Mathematics

Intermediate

50 mins

Teacher/Student led

Learning Goals

Learning Outcomes

Lesson Files

+65 XP

What you need:
IWB/Projector/Large Screen

Sorting with Venn Diagrams

Learn to sort items using two rules at once by placing them in the correct regions of overlapping circles — inside one circle, in the overlap where both rules are true, or outside both.

Warning: Your screen size is quite small for viewing this. Rotate your device into landscape mode if you can.

1 Getting Started
2 Watch and Notice
3 Try It Together
4 Draw the Two Circles in Your Copy
5 Class Challenge
Pupil practice

1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

Illustration for Getting Started Here is a hoop labelled has four sides and a second hoop labelled is red. Where would a red triangle go? And where would a red square go?

Teacher Notes

Take two or three hands-up answers, not open call-outs. Hold out for the tricky one: a red square is both red and four-sided, so a single hoop can't hold it — this is the puzzle that leads into the overlap.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+5 XP

2 - Watch and Notice ~9 mins

Watch the board with me. You might be asked to say a region out loud, so keep your eyes on where each card lands.

First a single hoop for one rule: test the rule, and the card is either in or out.

Now two circles that cross. The little space where the two circles cross is called the overlap. A card only goes in the overlap when both rules are true for it.

This last one has two rules again. Watch for a card that follows neither rule — where do you think it goes?

Teacher Notes

Work each one live on the board.

Single hoop — test one rule aloud, card in or card out.
Two circles crossing — say each rule in turn for one card, and let the class see that the card follows both before it lands in the overlap.
Cards that follow neither rule sit outside both circles; ask for that before you place it.

👇 Mark your steps as done as you complete them.

+10 XP

3 - Try It Together ~11 mins

Our two rules today are has straight sides and is shaded.

We sort these five cards together: a shaded square, a plain circle, a shaded hexagon, a plain triangle, and a shaded circle. For each card we test both rules, then decide if it goes in one circle, in the overlap, or outside both.

Sort by two rules

Teacher Notes

Talk this one through together — pupils take turns at the board and the class agrees or corrects out loud.

For each card ask both rules in order: does it have straight sides? is it shaded? The shaded circle is the trap — shaded but no straight sides, so it belongs in the shaded circle only. Revoice a strong answer: so this card is in the overlap because BOTH tests came back yes.

+15 XP

4 - Draw the Two Circles in Your Copy ~3 mins

COPYBOOK MOMENT

In your maths copy, draw two overlapping circles. Label one circle with a rule and the other circle with a second rule. Then write three of the sorted items into the right regions, including one item in the overlap where the circles cross.

Teacher Notes

Walk the room glancing at whether the overlap card genuinely follows both labelled rules — this is whole-class copybook practice, not marking.

+10 XP

5 - Class Challenge ~8 mins

We work through four sorts together on the board, each one harder than the last:

Numbers by one rule: odd or even.
Numbers by two rules, so some numbers land in the overlap.
Shapes with a tricky card for the overlap.
A mixed set with one card that sits outside both circles.

Sort into the right region

Teacher Notes

This is the practice round — pupils take turns at the board, check each answer, and the class confirms before moving on. Keep the board work brisk rather than over-explaining.

Watch for pupils dropping a two-rule card into just one circle when it belongs in the overlap. Before each check, ask the class to predict which region the last card goes to.

+15 XP

Pupil practice

Module 9 · Data and Chance Mixed

Lesson 101 · Sorting with Venn Diagrams

Download Activity Book page (PDF)

123learn · Online learning platform

Unlock the full learning experience

You're previewing this lesson. Get full access to this lesson and hundreds more — each one ready to teach, with interactive activities, printable resources and pupil progress tracking built in.

Hundreds of curriculum-aligned lessons

Interactive activities in every lesson

Printable resources & progress tracking

Get started

Copyright Notice
This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2025. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.

Sorting with Venn Diagrams

Teacher Class Feed

1 - Getting Started ~4 mins

2 - Watch and Notice ~9 mins

3 - Try It Together ~11 mins

Sort by two rules

4 - Draw the Two Circles in Your Copy ~3 mins

5 - Class Challenge ~8 mins

Sort into the right region

Unlock the full learning experience

XP