Reading and Language Arts
“Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future.”
—MARIA MONTESSORI
Language Arts
Developing a Lifelong Love for the Written Word
The process of learning how to read should be as painless and as simple as learning how to speak.
In Montessori, the process of learning to read and write almost always comes naturally and begins with a child’s first interest. She begins by learning the phonetic sounds of the alphabet, using her growing knowledge to read and write increasingly complex words and sentences. Mastery of basic skills normally develops so smoothly that students tend to exhibit a sudden “explosion into reading,” which leaves our young students, not to mention their families, beaming with pride. Once our young students have made their first breakthroughs into reading, they tend to proceed rapidly.
The key to our language arts curriculum is the quality of the things we give our children to read. We introduce them from an early age to first rate children’s books.
Language Arts Scope and Sequence Ages 3 Through 6
Pre-Reading
Pre-Reading Because of our multi-age classroom design, our youngest students are constantly exposed to the older children in the class who are already reading. The total environment of the Primary classes (3 to 6 years-old) tends to create and reinforce in our young children a spontaneous interest in learning how to read. We begin to teach reading as soon as that interest is first expressed.
- Using a total immersion approach, we help the youngest children to develop a highly sophisticated vocabulary and command of the language.
- The children are taught through many early approaches to listen for and recognize the individual phonetic sounds in words.
- We introduce the children to literature by reading aloud and discussing a wide range of classic stories and poetry.
- We help our youngest students to recognize the shape and phonetic sounds of the alphabet through the sandpaper letters: a tactile alphabet.
Reading
- The development of the concept that written words are actual thoughts set down on paper. (This takes children much longer than most people realize.)
- Sounding out simple three or four-letter phonetic words. (Typically before age 5)
- Early exercises to practice reading and to gain the concept of a noun: labeling objects with written name tags, mastering increasingly complex words naming things that interest them, such as dinosaurs, the parts of a flower, geometric shapes, the materials in the classroom, and so on.
- Learning to recognize verbs: normally exercises in which the child reads a card with a verbal “command” printed out (such as run, sit, walk, etc.) and demonstrates his understanding by acting it out. As the child’s reading vocabulary increases, verbal commands involve full sentences and multiple steps: “Place the mat on the table and bring back a red pencil.”
- Reading specially selected or prepared small books on topics that interest the child, such as in science, geography, nature or history.
Composition
At an early age, before handwriting has been mastered, the children begin to compose sentences, stories, and poetry through oral dictation to adults and with the use of the moveable alphabet.
Once handwriting is fairly accomplished, the children begin to develop their composition skills.
Handwriting
Handwriting, or control of the hand in preparation for writing, is developed through many exercises, including specially designed tasks in the use of the pencil. Such exercises begin with very young children and extend over several years so that mastery is gradually, but thoroughly, attained.
The young children practice making letters from the time of their first initial “explosion into writing” at age 3 or 4:
- Moveable Alphabets, made up of easily manipulated plastic letters are used for the early stages of phonetic word creation, the analysis of words, and spelling. They facilitate early reading and writing tasks during the period when young children are still not comfortable with their own writing skills. Even before the children are comfortable in their handwriting skills, they spell words, compose sentences and stories, and work on punctuation and capitalization with the moveable alphabets (Age 4-6).
- At first, by tracing letters into sand.
Later, by writing on special tilted, upright blackboards: unlined, wide-lined, and narrow-lined.
Grammar
The study of grammar begins almost immediately after the child begins to read, during the sensitive period when he is spontaneously interested in language. The idea is to introduce grammar to the young child as she is first learning how to put thoughts down on paper, when the process is natural and interesting, rather than waiting until the student is much older and finds the work tedious.
- We introduce our children to the function of the parts of speech one at a time through many games and exercises that isolate the one element under study. Montessori has assigned a geometric symbol to represent each element of grammar. (For example, verbs are represented by a large red circle.) The children analyze sentences by placing the symbols for the appropriate part of speech over each word.
Spelling
Children begin to spell using the moveable alphabet to sound out and spell words as they are first learning to read. They ‘take dictation’ —spelling words called for by the teacher—as a daily exercise. The sequence of spelling, as with all language skills, begins much earlier than is traditional in this country, during a time when children are spontaneously interested in language. It continues throughout their education.
- Learning to sound out and spell simple phonetic words.
- Learning to recognize and spell words involving phonograms, such as ei, ai, or ough.
- Developing a first “personal” dictionary of words that they can now spell.
- Beginniing to recognize and spell the “puzzle words” of English: words that are non-phonetic and are not spelled as they sound.
- Studying words: involving compound words, contractions, singular–plural, masculine–feminine words, prefixes, suffixes, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms.
“Our work is not to teach, but to help the absorbent mind in its work of development.
How marvelous it would be if by our help, if by an intelligent treatment of the child, if by understanding the needs of his physical life and by feeding his intellect, we could prolong the period of functioning of the absorbent mind!”
—Maria Montessori
5610 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94618
5616 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94618
5633 Manila Ave.
Oakland, CA 94618