Areas of Curriculum

Language

This is the Introduction to my Language Album

No one was a bigger advocate of early literacy than Maria Montessori. She started the "Language Readiness" activities with hands-on activities.

-Abida Ripley, Education Next

When a child enters the Montessori preschool at 21/2 he/she is at a critical stage of language development.  Reports say between 1-2yrs children learn 3-4 words, between 2-5yrs they are learning 12 new words per day and by age 6 they know from 8,000-14,000 words.  The child is moving from observer of language to user of language with incredible speed, desire and ability to do so.  The Montessori Method understands this time in a child's development and takes great care to lay a solid foundation through concrete forms of language in creative and fun ways before moving to abstract ideas.  This is a steady, child paced phonetic concept. 

The Montessori Method has separate levels of learning which encompass the whole language arts program.  First there is the mechanical stage.  This is setting up activities that lead to whole hand and three finger muscle control then writing.  (Please see pictures under "metal insets")  Then there is the interpretive stage, which begins with the object boxes and moveable alphabet.  This is when children begin to learn the sounds each letter makes.

When looking at the "whole language" method of teaching there have been complaints that children get left behind in the learning process.  It moves too fast for them.  Others say boring drilling "phonetic methods" ignore children of high intellect and loose them.  The Montessori Method however, has the best of both worlds, because each child can and is encouraged to excel at his own pace with fun and engaging materials.  With a solid foundation, children are able to move on to higher levels of grammar when appropriate.

If we break down each part of the language curriculum we may understand better.  I will touch on each one of these and you can further explore each in this album when you see ""   Pictures are also available.  Remember children have to pass through the practical life and sensorial areas to pick up needed muscle and sense training.  You can see pictures of some of these jobs in the "Metal Insets" section of this album. 

Afterwards, "Graphic Matching" for visual discrimination in various stages is needed in preparation for reading and writing.  Then "Sandpaper Letters" introduce sounds with corresponding symbols.  This is also tactile, fine and gross motor control and auditory and visual training.  "Wall Charts" reinforce rapid recognition of the sounds, symbols, punctuation and sight words.  

Next we begin to associate "Sandpaper Letters" to the "Movable Alphabet" with children.   The "Movable Alphabet" develops the memory of sounds and symbols and children begin to form three letter words.  The "Pink Level" is the last mechanical stage with five levels of reading CVC (Consonant Vowel Consonant) words starting out concrete with objects and moving to the abstract word list. 

The interpretive stage begins with the "Object Box".  This is the first introduction to reading.  Then we provide "Phonetic Baskets" and other extensions for further practice and advancement in reading.  For example: consonant blends, double consonants, introduction to "y" and silent "e", and what makes a sentence. 

Book Reading

At this stage we pause for a time reading simple books and building up the reading vocabulary with "Word Lists" then proceed to advanced reading and grammar.  We also use the "California Phonetic Reading Program" as a guide for lists.  When encouraging reading we follow the "Blooms Taxonomy" approach for developing questions and activities to encourage critical thinking skills on several levels

Separately we are watching to see when to engage the children in writing and at what levels.  Corn meal, chalk board, shaving cream, sand,  are all preliminary or extension materials used during the introductory phase of writing to produce fine and gross motor control.  Once the children have had all the preliminary exercises or are showing readiness for advancement in writing we introduce them to the "Metal Insets". 

This could be anywhere between 3 1/2yrs and 6.  The children are familiar with the writing center already.  They have been using some of the preliminary exercises there and this is where they grab their colored pencils.  The insets help develop advanced hand eye coordination and motor control.  Children learn how to hold a pencil and are introduced to geographic design. 

Book Making

During this time we may introduce "Book Making" and encourage children to communicate their own thoughts in writing.  We use cultural, social and life studies to give children an opportunity to express what they have learned. 

All of these activities are set up in the class room/prepared environment ready for children to move from one to another at will and when ready.    When we see a child reach for something they have not been introduced to, our teachers who have been trained to observe the children daily, have a good idea if the child is ready for it or not and proceed accordingly.  Teachers may introduce the material if the child is ready or redirect the child to a preliminary exercise and proceed to work with the child.  

I will close with this thought from Maria Montessori on the prepared environment:

When we look at a hive of bees what do we see?  We behold a society in which the whole energies of the adult population are devoted, with unremitting self-sacrifice, to the task of building up a prepared environment for the coming generation, and the care of that generation as it is developing.  "Strange, is it not, "interjects Montessori, "that man, the architect, the builder, the producer, the transformer of his environment, does less for his offspring than these creatures." 

But a time is coming when this will not be so. 

E.M.Standing, Maria Montessori, Her Life and Her Work 

Articles can be copied for parents.

-written by Erica Thomas