Word sorts are a helpful tool for teaching students spelling and phonics concepts. Concept sorts are one way for students to practice comparing and contrasting. One challenge with sorts that I would run into when teaching ELLs is that the time I had to work with them was so limited. If I had students cut out the materials then this could take up 1/2 of our group time for younger kids. One way to solve this problem is to use a digital sort. No cutting or gluing required. Read on to get step by step directions to help you create digital word sorts in Google Slides.

If you would rather get premade word sorts, I have a growing collection of digital word sorts that are already created.

How to Create Digital Word Sorts in Goggle Slides

1. Open a new document in Google Slides.

2. Insert a table.

I like to start with a blank slide. Then insert a table. 2×2 for sorting two categories. You need to resize the table some so that the top part is narrow and the bottom tabs are large. This gives students plenty of room for sorting.

3. Title the categories.

You can type directly into the table. I like to have the text be in the middle and centered. You can also change the font size and type.

Add words

To add words insert a new text box for each word. This way students can drag the word into the correct spot.

Add pictures

One way to add a picture is to upload it from your computer. These are images that you already have saved.

If you need images try searching online. There are many sites that have free graphics that are copyright free. After you find the images you need, save it so that you will be able to access it at a later time.

Free Image Sites

Pics4Learning– This website is a good one to share with students when they need to find images for a project. The photographs are all appropriate for kids.

Unsplash– This website has photographs.

PIxaby– This website has photographs, clipart, videos, and music.

Digital Picture Word Sorts

If you would like a premade set of digital picture word sorts, I have a growing bundle of them.

Here is a preview of the Word Family Word Sorts set.