Start with the simplest of concepts and progress to the more difficult.
Provide students with some example questions they can ask themselves to perform a sort. Examples might include: “Under which heading or into which pile would I place this word?” “What makes this word different from that word?” “What do all of these different words have in common?”
Have students contrast at least two and up to four features in their sorts.
Alternate between sorts that can be done individually or as a whole class. They are great to use as part of students’ work stations or as a class activity to reinforce a new skill.
Using nonsense words draws the students' focus to the concept or skill rather than to any particular word that they may already know. It expands the concept that different words may have something in common. Noticing those similarities and differences is what makes us better spellers and readers.
Cortes GM, Jaimovich N, Siu HE. The growing importance of social tasks in high-paying occupations: Implications for sorting. Journal of Human Resources. 2021 Jul 12:0121-11455R1.