Montessori Approach To Literacy

The

Montessori

approach

to

literacy

is

very

different

from

what

many

of

us

are

used

to.

Children

are

taught

the

sounds

of

the

letters

before

they

learn

their

names.

They

begin

with

lower

case

letters,

instead

of

capitals.

They

also

learn

to

write

before

they

learn

to

read.

Many

concepts

of

Montessori

literacy

development

may

seem

“backward”,

but

there

is

a

sound

rhyme

and

reason to it all.

Sound Games

The

first

literacy

activity

in

the

Montessori

literacy

sequence

is

a

version

of

the

I

Spy

game.

To

play,

the

guide

sets

a

few

small

objects

out

on

a

tray.

For

example,

she

may

lay

out

a

toy

fish,

a

coin,

a

rock,

and

a

toy

dog.

She

makes

sure

the

children

can

name

all

of

the

objects.

To

begin,

the

leader

states

something

along

the

lines

of,

“I

spy

something

that

begins

with

/f/.”

She

makes

the

sound

“fffff”

instead

of

naming

the

letter

F.

After

the

children

master

beginning

sounds,

they are ready for ending and middle sounds.

The

sound

games’

purpose

is

to

develop

phonemic

awareness.

Phonemic

awareness

refers

to

the

ability

to

hear

and

identify

sounds

within

words.

Children

in

a

Montessori

classroom

must

master

the

sound

games

before

they

can

move

on

to

learning

about

letters.

The

Montessori approach follows fundamental development.

Sandpaper letters

are

introduced

after

children

have

developed

phonemic

awareness.

This

material,

textured

cut-outs

of

each

letter,

offers

a

tactile experience. The lower case letters come first because they appear more often in print.

As

children

run

their

fingers

over

the

rough

lines,

they

speak

the

letter’s

sound

aloud.

This

multisensory

activity

helps

form

a

strong

association

between

the

letter’s

shape

and

its

sound.

The

tracing

motion

and

sensory

input

create

muscle

memory

that

will be helpful when the child begins to write.

Moveable Alphabet

Maria

Montessori

discovered

that

children

were

ready

to

write

before

they

were

ready

to

read.

Their

urge

to

express

and

create

was

strong

and

superseded

their

desire

to

decode

someone

else’s

words.

With

writing,

a

child

can

choose

words

that

she wants to use. With reading, she has much less control over the experience.

Why

did

Maria

Montessori

come

to

this

conclusion

when

no

one

else

had?

She

realized

that

children

are

ready

to

make

words

with

letters

long

before

their

fine

motor

skills

have

caught

up.

Therefore,

she

developed

a

moveable

alphabet

within

the

Montessori approach.

The

moveable

alphabet

is

a

set

of

individual

wood

cutouts

for

each

letter.

Consonants

are

one

color

and

vowels

are

another.

Children arrange the letters on a mat to form words and sentences.

Adults

are

advised

not

to

correct

spelling,

which

will

be

phonetic

at

the

start.

Additionally,

they

should

not

ask

the

child

to

read what he has written aloud. It is essential to allow the children full control of the learning process.

As

children

work

with

the

moveable

alphabet,

they

continue

with

the

sandpaper

letters.

Before

they

begin

to

write

letters

with a pencil, however, they start tracing shapes.

Metal Insets

The

metal

insets

provide

the

first

opportunity

for

children

to

write

using

a

pencil.

They

may

have

scribbled

freely

with

a

pencil

before,

but

this

is

the

first

structured

experience

in

the

Montessori

approach.

The

metal

insets

are

a

set

of

ten

plane

shapes,

each

with

a

corresponding

frame.

Children

trace

within

the

frame

first.

Next,

they

trace

around

the

shape’s

outline.

They

continue

working

through

a

progression

of

lessons,

ultimately

combining

shapes

to

make beautiful designs.

The

metal

insets

help

children

refine

their

grip

and

further

develop

fine

motor

skills.

The

shapes

they

trace

provide

practice

with

the

straight

and

curved

lines

used

to

form

letters.

This

material

also

gives

children

the

opportunity

to

practice

sitting

and

working

for

an

extended

time.

It

even

opens

them

up

to

sophisticated

concepts

like

planning out designs and develops creativity.

The

Montessori

approach

to

literacy

was

created

from

Maria

Montessori’s

detailed

observations.

She

could

see

just

what

children

needed

and

create

the

perfect

methods

and

materials

for

optimal

learning.