A category is a group of things that go together: animals, food, clothes, toys. Sorting words into categories is one of the best ways to grow vocabulary, because a child who knows that a cat, a pig and a frog are all animals can also work out what a new animal word means. On this page each question names a category and shows three words, and the child reads them and circles the one that belongs.
The other words belong to other categories, so there is only one right answer. Support sheets and standard sheets show three words, and challenge sheets show four. Read the words aloud if the child needs help, and talk about how they know. After the page, play a game in the car: name as many animals, foods or toys as you can in one minute.
What your child will learn
Read short common words
Name a category such as animal, food, clothes or toy
Tell which word belongs to a category
Use categories to understand new words
Common Core standard: L.K.5.A
Worked example
The question says Circle the food. The words are hat, cake and dog. A cake is food, so circle cake.
Common mistake
Circling a word the child likes best instead of the one that belongs to the category named.
Helpful hint
Say each word. Which one is the kind of thing asked about?