marks. Put the sixth beside the group of five. Count the circles and tally marks together.

  3. Our colour count

    You need: Up to ten socks in two or three colour groups, paper and crayons

    Agree the colour groups before sorting. Draw a heading for each, then record the socks with tallies. Count each group and write its total with help. Ask which has more, fewer or the same. Keep a place for a group with none.

Talk about it

  • How can we make sure each spoon has just one mark?
  • What does this bundle of tally marks show?
  • Which group has the most, and how do you know?

Words to use

  • sort
  • group
  • tally
  • mark
  • total
  • more
  • fewer
  • zero

Play

  • Sort It Out
    Sorting
  • Counting Stars
    Counting
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