Zoology in the Montessori Classroom

Montessori curriculum tends to give children opportunities to learn about fascinating areas of study very early in their school career.  Science is no exception, and one major component of a Montessori elementary (and even primary!) education is the study of zoology.  This post will highlight the content covered and how students typically explore the work.

Starting with the big picture

In the Montessori world, most areas of study start with the big, overarching picture and gradually narrow down to specifics.  This gives children a firm understanding and context in which they can place the details.  Zoology is no different.

What better way to teach about life on our planet than to begin with a look at the five kingdoms?  Montessori children learn about monera, protista, fungi, plants, and animals.  These early lessons are simple; they describe the major defining characteristics of each kingdom and give a few examples of each (with pictures, of course).  One neat feature of this work is that the lesson can be given to younger children as they first begin to learn about zoology, but can be given again at a later age when children are ready to expand upon this knowledge.  Science material that can be appreciated at different levels of learning is especially handy in a multi-age classroom.

Categorizing

After children learn about the five kingdoms, they begin to categorize the animal kingdom.  The simplest way to do this is to define and sort the vertebrates and invertebrates.  Children learn the evolutionary advantages to having a backbone, when the earliest creatures with spines began their life on earth, and which modern animals have one or don’t.  

After mastering their understanding of vertebrates and invertebrates, children begin their study of the five classes of vertebrates: fish, reptile, amphibian, bird, and mammal.  Once again, this work starts out simple but becomes more complex as time goes on and the child’s knowledge base expands.  

A layered curriculum

A six year old’s study of reptiles will look very different from the study of a child just a year older.  The six year old will likely be at the word level of reading and learning (especially early in the year).  They will learn that a turtle has a head, feet, tail, and a shell made up of a plastron, carapace, and bridge.  You may have noticed that some of these words are quite familiar, and some are most likely brand new and fascinating to the child.  On the other side of the table our seven year old will be studying the body functions of the turtle.  They will discover how the turtle meets its needs for movement, protection, support, circulation, respiration, and reproduction.  This will include information such as the reptile’s three-chambered heart, the fact that it lays leathery eggs, and that it uses lungs to breath in oxygen.

Older students may review this information by playing classification games and asking one another questions (much like a scientific version of the game twenty questions).  They may conduct research on animals they find particularly interesting, which gives them opportunities to explore their own work, learn how to research properly, write a short report, and gather more zoology information.  Eventually they will go on to more deeply explore invertebrates and their contributions during the evolution of life on earth as well as what they look like and function like today.

What are three part cards?

Many areas of study in Montessori classrooms utilize three part cards, particularly in primary classrooms.  While studying zoology, children will use this style of material as they work to define the five classes of vertebrates.  What, exactly, are they?

In the primary classroom, a set will include cards with pictures, cards with labels, and a control card that displays the picture with the label so that the child is able to check their own work.  While something similar may be used with students just entering the elementary level, three part cards at this level tend to look a bit different.  They generally consist of a picture, label, and definition.  While there is a control available as well (often in the form of a booklet or wall chart), the elementary-style cards provide a higher level of reading opportunity so that the child is able to practice multiple academic skills within the same work.

The beauty of three part cards is that children are drawn to them, they have built-in controls that foster independence and self-teaching (after the initial lesson), and a teacher observing a child using them can quickly discern the child’s level of mastery

Extensions and more...

As mentioned before, studying zoology lends itself seamlessly to research projects for older students.  Students of all ages can benefit from art integration as a means of reinforcing concepts while expressing their creative side.  For example, a collage of a fish’s body may be made, which may then be turned into a labeled diagram.  

Did you know that the Montessori study of zoology directly ties into large parts of the elementary history curriculum?  Many of the animals the children study in their science lessons can be found on the Timeline of Life, which is a beautiful and impressionistic material that teaches children about the evolution of life on earth.  Starting with the beginning of the Paleozoic era, in which one-celled organisms and simple life forms floated through the sea, through the Quaternary period and the emergence of early hominids, children are able to see the connections between the various kingdoms and classes, bringing the details of their learning back to the big picture again.

Freedom Within Limits

“To let the child do as he likes when he has not yet developed any powers of control is to betray the idea of freedom.”  -Maria Montessori

One of the more common misconceptions about Montessori education is that we let the children run free to do what they please all the time.  It is true that we let our students make choices for themselves, not just about their work but about their preferences and even care of their own bodies, but those choices are made within carefully crafted parameters.  To give a child (or any human) choice is to give them empowerment.  To give them choice within boundaries will assist them in becoming the adult they are meant to be.

Why give choice?

When we give children the ability to make their own choices, we are letting them know we trust their decisions.  If children know the adults in their lives trust them, they will begin to trust themselves.  When a person has confidence in their own abilities, their thoughts and energy can be put into new ideas and making progress.

Decision making is a skill that must be learned just like anything else.  From the most basic everyday tasks to major life events, we all need to make choices in our lives.  When we create an environment that allows children to practice this skill and be successful, they are given an opportunity to become successful as they grow older.

Giving choice is also a means of showing respect.  We respect that children should have a say in what they want.  While as adults our role is to keep children safe and guide them, we do not have all the answers nor do we understand what is always best for each child.  Giving kids a say shows them that we honor their autonomy.  

Why place limitations?

While we believe it’s important to give children choices, too many choices can feel overwhelming and be counter-productive.  Placing some limitations keeps their decision-making process safe and manageable.  Children actually want us to define limits for them as boundaries give them a sense of structure that is critical for their development.

Think about the last time you went to a typical grocery store.  Just deciding on a box of cereal can seem like huge task!  There are so many choices, and while it feels good to have options, there can definitely be too much of a good thing.

Another benefit of placing limitations on choices is that we can create a scenario in which any choice made will achieve the desired results.  If we want children to practice a specific skill, we can give two or three options that will allow them to do so.  If we want them to complete a certain task or meet a goal, we can envision different paths that will lead to the same destination and let them decide which they would like to take.

What does this look like in the classroom?

When it comes to academic work, Montessori children get to make choices about which work they will focus on, where they sit, who they sit with, and in what order they do things.  They move about their mornings with a sense of purpose, because they get to call the shots in regards to their own education.  In a structure like this, school doesn’t feel so much like a place where you go to receive knowledge that’s being given to you; it’s a place where you go to explore, learn authentically, and immerse yourself in work that’s important to you.

With all those choices, it’s important for teachers to create an environment that sets kids up for success.  Montessori guides only give children lessons on materials they are ready for.  They only put materials on the shelves that the children as a group are ready for.  The materials they do put out are so beautiful and interesting that the children cannot help but want to choose them.  

Even when it comes to taking care of themselves, we want children to be in charge.  We create structures that allow them to eat when they are hungry, use the restroom when they feel the need, and to rest or move their bodies as they see fit.  Most Montessori classrooms have a snack table that children can sit at whenever there is a seat available (limiting this to two chairs is one way guides make snack socializing manageable).  Children don’t need to ask permission to use the restroom; we make sure they have access to a toilet that they can use at any time.  The furniture in our classrooms are arranged in such a way so as to encourage safe avenues to body movement, individual seating, group seating, floor seating, or table and chair options.  As adults we need variation and choice to be productive and we recognize that children do as well. 

Our job as Montessori educators is to create the conditions for children to independently make decisions that will help them grow and develop.  We want them to explore who they are, to learn about each other, and to gain basic academic skills.  We want to cultivate inquisitiveness, leadership skills, and a sense of humble independence.  All of these goals can be met through careful planning of a classroom environment that facilitates choice within limits. 

What might this look like in the home?  

It can help to observe in your child’s classroom to get ideas.  If you are just getting started with offering choice at home, it can help to focus on just a few areas in the beginning.  Food, clothing, and entertainment are good places to start.

While we do not advocate making separate meals for everyone in your home (this can quickly lead to picky eating habits), kids can have some say in mealtime choices.  Find ways you are willing to be a little flexible and ask their opinion.  Perhaps they can choose some fruits or vegetables at the grocery store, or help decide what gets packed into their lunches.  If you have several dinners planned for the week, your child could help decide which one to have on a particular night and then help you prepare it.  When it comes time to eat, let your child practice serving themselves, while reminding them about the importance of not wasting food and only taking as much as we expect to eat. 

Getting dressed for the day is great time to practice decision making.  This tends to be one area that requires the most intentional release of control from us as parents, as young children tend to have quite the eccentric tastes when it comes to personal style!  Keeping weather and activities of the day in mind, set some guidelines and let your child pick out their own clothes.  Some Montessori experts recommend only putting desirable options in the child’s drawers.  If this isn’t feasible, even young children can follow simple directions such as, “Please choose something with short sleeves and long pants.”  Expect combinations you would never choose for yourself and remember that this is an important step in their development and self-expression.  How we dress is one way we present ourselves to the world and letting your child make these choices tells them you trust that they know who they are.

When it comes to having fun, children love to give input.  If you read stories at bedtime, your child could select whatever number of books you decide, or they could choose from a pre-selected few that you give them.  If you let your child watch television, give them a pool of shows that you feel are appropriate to choose from.  If you want to get them outside, ask them if they would rather go to the playground or ride their bike.  The key is to consider your true objective, then present multiple ways to achieve that goal.  

We hope that this post has been helpful, and we would love to hear how you implement choice at home!

Math Fact Memorization: Montessori & Current Research

When someone starts talking about memorization of math facts, people tend to have strong opinions.  We all had a variety of experiences as children ourselves, and those experiences coupled with notions of best practices in education can cause for heated debates.  In today’s post we would like to share the results of recent research on the topic.  At first glance, the results may seem at odds with Montessori theory, but upon further examination this couldn’t be further from the truth.  Read on to find out why our materials and methods can provide children with exactly what this “new” information suggests they need.

The Findings

This summer Paul L. Morgan, Ph.D. published an interesting article for Psychology Today.  Morgan works at Penn State as a professor in the education department as well as Director of the Center for Educational Disparities Research.  He and several colleagues (George Farkas and Steve Maczuga) conducted research to investigate instructional practices and their effects on student achievement.  Their specific focus was on first grade classrooms in math.  

The researchers observed a variety of students and classrooms and determined that the only teaching method that had a positive effect on student achievement was teacher-directed instruction, as opposed to student-centered.  [This is the part where those of us who adore Montessori will audibly gasp, but keep reading!]

Morgan, Farkas, and Maczuga define teacher-directed as the following: “Teachers initially demonstrate specific procedures for solving problems, and then provide students with repeated opportunities (e.g., worksheets, routine practice and drills) to independently practice these procedures. Teacher-directed practices should help students increase their procedural fluency in applying explicitly taught and repeatedly practiced sets of procedures to solve mathematics problems, which should result in more effective use of higher order thinking and problem-solving skills.”

What Do Montessori Teachers Do?

According to the researchers’ definition of teacher-directed learning, this is exactly the approach that is taken in regards to students learning their basic math facts in Montessori classrooms.  Our initial reaction is simply a result of semantics and misconceptions.  Do Montessori teachers utilize worksheets and drills?  Well, not exactly, but we still meet the definition in other ways.

One of the most common misconceptions about Montessori education is that the children are let to do whatever they want all the time.  Some people think that choice is the driving force (it is, at least in part) and the students run amok.  Anyone who has spent any time learning about Montessori or observing in a classroom knows the opposite to be true.  Montessori is really all about choice within limits.  Teachers create an environment rich with materials that call to the children, and while they do have lots of decision-making opportunities, they are only provided with options that will lead them to meet desired outcomes.  The same is true for math fact instruction and practice.  

Let’s get down to the facts: in Montessori classrooms, the teachers provide direct fact memorization instruction.  At the lower elementary level in particular, one will find shelves stocked with materials that were designed to aid the process of math fact memorization.  Typically a teacher will give a child a lesson on a material to explain how it is to be used, and then detail their expectations to the child.  Children are generally going to be practicing and recording their facts on a daily basis.  Montessorians believe that while understanding the concept of why we manipulate numbers and having a visual representation helps children in the long run, we agree that when it comes down to it those basic facts really need to be memorized with an emphasis on speed and accuracy.  This is one of the reasons our children are able to solve larger complex operations problems at a younger age than children in many traditional settings.

Bead Cabinet

Taking a closer look at specific materials, how they are used, and their intended outcomes may help to refine these points.

• The bead chains/bead cabinet: Children begin using this material as early as 3 years old.  While the initial purpose is for children to learn to count, during the elementary years that skip counting translates into speedy memorization of multiplication tables.  The transition tends to be fairly smooth, as they’ve already been practicing for years!  Bonus: the same material will help them understand squares and cubes just a little further down the road in their school career.

• Addition and subtraction strip boards: While a student initially uses these materials to explore the concept of adding and subtracting, they quickly notice patterns and build speed as they gain confidence.  These materials are typically introduced at age 5 or 6.

• Multiplication and division bead boards: Like the strip boards, these are initially used by students to gain a basic understanding of the concept.  As they master individual facts, they naturally start to create shortcuts for themselves and a trained Montessori teacher will observe that they are ready to move on to more challenging materials.

• Finger boards: Created for each of the four operations, these materials are essentially wooden versions of the classic fact charts.  Children are slow to fill them in the beginning, but after repeated practice they build speed and accuracy.  Control charts are readily available for immediate feedback, ensuring that even when a child is practicing independently they will be able to know whether they are answering correctly or not.

• Blackline masters: Montessori teachers have blackline masters, which are essentially paper copies of the finger boards, that are available for children.  Children are expected to complete the material and then record the information on the paper version, thus providing another layer of repetition.  

Room for Improvement?

If there is one area that many math teachers (Montessori and otherwise) could stand to improve upon when it comes to math facts, it would be taking the time to target math fact instruction.  Making sure our students are practicing daily, quickly, and accurately is critical, but might we also help them practice smarter?

Sitting down with each individual child to gather a quick assessment periodically can make a huge difference in progress.  While gathering data in this fashion is time-consuming, we may find it well worth the effort.  Teachers can sit with a child and quickly run through a chart of facts, asking the child for answers orally.  Highlight the facts the child can answer quickly and confidently, leaving the others blank.  Teachers make a copy of this sheet so that the student can keep it to reference.  When it’s time to practice math facts, children can focus on the ones they haven’t yet memorized, rather than eating up time going over the facts they’ve already mastered.

If you are interested in reading more about Dr. Morgan’s work, follow the links to his article and the research findings:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/children-who-struggle/201808/should-us-students-do-more-math-practice-and-drilling

http://journals.sagepub.com/stoken/rbtfl/J2BxFXoAWRPSo/full

The Keys to Handwriting Success

This is not a news flash:
Handwriting instruction is disappearing in schools across the United States.

You’ve probably already heard this sad revelation, and while it’s certainly not true for all schools, more and more are eschewing handwriting instruction to make more time for other, standards-based skills.  The result is a generation of children who are not gaining a sense of how important it is to be able to write beautifully and they are simply not learning cursive – period.  

If this makes you cringe, here’s the good news: people are noticing and speaking up, and some schools are finding ways to fit handwriting back into the schedule.  Even better news?  Montessori schools never dropped it in the first place.  Read on to learn more about how this 100+ year-old educational approach guides children in the art of writing beautifully.

Indirect Preparation

If you walk into a Montessori toddler or primary classroom, you will see very young children working with materials that develop fine motor skills.  While fine motor proficiency can serve children in a wide variety of ways, Montessori intentionally created materials that strengthen the hand as indirect preparation for handwriting.

Each time a three-year-old lifts a knobbed cylinder they are developing proper pincer grip.  This same action is repeated in many other materials.  The child may be working to joyfully refine a sensorial skill, but at the very same time their tiny fingers are slowly working their way toward being able to hold a pencil correctly.

Many Montessori materials are designed to be used working from left to right in order to prepare the child to move in that direction while writing.  Even the materials themselves are organized in a left to right fashion on the shelves.

Manipulating a Pencil

Long before they are ready to write a story (or even a word!), Montessori children begin learning how to carefully manipulate a pencil.  The metal insets are a beautiful material that were designed specifically to prepare the hand for writing.  While the shapes in the material are reminiscent of a geometry lesson, that is not the primary intention.  What’s meant to be the focus is the teaching of a variety of handwriting skills, including pencil grip, applying appropriate pressure, moving the pencil left to right, and further strengthening the muscles of the hand to build stamina.

Early Letter Formation

Montessori primary classrooms are equipped with a special material that helps children learn how to form letters.  The sandpaper letters are wooden tiles with letters made out of a sand-textured surface.  The children use their fingers to trace the shape of each letter, and later use the tiles as a reference while learning to write for the first time.  

Another option for children to practice letter formation is to use their finger and ‘draw’ the letters in a small tray of sand.  Both sand writing and using the sandpaper letters appeals to the sensorial nature of the primary child, making these activities fun.  

Cursive or Print?

By the time a Montessori student is 4 or 5 years old they begin writing joyfully because they are well prepared.  Montessori schools typically focus on teaching children to write in cursive, even in the primary classroom.  We have found that there are many benefits to emphasizing this style over manuscript/print writing.

Learning to write in cursive has many advantages:

• It’s nearly impossible to reverse letters in cursive.

• Cursive writers can read print, but the reverse is not always true.

• The ligatures in cursive may help early readers see groups of letters (oa, ing, th, and so on).

• The flow of cursive words allows the writer to focus on the ideas of the writing rather than the formation of individual letters in isolation.

A Continuation

When children enter a Montessori elementary program, their teacher will emphasize the mastery of cursive writing and take the time to review any letters or skill gaps they may have.  From here on, children practice constantly.  They have notebooks they are expected to record their daily work in, and that work is expected to be written beautifully and neatly.  Not only that, but the children themselves take great pride in the beauty of their own writing.

As time goes on, students do eventually learn skills such as keyboarding.  Fortunately, they have been given a foundation that emphasizes the power of neat handwriting.  In our fast-paced, shortcut-filled world, it’s nice to think that our children will grow up to enjoy sitting down to craft a thoughtful letter, using a pen, some paper, and their own hand.

Can Montessori Boost Your Child’s Success?

Many parents choose Montessori for their kids because they appreciate how the approach respects their children as people and as learners.  We love how the structure, materials, and lessons appeal to the developmental nature of our children.  But how does it affect kids in the long-term?  

Plenty of people are noticing the positive effects of a Montessori education and researchers are paying closer attention in recent years.  For anyone who has been involved with the philosophy for any length of time, the results are not surprising.  If you are interested in reading more about current research findings, check out this website: https://www.montessori.org/research/ .

The big question that remains is, will Montessori children grow up to become successful later in their lives?  We may want to start by examining our definition of success.  Is success the ability to score well on tests?  To be empathetic?  To be an innovator?  Regardless of how we define the word, research indicates that Montessori does seem to give kids a leg up.  

Did you know that many creative, innovative, and successful people that have and continue to shape our world attended Montessori schools?  Read on for a list of just some of those folks.

• Julia Child - Where would Americans have found their fondness for French cooking if not for Julia Child?  Her books, television show, and the realness of her delivery made a huge impact on households across the country.  Child accredited Montessori with teaching her to love working with her hands

• Jeff Bezos - Most of us recognize Bezos’ name as he is the founder of Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer.  

• Prince William and Prince Harry - The sons of Prince Charles and Princess Diana both attended Montessori schools as children.

• Prince George - Perhaps unsurprisingly, Prince George, the son of Prince William, also attended a Montessori primary school.

• Gabriel Garcia Marquez - The Nobel Laureate who wrote One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera has said, “I do not believe there is a method better than Montessori for making children sensitive to the beauties of the world and awakening their curiosity regarding the secrets of life.

• Anne Frank - Famous for the penning of her diaries written while she was in hiding during World War II, Frank was a Montessori student.

• Larry Page and Sergey Brin - The co-founders of Google have been vocal advocates for Montessori.  In 2012 there was a Google doodle dedicated to Montessori.  Page has said, “I think it was part of that training of not following rules or orders, and being self motivated, questioning what’s going on in the world in and doing things a little bit differently.” 

• Sean “Diddy” Combs - Best known as a rapper, Combs has also worked as a talent director, songwriter, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur.  He once said, “I feel like I was nurtured into wanting to be somebody special.”

• Dakota Fanning - Fanning is an actress credited as being the youngest ever nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in the film I Am Sam at age seven.  She has starred in many celebrated films since.  

• Will Wright - Wright is a well-known video game designer, and creator of games such as The Sims, SimCity, and Spore.  He says that children “can become interested in pretty complex theories, like Pythagorean theory, say, by playing with blocks.  It’s all about learning on your own terms, rather than having a teacher explain stuff to you.  And when kids discover these things on their own, what they learn sticks with them so much more.”

Check out this short video of Barbara Walters interviewing Larry Page and Sergey Brin:

https://youtu.be/0C_DQxpX-Kw

Montessori Basics: Geometry from the Start

Perhaps it happens one day when your four-year-old comes home from school one day, excited to show you their work for the day.  They proudly show you a perfectly traced pentagon with elaborate, colorful patterns inside that they have created.

Maybe it’s when your eight-year-old casually references acute-angled scalene triangles.

Regardless of when it happens, as Montessori parents, there comes a moment when we become acutely aware (pun intended) of our children’s interesting knowledge of geometry.  We may recall our own study of the subject beginning much later - likely sometime during our high school years and typically not as exciting as our own children depict!  We notice that our children seem to be really ready for the information, which can feel surprising.  Not only are they ready, but the work seems to fill them with joy and satisfaction.

What, exactly, is going on?

As with so many things, Montessori discovered that young children are fully capable, and in fact developmentally primed, to learn about subjects that have traditionally been reserved for much older children.  Geometry is a perfect example.  Read on to discover what this portion of a Montessori education can offer your child.

The Primary Years

From ages 3-6 much of children’s geometry instruction in Montessori classrooms is indirect.  That is to say that while they are practicing crucial developmental skills, they are often doing so through the lens of geometry preparation.  One obvious example, as mentioned above, is with the metal insets.  Children trace a variety of geometric figures including squares, triangles, circles, curvilinear triangles, and quatrefoils, among others.  The main objective of this work is to prepare the child’s muscles for proper pencil grasp and handwriting.  When they have mastered tracing they work to create intricate designs within the figure.  

Primary children are also given a number of simple geometry lessons that allow them to begin naming figures and exploring shapes.  Wooden geometric solids are held and named by the children (cube, sphere, square-based pyramid, etc.).  The geometry cabinet is composed of drawers of related figures; small wooden insets are organized into a polygon drawer, curvilinear figure drawer, triangle drawer, and so on.  Children also use constructive triangle boxes to manipulate triangles in order to form larger triangles and other geometric figures.  The key during these early years is to give children early exposure to geometry and allow them to use their hands to explore these concepts.

The Elementary Years

During the elementary years the Montessori geometry curriculum expands significantly.  Teachers often begin by reviewing content taught during the primary years, but 6-year-olds are ready and eager for more.  This begins with a detailed study of nomenclature.  Using a series of cards and booklets that correspond with lessons given by the teacher, children explore and create their own nomenclature sets.  Topics include basic concepts such as point, line, surface, and solid, but go on to teach more in-depth studies of lines, angles, plane figures, triangles, quadrilaterals, regular polygons, and circles.  For example, when children learn about lines they begin by differentiating between straight and curved lines, but go on to learn concepts such as rays and line segments, positions (horizontal and vertical), relational positions of lines (parallel, divergent, perpendicular, etc.)

Throughout the second plane of development (ages 6-12) the study of geometry continues to spiral and go into more and more depth.  Children as young as seven learn about types of angles and how to measure them.  Eight-year-olds explore regular and irregular polygons, as well as congruency, similarity, and equivalency.  In lower elementary children begin learning about perimeter, area, and volume.

In upper elementary, children begin to learn about the connections between the visual aspects of geometry and numerical expressions.  They apply what they’ve learned about perimeter, area, and volume to measuring real-life objects - including Montessori materials they’ve seen in their classrooms since they were three years old.  They learn about things like Fibonacci numbers and Pythagoras which appeal to their sense of number order and geometric patterns.

Now, when your child comes home with surprising knowledge about geometry content, we hope you have a better idea of where they’re coming from.  If you have any questions or would like to see this type of work in action, please give us a call.