Imagine going to a grocery store just to find out all the items are mixed and randomly arranged on the shelves. It will become so challenging to find the items you wanted to purchase and you will probably leave the store fuming and no shopping done. Keeping things organized and sorted is indeed very necessary and is fundamental to living.
Keeping things organized is not only a basic life skill but a concept similar to this is found in mathematics also. Set theory, a mathematical concept, represents how we organize similar things in a well-defined manner. Set theory is taught to kids generally in 6th to 8th grade. Though it is an easy concept to grasp and apply, it can be a little challenging for some students.
To supplement your learning & teaching experience, in this post, we have listed some fun games and activities that are related to sets for children to make their understanding of sets clear.
Set games and activities for children
Understanding Set theory is highly important as it lays the foundation for understanding various higher-level mathematical concepts, such as statistics and probability. Below is the list of some set games and activities to help children attain mastery of Set Theory and its applications.
1. Sets out of Waste
In this activity, we are going to organize the collected waste based on some parameters. It’s like identifying which waste item resembles the most with which other items and placing them under a similar set. This activity can be done in both groups and individually.
Ask students to collect the waste material from their surroundings and bring it to the classroom. Divide the children into groups of 3- 5 students. Mix the material of all children in the group and ask them to form the sets from that material. The waste material could be discarded pencils, colors, newspapers, pens, etc.
The group that will make the maximum number of sets in less time will win. Further, the teacher can put up questions regarding the formed set to assess the kid’s knowledge.
2. Venn Diagram Activity
It is a fun Venn Diagram activity that will help children understand sets and Venn diagrams. For this activity, educators need to make some chits on which some questions are written. Ensure answers to these questions fall only into two broad ranges. And some can fall into both. For instance, answers will lead to the names of fruits and vegetables or movie names and song names.
Now, you can draw a big Venn Diagram on the floor. Ask kids to pick the chits, answer the question, and stand in the area appropriate for the answer. Some kids will receive common answers so they will be standing in the overlapping area.
It is a great activity to show visual representation of sets to the kids. Additionally, educators can ask questions to children about their positions and related to sets in general.
3. Card sorting game
The Card Sorting Game is another wonderful activity that focuses on arranging elements in their respective area. For this activity, all you need is a deck of cards with some pictures on it. Pictures could be of shapes, fruits, vegetables, etc. You can either purchase a deck with such images or make one for yourself.
Now, ask the children to draw the cards one by one and place them in their respective areas. You can again make Venn Diagrams or simply stack them on the table. To further strengthen the kid’s knowledge about sets, educators can ask them questions.
4. Set through Storytelling
Storytelling activities are not only a great tool to improve reading comprehension, vocabulary, and other related skills, rather they could also be used to teach some math concepts. Set through Storytelling is a fun activity that will keep children engaged and will provide greater clarity of the concept sets.
For the implementation of the activity, you need a story. As an educator, you can make up a story of your own or choose an existing one. Ensure, your chosen story has various elements that can be grouped. Now, narrate the story to the children. Remember to emphasize every key detail and the elements.
Now, once you have narrated the story, ask the children to find the common elements from the story and note them down. The child who finds the maximum number of correct elements grouped to form a set will win.
5. Set Scavenger Hunt
Set Scavenger Hunt activity is a great outdoor activity that will keep children physically fit and their knowledge of sets clear. There is no material required for this activity, students can use the things already present in the outdoor field.
In this activity, students will hunt different objects and then will place them under similar categories. Plan a scavenger hunt for children and ask them to find different things and categorize them. Categories could be colors, shapes, man-made vs. natural, living vs. non-living, etc.
Teachers can make a group of 3-5 students for this activity and set a timer, for instance, let’s say for 30 minutes. In 30 minutes, whichever group made the maximum number of accurate sets will win.
6. Set Puzzles
In the Set Puzzles activity, all you need is a simple puzzle or a board game and some set-related questions, such as making a set of prime numbers to 20 or writing all the numbers divisible by 2. This activity can be played by 3-5 students in one run.
Once you have your puzzle board and questions ready, ask students to roll the dice. The students will then be asked one set-related question. If the student gets the answer right, he/she is allowed to move in the board and if the student is unable to get the answer right, he/she won’t move forward in the board. Hence, to win the game, kids need to get the maximum number of answers correct.
7. Set through Arts
Another fun and creative set activity is Set through Arts. This activity can be done in many ways. For instance, educators can simply ask students to bring their artwork to the class and organize it according to some chosen criteria. The criteria could be the form of paintings, such as mandalas, doodlings, etc., or based on coloring, such as watercolors, pencil sketches, etc.
Another way to carry out this activity in the classroom is by asking students to draw something. It’s up to kids what they want to draw and how they want to draw. Once they are done with their drawings, ask them to categorize the drawings of the whole class based on some criteria. We can have similar criteria here, which are forms of painting or coloring. It is a unique way to teach kids the concept of sets.
8. Set Relay Race
A Set Relay Race is a great outdoor activity that will help reinforce the concept of sets in kids effectively. For this activity, you need a relay race area, where barriers are in terms of some objects. In other words, educators will set the barriers or objects based on some categories. Students have to collect the objects and sort the objects based on the criteria and then whoever students will finish the race first will win.
This activity can be implemented in many ways. Such as, students can either first collect all the objects, complete the race, and then sort the objects. Whoever will do this first will win. On the other hand, students can collect an object, sort it based on its category, then collect a second object, sort it, and so on. Whichever student will complete the race in this manner will win.
Concluding thoughts
Set theory is crucial to keep mathematical elements and numbers organized and sorted. Without sets in mathematics, we would have jumbled and unorganized numbers whose analysis and interpretation would have been nothing short of a challenge. Hence, these set games and activities are a fun way to learn a highly crucial mathematical concept.
You will find various examples of set theory in our daily life, hence, implementing these activities in the classroom or outdoors is super easy. Additionally, you can easily customize these activities to match a kid’s needs or age/grade level. So go ahead and pick your favorite set game or activity and help kids master the concept in a fun way.
I am Sehjal Goel, a psychology student, and a writer. I am currently pursuing my Masters’s from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Child psychology has always fascinated me and I have a deep interest in learning about disabilities in children and spreading awareness regarding the same. My other areas of interest are neuropsychology and cognitive psychology. Connect me on Linkedin