Literacy Overview: Language Development in the Young Child
Montessori theory and practical advice for parents and teachers.
Montessori theory and practical advice for parents and teachers.
| Montessori Materials Playing games with vocabulary/matching cards helps build self confidence. Following a sequence when sorting photo cards (vocab, matching, 3-part) helps organize the mind. Using photo cards when playing I Spy develops phonetic awareness. |
| Montessori Materials You can use photo cards (vocab, matching, 3-part) when playing I Spy to help develop phonetic awareness. |
| Montessori Materials Maitri Learning offers many card packets to help you match the child's interests with the materials available. Using cards that call upon the child's innate interest, that link his interior desires with the world at large, can help inspire in him the desire to write. |
| Montessori Materials The Phonetic Reading Cards are designed to bridge this gap between writing and reading. They should be presented to the child at the moment we feel they are ripe to discover, to break the code of the written word. |
| Montessori Materials A list of puzzle words, ready to print for use with children, can be downloaded for free by clicking here. |
| Montessori Materials The Definition Cards create a fun, subtle way to work with the structure and function of words and phrases. As the children try to put the pieces of each definition together, they discover how language fits together...and how funny it can sound when it doesn't fit! |
| Montessori Materials 3-Part Cards help children gradually move away from the phonetic half of our language in a safe, self-correcting way. |
| Click here to listen to a phonetic version of the alphabet song. Singing this with the children will help reinforce the sound each letter of the alphabet usually makes. |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| (c)2008 Maitri Learning, LLC. All rights reserved. Photographs in our materials may change as we work to continually improve our products. All card sizes are approximate. |
| Click here to learn more information on the research behind speech development, including what children usually pronounce at what age |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The following is an excerpt from the book Language Development in the Young Child currently being written by
Julia Volkman.
The Big Picture of Language Development in the Young Child
How a child learns to speak and understand the spoken word is a mysterious process. As long as a child is
exposed to some language in his/her early life, s/he will almost always learn to speak. We don’t entirely
understand why, but we know this to be true absent certain complications. She will learn the vocabulary that she
is offered. We can do much to enrich these offerings, to give the child a greater wealth of words at her command,
but we can not make her learn to speak. That occurs in a way that, at present, remains a mystery.
But the same can not be said for writing or reading. These, we teach.
Writing and reading require instruction of some sort and require some degree of effort by the child. She must
exert herself on the components of our language to build it for herself. She must mount each of these steps:
Step 1: Spoken Language
There are many ways the adult can facilitate the acquisition of verbal language but we can not directly teach it.
Instead, we prepare the environment. We naturally focus on offering the child rich oral language experiences.
This is essential yet there is other work we do that is as critical, if not moreso. We must adjust the child's
environment, both physical and navigable (e.g., daily routines, human interactions), so that it does not in anyway
block the expression of the human tendencies. We trust that given the right environment, the right support
structure, the child is inherently capable of developing a strong, logical, ordered, and gracious voice. So, there is
little direct teaching we do to support the child’s development of oral language. Our work in this regard is mostly
indirect and it begins with the child’s surroundings for one of the most significant ways we can offer assistance is
by providing the child with an organized and accessible environment.
An Organized, Accessible Environment
Before we had the assistance of medical scanning or imaging devices, Dr. Montessori understood that the neural
pathways in the child’s brain are formed as a direct result of how the child interacts with his environment. If the
child has varied and relevant opportunities to lay his hands upon his world, to exercise his will, then he forges
strong and numerous neural pathways. If he is limited in his opportunities to move, to act with meaning and
intention, there will be fewer, weaker neural pathways. In both cases, the child will rely on these pathways for the
rest of his life. These are the foundations upon which he rests all future learning. We must work to make sure that
that foundation is strong, solid, and organized. If we hope for the child to develop a voice that is logical and to
express organized thought, we must provide him with surroundings that are organized. We must provide him with
opportunities to exert his developing will and realize the logical consequences of those exertions.
In order to do all this, we need to prepare a space for the child that accommodates his size, abilities, interests,
and time table. His space must give him opportunities to meet his basic needs without interference or
unnecessary help. Can he reach the hook for his coat? Can he access the sink to get a drink of water or wash his
hands? Is there a mirror located so that he can notice that his mouth or nose needs a wipe? Is there a spirit of
open communication so that he is encouraged to engage with others? Do we move slowly and gracefully so that
the child can notice exactly how we use our hands to open a lunch box or blow our nose? These tiny movements
are usually overlooked by the adult but to the child, they are diamonds. The child is intensely interested in
mastering the movements that we don’t even notice we make.
This point about organization and consistent routines needs to be stressed because the organization of the
child's surroundings are related directly to how the mind becomes ordered or disordered. As the child begins to
interact with the environment, he is organizing his intelligence. If there is disorder in the child’s ability to master
language, your first remedy is to remove the disorder and impediments in his surroundings.
Rich Oral Language Experiences
We also work to provide endless opportunities for the children to speak, to practice using their new language, and
to hear our language in all of its stirring forms. It is through this practice, through the use and the slight
adjustments the children make each time the words leave their lips, that the children work to perfect their speech,
articulation, vocabulary, grammar, phrasing, sentence structure: to perfect their verbal expression. If they are to
become masters of their language, they must gain experience using it.
It is essential for a young child to have a rich internal dictionary, a store of words at her command. Many of these
words are absorbed effortlessly as she goes about her daily life. Words like “up” and “milk” and “hello” are
examples. And yet our speech is often so quick or the child’s exposure somehow fragmented that it is not
possible for the child to absorb everything in this manner. There are a few simple things we can do to adapt
ourselves to meet the child’s needs in this area.
The 3-Period Lesson. We can use the 3-period lesson to directly teach specific vocabulary for everything in the
classroom and home environment. We use real objects, photos/illustrations, and miniatures to facilitate this. For
example, we walk with the 3 year old around the classroom on her first day. We touch the sink and say, “this is the
sink, sink.” We touch the soap and say, “this is the soap, soap.” We touch the paper towels and say, “these are
the paper towels, paper towels.” This first step of providing the names of each object is called Period 1. In period
2, we ask the child to identify the objects we name. We may say, “Can you point to the paper towels? Can you
stand next to the sink? Can you find the soap?” It is during this second period that most learning takes place. This
is when the child’s body and mind are simultaneously engaged. So we must spend time here, before moving on
to Period 3. In Period 3, we point to each object in turn and ask, “What is this?” This is the most challenging part
of the lesson because the child needs to find the correct word from all of the hundreds or thousands of words she
knows. This is much more difficult than pointing to the right object when the vocabulary is provided and there are
limited objects from which to choose.
When thinking about this example, please note that we do not overlook any vocabulary. We do not yet know how
much or how little vocabulary the children have acquired. We must give them the opportunity to succeed in the
requirements of their environment. How can this happen if they don’t know the names of the objects we refer to?
So, we are sure to review the names of everything in their environment: hook, sink, tissue, floor, chair, etc. Often
these reviews go very quickly but from time to time we meet the child who proceeds slowly through these often
overlooked basics. And it is this child we must not miss!
Step 2: Phonetic Awareness
Traditional education demonstrates a somewhat predictable swing between the pedagogical concepts of
phonics versus whole language. Every few years we hear that a school district or state educational commission
is following a phonics based approach and then a few years later we hear that they recommend a whole
language approach. These concepts swing in and out of favor like the pendulum on a grandfather clock.
The reality is that both of these concepts are valuable and necessary. The Montessori approach teaches both, but
it teaches phonetics first. Why? Because 50% of our language is phonetic. It follows predictable rules...and
children love rules. They are drawn to find the logic and order within our world. The human tendencies for order
and precision are very strong in the young child and the phonetic half of English is compliant in this respect. It is
systematic and predictable. There are rules that, when followed, hold the key to cracking the code of English.
We begin by teaching the child these rules. We teach them the sounds of each letter and of key phonograms. We
encourage them to build phonetic words, and later, when they are ready, to read phonetic words. This process
slowly builds the child’s confidence. It lays out the patterns of English. It presents the rules the children love to
follow and gives them opportunities to practice applying those rules, to practice hearing the sounds in words,
saying the sounds of each letter, writing letters, using those letters to build words, and reading phonetic words.
Then, once the child has confidence, once the child believes she can crack the code of English, we slowly reveal
the non-phonetic half of English...the words which don’t follow any rules at all. Wow! Words that don’t follow any
rules at all? That’s interesting! And learning follows interest.
The Sounds of Language
Phonetic awareness begins with the child’s knowledge of sounds. The child must be able to hear the sounds in
words. We can help children hear individual sounds by:
I Spy. This is a simple game that gives the child the opportunity (but not the requirement) to identify the sounds in
words. We play it with one or several children by saying, "I spy with my little eye, something in Kyra's hand that
starts with the sound 'puh, 'puh.' Of course, Kyra is holding nothing but a pencil so her chance of succeeding is
high. Continue to sound out the word, 'puh en sul.' Do this as much as you need to until one of the children hears
it and says, "pencil!" Continue for as long as the children are interested. On another day, once they understand
how the game works, walk about the room together and choose about six different objects, each with a different
initial sound. Bring them to a workspace and play it again. "I spy with my little eye something that starts with the
sound ‘mmmm, mmmm.’” We repeat the sound and then, unless the child beats us to it, we point to the monkey
and say, “mmmm unkey, mmmm unkey.” We repeat this for all of the objects. All the while, we are encouraging
the children to play it without us, to take the lead so that they are freed to work on this whenever they want to,
without any help at all. Once children master the beginning sounds in words, we move on to ending sounds and,
finally, middle sounds (the hardest to hear).
The Symbols of Language
In Montessori classrooms, there are two primary pedagogical materials used to teach children the sounds that
each letter makes and how you can put those letters/sounds together to create words: the sandpaper letters and
the movable alphabet. The sandpaper letters allow children to physically trace the shape of each letter while they
say its sound, not it's name. The movable alphabet allows them to then put those symbols/sounds together to
create words even before their hand can hold a pencil.
So it is at this stage that we adults directly teach children the sounds and symbols of our language. This is where
we demonstrate that spoken language is directly linked to written/printed language. This is where we make
language concrete. What follows is practice. Once the children can associate sound with symbol, they need
opportunities and inspiration to practice using that knowledge.
Step 3: Creating Words (Writing)
Traditionally when we think of writing, we think of putting pen to paper. But there is more to it than this. Before one
can have success with writing by way of the hand, one must be able to build words in the mind. This is the
intellectual component of writing. It refers to the ability to put letters together to create a word. It can be done even
if one has no muscular control of the hands. As such, this intellectual component of writing may develop even
before the hand is able to hold a pencil.
Our first work in aiding the young child to master writing is to prepare the mind for the work of writing. So what
does that entail? What are the intellectual requirements for writing? In order to create words in the mind, the child
needs:
The first four of these requirements are briefly discussed above, with self confidence developing as a direct result
of the child's ability to witness herself succeeding in the day-to-day tasks of living.
The Desire to Write
Even once the child understands the sounds and symbols of his language, he will not progress towards
language mastery unless he is internally motivated to do so. The child must have a desire to write. We can
require him to complete worksheets or write assigned words, but these requirements are more likely to deter his
long term success rather than promote it. Instead, we must find the aspect of language that calls to each
individual child. We must discover what intrigues them and let them know that they can explore that intrigue by
writing about it. In short, we need to know the heart and soul of our students.
Dr. Montessori was trained as a scientist. When she considered what the children needed, she did so by
observing them. She introduced different materials and observed how the children used them. She taught in
specific ways and observed their response. She was meticulous in recording empirical data about the children.
We must follow her leadership in this regard. We must set aside time everyday to sit still and watch. We must
allow the class to unfold. We must allow the children to be free from interference (unless there is a safety
concern). We must record what the children do, for how long, with what attitude. What do they say? How do they
move? What interests them? What do they repeat? In the process of these observations, we will naturally become
aware of each child’s present knowledge, abilities, and interests. This is the scientific form of “assessment”
conducted in Montessori classrooms. There are no written exams given to the young children. We do not quiz
them or ask them to perform on command. Instead, we teach them what we can, tirelessly and joyfully give
lessons on how to use the materials in the classroom, notice the magic in the world, and we watch. And when we
watch, we come to learn that the children are perfect as they are. That it is the environment, including ourselves,
that requires fine tuning and that once it is adjusted, the children will flourish.
When these intellectual requirements of writing are met, the children will be very interested in using tools like the
movable alphabet to put into concrete form the words that come from their lips. They may come to you in the
morning and want to excitedly tell you about their new shoes and you, of course, are very interested in hearing
this. But knowing that this child needs motive to use the movable alphabet, you politely tell her, "I would love to
hear more about your shoes but I'm so busy at the moment. May be you could write me a note with the movable
alphabet. Come and get me when its ready for me to read."
(A note on spelling: In general, we don’t worry about the accuracy of the spelling until around age 6. The point of
early writing, of phonetically spelling words, is for the child to practice making words, to practice using the letters
of our alphabet, to practice expressing thoughts with written words. The more the child works with letters, works at
creating words, the easier it becomes. As she gains confidence with this process, she slowly begins to refine her
skills. Spelling is something that the child will naturally refine as her language abilities grow. It is not our focus at
this stage of development.)
Step 4: Reading
At some point, when the child’s needs for verbal language, for phonetic awareness, and for writing have been
met, there is a magical event. The child reads his first word. Just as we can not make an infant take his first
steps, this discovery is not something we as adults can make happen. It will occur on its own time table and for
reasons that will remain mysterious. We can only prepare the child to make the discovery in all the ways we have
discussed. Once this preparation is complete, we continue to find exciting ways to engage them in the language
work while we wait. And while we wait, we trust that, s/he will spontaneously begin to read. This can happen as
young as age 3 or as late as age 8. For most children who have been prepared as outlined in here, reading
begins between the ages of 4 and 6.
Once they read their first words, they generally don't want to stop reading! We continue to guard their growing self-
confidence by giving them more and more phonetic words to read. Then we slowly branch out into phonetic words
that include phonograms/digraphs. At the same time, we introduce them to high frequency "puzzle words." These
are sight words that don't follow the rules and must be memorized (words like you, as, were, though). We follow
the pace of the child as we slowly branch out to non-phonetic words and then first-reader books. All the while we
find ways to encourage and inspire the child to write, to practice using the growing dictionary of words they can
read.
As the child gains confidence with individual words, we slowly branch out to phrases. We use short phrases to
isolate each part of speech and present it in a clear, repeatable, interesting lesson. Of course we don't need to
present a specific lesson on nouns as most of the child's reading work thus far is dealing exclusively with nouns.
We move on to the article, then the adjective, the conjunction, the preposition, the verb, and the adverb. All of these
lessons use phrases to ease the child into the more complex aspects of reading analysis. From here, we move
into commands (more complex phrases) and then directly into sentence analysis. All of this work we are doing
with children as young as age 5...and we are not requiring it or assigning it. It is work that is freely chosen by the
children because the work is specifically designed to call to them. It is terribly interesting! When we have lain the
proper foundation, children become free to hear the voice inside them that calls out for knowledge. If our learning
environments are prepared, the children can immediately and directly heed this call before it fades into a whisper.
Our intention with all of this work is to help children become masters of the spoken and written word, to realize
what Dr. Montessori called Total Reading. We want children not only to be able to read and understand the words
of others, but to realize their own voice, to trust in it, and to measure everything else against it. This is a much
loftier goal than teaching a child to work with the mechanics of letters and phrases. This is work of developing the
child's full potential...and of realizing our own along the way.
Julia Volkman.
The Big Picture of Language Development in the Young Child
How a child learns to speak and understand the spoken word is a mysterious process. As long as a child is
exposed to some language in his/her early life, s/he will almost always learn to speak. We don’t entirely
understand why, but we know this to be true absent certain complications. She will learn the vocabulary that she
is offered. We can do much to enrich these offerings, to give the child a greater wealth of words at her command,
but we can not make her learn to speak. That occurs in a way that, at present, remains a mystery.
But the same can not be said for writing or reading. These, we teach.
Writing and reading require instruction of some sort and require some degree of effort by the child. She must
exert herself on the components of our language to build it for herself. She must mount each of these steps:
- Step 1: Spoken Language: create an internal dictionary and practice using the words in it
Step 2: Phonetic Awareness: learn the sounds within words and the sounds/symbols of our alphabet
Step 3: Creating Words (Writing): learn to put those sounds/symbols together to make words
Step 4: Reading: Learn to decode those sounds/symbols to decipher words
Step 1: Spoken Language
There are many ways the adult can facilitate the acquisition of verbal language but we can not directly teach it.
Instead, we prepare the environment. We naturally focus on offering the child rich oral language experiences.
This is essential yet there is other work we do that is as critical, if not moreso. We must adjust the child's
environment, both physical and navigable (e.g., daily routines, human interactions), so that it does not in anyway
block the expression of the human tendencies. We trust that given the right environment, the right support
structure, the child is inherently capable of developing a strong, logical, ordered, and gracious voice. So, there is
little direct teaching we do to support the child’s development of oral language. Our work in this regard is mostly
indirect and it begins with the child’s surroundings for one of the most significant ways we can offer assistance is
by providing the child with an organized and accessible environment.
An Organized, Accessible Environment
Before we had the assistance of medical scanning or imaging devices, Dr. Montessori understood that the neural
pathways in the child’s brain are formed as a direct result of how the child interacts with his environment. If the
child has varied and relevant opportunities to lay his hands upon his world, to exercise his will, then he forges
strong and numerous neural pathways. If he is limited in his opportunities to move, to act with meaning and
intention, there will be fewer, weaker neural pathways. In both cases, the child will rely on these pathways for the
rest of his life. These are the foundations upon which he rests all future learning. We must work to make sure that
that foundation is strong, solid, and organized. If we hope for the child to develop a voice that is logical and to
express organized thought, we must provide him with surroundings that are organized. We must provide him with
opportunities to exert his developing will and realize the logical consequences of those exertions.
In order to do all this, we need to prepare a space for the child that accommodates his size, abilities, interests,
and time table. His space must give him opportunities to meet his basic needs without interference or
unnecessary help. Can he reach the hook for his coat? Can he access the sink to get a drink of water or wash his
hands? Is there a mirror located so that he can notice that his mouth or nose needs a wipe? Is there a spirit of
open communication so that he is encouraged to engage with others? Do we move slowly and gracefully so that
the child can notice exactly how we use our hands to open a lunch box or blow our nose? These tiny movements
are usually overlooked by the adult but to the child, they are diamonds. The child is intensely interested in
mastering the movements that we don’t even notice we make.
This point about organization and consistent routines needs to be stressed because the organization of the
child's surroundings are related directly to how the mind becomes ordered or disordered. As the child begins to
interact with the environment, he is organizing his intelligence. If there is disorder in the child’s ability to master
language, your first remedy is to remove the disorder and impediments in his surroundings.
Rich Oral Language Experiences
We also work to provide endless opportunities for the children to speak, to practice using their new language, and
to hear our language in all of its stirring forms. It is through this practice, through the use and the slight
adjustments the children make each time the words leave their lips, that the children work to perfect their speech,
articulation, vocabulary, grammar, phrasing, sentence structure: to perfect their verbal expression. If they are to
become masters of their language, they must gain experience using it.
It is essential for a young child to have a rich internal dictionary, a store of words at her command. Many of these
words are absorbed effortlessly as she goes about her daily life. Words like “up” and “milk” and “hello” are
examples. And yet our speech is often so quick or the child’s exposure somehow fragmented that it is not
possible for the child to absorb everything in this manner. There are a few simple things we can do to adapt
ourselves to meet the child’s needs in this area.
- Repeat new words when they are introduced (e.g., this is a spoon, a spoon)
- Annunciate carefully and speak slowly, at the child’s pace
- Allow the child to sense your breath as you speak (i.e., the child’s face or hands are near enough to your
mouth that they have a tactile sensation of how much air leaves your mouth for different sounds) - Use the 3-period lesson to teach specific terms
The 3-Period Lesson. We can use the 3-period lesson to directly teach specific vocabulary for everything in the
classroom and home environment. We use real objects, photos/illustrations, and miniatures to facilitate this. For
example, we walk with the 3 year old around the classroom on her first day. We touch the sink and say, “this is the
sink, sink.” We touch the soap and say, “this is the soap, soap.” We touch the paper towels and say, “these are
the paper towels, paper towels.” This first step of providing the names of each object is called Period 1. In period
2, we ask the child to identify the objects we name. We may say, “Can you point to the paper towels? Can you
stand next to the sink? Can you find the soap?” It is during this second period that most learning takes place. This
is when the child’s body and mind are simultaneously engaged. So we must spend time here, before moving on
to Period 3. In Period 3, we point to each object in turn and ask, “What is this?” This is the most challenging part
of the lesson because the child needs to find the correct word from all of the hundreds or thousands of words she
knows. This is much more difficult than pointing to the right object when the vocabulary is provided and there are
limited objects from which to choose.
When thinking about this example, please note that we do not overlook any vocabulary. We do not yet know how
much or how little vocabulary the children have acquired. We must give them the opportunity to succeed in the
requirements of their environment. How can this happen if they don’t know the names of the objects we refer to?
So, we are sure to review the names of everything in their environment: hook, sink, tissue, floor, chair, etc. Often
these reviews go very quickly but from time to time we meet the child who proceeds slowly through these often
overlooked basics. And it is this child we must not miss!
Step 2: Phonetic Awareness
Traditional education demonstrates a somewhat predictable swing between the pedagogical concepts of
phonics versus whole language. Every few years we hear that a school district or state educational commission
is following a phonics based approach and then a few years later we hear that they recommend a whole
language approach. These concepts swing in and out of favor like the pendulum on a grandfather clock.
The reality is that both of these concepts are valuable and necessary. The Montessori approach teaches both, but
it teaches phonetics first. Why? Because 50% of our language is phonetic. It follows predictable rules...and
children love rules. They are drawn to find the logic and order within our world. The human tendencies for order
and precision are very strong in the young child and the phonetic half of English is compliant in this respect. It is
systematic and predictable. There are rules that, when followed, hold the key to cracking the code of English.
We begin by teaching the child these rules. We teach them the sounds of each letter and of key phonograms. We
encourage them to build phonetic words, and later, when they are ready, to read phonetic words. This process
slowly builds the child’s confidence. It lays out the patterns of English. It presents the rules the children love to
follow and gives them opportunities to practice applying those rules, to practice hearing the sounds in words,
saying the sounds of each letter, writing letters, using those letters to build words, and reading phonetic words.
Then, once the child has confidence, once the child believes she can crack the code of English, we slowly reveal
the non-phonetic half of English...the words which don’t follow any rules at all. Wow! Words that don’t follow any
rules at all? That’s interesting! And learning follows interest.
The Sounds of Language
Phonetic awareness begins with the child’s knowledge of sounds. The child must be able to hear the sounds in
words. We can help children hear individual sounds by:
- Annunciating slowly and carefully
- Encouraging the children to speak and pronounce words
- Repeating new words
- Singing songs
- Reading books
- Reciting poetry
- Playing sound games like I Spy
I Spy. This is a simple game that gives the child the opportunity (but not the requirement) to identify the sounds in
words. We play it with one or several children by saying, "I spy with my little eye, something in Kyra's hand that
starts with the sound 'puh, 'puh.' Of course, Kyra is holding nothing but a pencil so her chance of succeeding is
high. Continue to sound out the word, 'puh en sul.' Do this as much as you need to until one of the children hears
it and says, "pencil!" Continue for as long as the children are interested. On another day, once they understand
how the game works, walk about the room together and choose about six different objects, each with a different
initial sound. Bring them to a workspace and play it again. "I spy with my little eye something that starts with the
sound ‘mmmm, mmmm.’” We repeat the sound and then, unless the child beats us to it, we point to the monkey
and say, “mmmm unkey, mmmm unkey.” We repeat this for all of the objects. All the while, we are encouraging
the children to play it without us, to take the lead so that they are freed to work on this whenever they want to,
without any help at all. Once children master the beginning sounds in words, we move on to ending sounds and,
finally, middle sounds (the hardest to hear).
The Symbols of Language
In Montessori classrooms, there are two primary pedagogical materials used to teach children the sounds that
each letter makes and how you can put those letters/sounds together to create words: the sandpaper letters and
the movable alphabet. The sandpaper letters allow children to physically trace the shape of each letter while they
say its sound, not it's name. The movable alphabet allows them to then put those symbols/sounds together to
create words even before their hand can hold a pencil.
So it is at this stage that we adults directly teach children the sounds and symbols of our language. This is where
we demonstrate that spoken language is directly linked to written/printed language. This is where we make
language concrete. What follows is practice. Once the children can associate sound with symbol, they need
opportunities and inspiration to practice using that knowledge.
Step 3: Creating Words (Writing)
Traditionally when we think of writing, we think of putting pen to paper. But there is more to it than this. Before one
can have success with writing by way of the hand, one must be able to build words in the mind. This is the
intellectual component of writing. It refers to the ability to put letters together to create a word. It can be done even
if one has no muscular control of the hands. As such, this intellectual component of writing may develop even
before the hand is able to hold a pencil.
Our first work in aiding the young child to master writing is to prepare the mind for the work of writing. So what
does that entail? What are the intellectual requirements for writing? In order to create words in the mind, the child
needs:
- Self confidence
- An organized mind (so he can express himself logically)
- Knowledge of words to form complete sentences
- Phonetic Awareness
- Knowledge of sounds
- The ability to recognize sounds in words
- The ability to recognize the symbols that correspond to different sounds/associating the sounds
with symbols - The ability to link letters together to make words
- The desire to write
The first four of these requirements are briefly discussed above, with self confidence developing as a direct result
of the child's ability to witness herself succeeding in the day-to-day tasks of living.
The Desire to Write
Even once the child understands the sounds and symbols of his language, he will not progress towards
language mastery unless he is internally motivated to do so. The child must have a desire to write. We can
require him to complete worksheets or write assigned words, but these requirements are more likely to deter his
long term success rather than promote it. Instead, we must find the aspect of language that calls to each
individual child. We must discover what intrigues them and let them know that they can explore that intrigue by
writing about it. In short, we need to know the heart and soul of our students.
Dr. Montessori was trained as a scientist. When she considered what the children needed, she did so by
observing them. She introduced different materials and observed how the children used them. She taught in
specific ways and observed their response. She was meticulous in recording empirical data about the children.
We must follow her leadership in this regard. We must set aside time everyday to sit still and watch. We must
allow the class to unfold. We must allow the children to be free from interference (unless there is a safety
concern). We must record what the children do, for how long, with what attitude. What do they say? How do they
move? What interests them? What do they repeat? In the process of these observations, we will naturally become
aware of each child’s present knowledge, abilities, and interests. This is the scientific form of “assessment”
conducted in Montessori classrooms. There are no written exams given to the young children. We do not quiz
them or ask them to perform on command. Instead, we teach them what we can, tirelessly and joyfully give
lessons on how to use the materials in the classroom, notice the magic in the world, and we watch. And when we
watch, we come to learn that the children are perfect as they are. That it is the environment, including ourselves,
that requires fine tuning and that once it is adjusted, the children will flourish.
When these intellectual requirements of writing are met, the children will be very interested in using tools like the
movable alphabet to put into concrete form the words that come from their lips. They may come to you in the
morning and want to excitedly tell you about their new shoes and you, of course, are very interested in hearing
this. But knowing that this child needs motive to use the movable alphabet, you politely tell her, "I would love to
hear more about your shoes but I'm so busy at the moment. May be you could write me a note with the movable
alphabet. Come and get me when its ready for me to read."
(A note on spelling: In general, we don’t worry about the accuracy of the spelling until around age 6. The point of
early writing, of phonetically spelling words, is for the child to practice making words, to practice using the letters
of our alphabet, to practice expressing thoughts with written words. The more the child works with letters, works at
creating words, the easier it becomes. As she gains confidence with this process, she slowly begins to refine her
skills. Spelling is something that the child will naturally refine as her language abilities grow. It is not our focus at
this stage of development.)
Step 4: Reading
At some point, when the child’s needs for verbal language, for phonetic awareness, and for writing have been
met, there is a magical event. The child reads his first word. Just as we can not make an infant take his first
steps, this discovery is not something we as adults can make happen. It will occur on its own time table and for
reasons that will remain mysterious. We can only prepare the child to make the discovery in all the ways we have
discussed. Once this preparation is complete, we continue to find exciting ways to engage them in the language
work while we wait. And while we wait, we trust that, s/he will spontaneously begin to read. This can happen as
young as age 3 or as late as age 8. For most children who have been prepared as outlined in here, reading
begins between the ages of 4 and 6.
Once they read their first words, they generally don't want to stop reading! We continue to guard their growing self-
confidence by giving them more and more phonetic words to read. Then we slowly branch out into phonetic words
that include phonograms/digraphs. At the same time, we introduce them to high frequency "puzzle words." These
are sight words that don't follow the rules and must be memorized (words like you, as, were, though). We follow
the pace of the child as we slowly branch out to non-phonetic words and then first-reader books. All the while we
find ways to encourage and inspire the child to write, to practice using the growing dictionary of words they can
read.
As the child gains confidence with individual words, we slowly branch out to phrases. We use short phrases to
isolate each part of speech and present it in a clear, repeatable, interesting lesson. Of course we don't need to
present a specific lesson on nouns as most of the child's reading work thus far is dealing exclusively with nouns.
We move on to the article, then the adjective, the conjunction, the preposition, the verb, and the adverb. All of these
lessons use phrases to ease the child into the more complex aspects of reading analysis. From here, we move
into commands (more complex phrases) and then directly into sentence analysis. All of this work we are doing
with children as young as age 5...and we are not requiring it or assigning it. It is work that is freely chosen by the
children because the work is specifically designed to call to them. It is terribly interesting! When we have lain the
proper foundation, children become free to hear the voice inside them that calls out for knowledge. If our learning
environments are prepared, the children can immediately and directly heed this call before it fades into a whisper.
Our intention with all of this work is to help children become masters of the spoken and written word, to realize
what Dr. Montessori called Total Reading. We want children not only to be able to read and understand the words
of others, but to realize their own voice, to trust in it, and to measure everything else against it. This is a much
loftier goal than teaching a child to work with the mechanics of letters and phrases. This is work of developing the
child's full potential...and of realizing our own along the way.
| Montessori Materials All of the book and card materials made by Maitri Learning (vocabulary, matching, 3-part, zoology, etc.) are specifically designed to assist in each of the main ares of the child's language development. |
| Click here for recommendations on how to give lessons with and teach children how to use vocabulary and matching cards. |
| Click below for: a printable catalog list of products by item # free lesson plans |
| Montessori Materials You can use our movable alphabets for beginning writing work |