Pasta sorting

     When I was a first grade teacher I made bags of pasta to use as math manipulatives. We used them for sorting, graphing, patterning, you name it! Plus, it was a cheap way to make versatile kits with so many attributes. I made pasta bags last year again, which we mostly use for sorting and counting. It is a fun and easy way to assess matching and how many attributes they can sort by.

This is an easy way to individualize because each child can succeed on their own level. Some are just matching, some can sort by shape, and some begin to create patterns. As you can see from the pics, I have 2 sizes of shells, bow ties, and tubes. My preschool bags have less shapes than my 1st grade bags did. Of course, some preschoolers are more interested in making train tracks or a horse, lol, but they can be guided to look for attributes.