Noun Sorting Activity (Printable File Folder Game for Kids)

When my children are learning grammar, they always understand nouns better when they can actually sort the words instead of just circling them on a worksheet. This simple noun sorting activity turns grammar practice into a hands-on game. Your child reads each word and decides whether it’s a person, place, thing, or idea — perfect homeschool independent work, a quick review, or for centers if you’re in a classroom.

Without a doubt, my favorite part of elementary school were the times we could go to centers. Those times were few and far between, but they definitely stand out as my favorites.

I even remember finishing my work early in the 4th grade, just so I could go to the centers. Thank you, Mrs. Sexton, for letting me do that!

While we do quite a bit of hands-on activities in our homeschool, I’m always on the look out for incorporating more. For the past few weeks, I’ve searched online for more center-style learning for 2nd grade and up and have come up empty handed.

So I decided to make my 2nd grader a few File Folder Games. She’s a very tactile child as it is, so these Parts of Speech File Folder Games will be a wonderful fit for her. Bring on the homeschool centers!

Noun Sorting Activity for Kids

We use Rod and Staff English for grammar in the elementary years, so my 2nd grader is in Rod and Staff Grade 2 English. She is getting a beautiful introduction to writing sentences and the various parts of speech.

There is a heavy focus on nouns and verbs in the Rod and Staff Grade 2 year, so I’ve created several File Folder Games for her to work on recognizing those parts of speech.

Today’s activity is Sort the Nouns.

At a Glance: Noun Sorting Activity

Grades: 1st – 3rd Grades
Skill: Identifying and sorting nouns
Prep: Print, cut, glue (optional file folder)
Time: 10–15 minutes
Use for: Homeschool grammar practice, centers, independent work, review
Tip: Print on cardstock or laminate for durability

The Noun and Verb Sorting Activity has always been one of the most popular posts here at Mama’s, so I thought I’d make it into a file folder version with nouns only.

How to Use This Noun Sort File Folder Game

The file folder game was easy to assemble and is quite simple. Simply print, cut apart the noun cards, and paste the sorting mat inside a file folder if you choose.

To play:

Your child reads each word and then determines in which column the word should go: person, place, thing, or idea.

There is a reminder of the definition of a noun at the top of each page, including the cover page.

To extend this activity, I’ll have my daughter choose a few words from the batch and write sentences using those words. This is a wonderful way to talk about capitalization and end marks, as well.

My favorite paper for this age is Mead Raised Ruled Paper. We use it every day.

Or we’ll choose 3-4 words and orally make up a story using those words a jumping off point.

What’s Included in the Noun Sorting Activity

— Cover Page
— Label for the tab on the file folder
— Columns for person, place, thing, and idea
— Word cards to “play” the game

I used a standard file folder (those are the cheapest I can find!) to create the activity. It helps to use card stock for durability, especially when printing the word cards.

I adhered the pages to the folder using a glue stick. You can use white school glue also, however, the glued pages won’t lie as flat.

Lastly, I keep the word cards in a small snack size baggie and just slide them in the folder when it’s stored away.

So easy!

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