|
Back to page 1
- Language - Reading and Writing
The fundamental approach to teaching reading and writing in a Montessori
program is based in phonics. An array of Montessori materials are used,
many of which include a motor or sensorial aspect. When children begin
to work directly with letters, the association of a sound with a graphic
symbol is made. First, the Sandpaper Letters are used. These are
individual boards with each letter of the alphabet represented in
sandpaper. The child traces the letter with their fingers, looks at
the letter, says it aloud, and hears the teacher say it out loud. In
this way the child receives an auditory, visual, and kinesthetic
impression of the letter and its corresponding sound. Lower case
letters are most often used in Montessori language materials because
the vast majority of letters in text and books are in lower case.
Children are encouraged to trace and say letters repeatedly during a
lesson. The same letter may be presented the following day for
reinforcement. Some children may have difficulty remembering a letter
sound when only experiencing it visually. The teacher may therefore
suggest tracing the letter with fingers, or using the whole arm and
large motor action to trace the letter in the air or on the rug.
Often tactile sensation helps the child remember the sound that goes
with the symbol (letter). Of special note is that letter sounds rather
than letter names are emphasized in order to build a phonemic awareness,
the foundation of our approach to reading.
Teachers may choose to build awareness of particular sounds by focusing
on them at circle time. Recently called The Sound of the Week, a letter
is posted on a bulletin board in the classroom and children bring in
objects or pictures of objects that begin with that sound. These are
shown at circle as the whole group sounds out the names of the objects.
After developing a facility with a majority of the sounds of the alphabet,
including the short vowel sounds which are taught initially, children
begin to put sounds together to make words. A Montessori material
called the Movable Alphabet is utilized for these first exercises in
word building. This large box includes all the letters of the alphabet
in lower case, several of each sound - consonants are red and vowels
are blue. For example, an initial presentation by the teacher may be:
We are going to make the word jet, j-e-t (each sound is said). Can
you get the j...? Can you get the e? And now the t? Good. This word
is jet, j-e-t, jet. Can you say it with me? Several words may be
dictated in this fashion. 
The next step would be to give a child a picture or object, have them
independently decode the sounds and retrieve them from the movable
alphabet box to place next to the picture or object. A picture of a
box, a top, and a fox may be presented in one lesson. These tasks
encourage the development of memory; yet provide cues in several
modalities for children who are predominantly visual or auditory
learners. It also provides for a way to create words for children
who may not yet have the fine motor skill necessary to write.
Children often use the skills they have learned from phonics in their
own spontaneous writings. This inventive spelling begins to accompany
children's drawings and first attempts to write notes, letters and
stories. Inventive spelling may follow several stages. During the
initial stages teachers encourage children's expression without
corrections. Later, when children have established confidence in
their ability to communicate by writing, correct spellings may be
offered. When using inventive spelling the first stage is when the
initial consonant is used alone for each word. Later the initial and
final consonants are used together. Next all of the easily heard
consonants are used, then vowels are added, and the final step moves
towards an interest in conventional spelling. At this stage children
may be asked to circle a few words that they would like to check in the
dictionary. Dictionary skills are introduced along with rereading and
editing.
We have described a developmental sequence of stages for inventive
spelling in order to give an overview of the whole process. Please be
aware that a particular child's arrival at the final stages may occur
during the kindergarten year as well as during first grade. Most
preschoolers will begin inventive spelling with one or two letters.
Sometimes children may build words with the movable alphabet or with
their own inventive spelling and may not be able to read them back.
However, the important connection between letters and words is still
being made during this process and soon children do learn to read back
the words. After work with word analysis, children progress to reading
simple phonetic three letter words, longer phonetic words, word phrases,
polysyllabic phonetic words, and non-phonetic sight words. A variety
of materials and exercises are used to promote the development of
reading skills. Children who have developed some skills may use
phonetic readers and eventually books that include some phonetic and
non-phonetic material may be introduced.
Children often memorize books and read them back to parents, teachers
and friends. Patterned books such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do
You See? by Bill Martin Jr. lend themselves to this type of reading.
Children can learn about tracking (left to right, drop down a line, go
back to the left, and start to read again) and practice that skill
without getting bogged down with sounds or sight words that are
difficult to decode. Reading is a complicated process that involves
perceptual, motor, visual and auditory skills. Provided with
exercises to develop fundamentals, eventually children can combine
more and more of the skills necessary to become fluent readers.
To make sight words fun and intriguing, the classroom is full of words.
The names of the children are on the tables, on cubbies, and in games
on the shelf. Items in the classroom are labeled. Baking words are on
recipes written out in large format, regular size, and broken down for
memory games. Colors are written on cards as an extension of the
sensorial exercises involving color. Words are posted by the science
table. Songs and rhymes are sung and played with in a written format.
Class books are made. An environment filled with words is created for
the children. Often parents report that children are spontaneously
reading sights words outside of the school environment (stop signs on
the street, words in the grocery store, etc.) The excitement about
reading both sight words in their world and using phonetic sounds to
decode new and unfamiliar words grows as the confidence and skills
progress in each child.
Among the language materials in the classroom are a variety of games
emphasizing various aspects of the curriculum including sound bingo,
memory games, phonetic matching, reading tablets, and object boxes.
I Spy is an example of a phonetic awareness game that may be played
individually or in a small group. It encourages children to listen
for individual sounds in words. For example, the teacher may say,
"I spy with my little eye something green that starts with the sound t."
After the children give the correct response, tree, another sound may be
used. Sounds in the middle, or at the end of a word may be used as well.
Teachers play sound games and other word analysis games often so that
children learn the individual sounds in words.
Children progress through the reading curriculum at their own pace.
There may be a wide range of skills and levels of competence among
children of the same age group. It is essential to respect each
child's individual pace and interest. Learning to read should be a
relaxed and enjoyable activity. Teachers find that pressure and
emotional stress will interfere with a child's natural interest and
motivation to learn to read. Our task is to create the environment
that fosters positive attitudes towards reading, to provide the
necessary tools and materials, and to value each individual child's
learning process. These important components will insure success for
all the children.
|
|
|
