Bases instruction on accurate content knowledge using multiple representations of concepts and appropriate academic language.
Students in an Early Elementary Montessori classroom develop a deep understanding of the parts of speech and the structure of sentences. Once students have learned about and can identify nouns and verbs, they are introduced to the concept of "subject," and "predicate." This understanding is further broadened as they identify other parts of sentences like "indirect objects." At the same time, students further their study in other parts of speech like conjunctions and adverbs. This lesson is one that I presented to a group of first grade students who had learned about nouns and verbs. The lesson is intended to aid in the formation of simple sentences. I used a fantastic "big book" titled Spring is Here, written by Taro Gomi. The book is full of simple sentences like, "The grass sprouts." and "The snow melts." Students used flexible wiki sticks to circle the subject in black which ties to the color designated to nouns in the Montessori curriculum. They also circled the predicate in red which is the color designated to verbs in the Montessori language curriculum. Using these colors and symbols prepares them for further language lessons. Students cut sentences into the parts, then wrote them in their language notebooks.
Once students are able to read for understanding, the world of words is open to them. These words are categorized into parts of speech; nouns, verbs, adjectives, and so on. It is important for students to understand the meaning of the different parts of speech and to understand how to use their understanding in writing. Students begin to master using words, and to use them to communicate in creative and deeply personal ways. One of my favorite avenues for helping students learn to love words is the study of poetry. In many forms of poetry, the writer must be very selective in the words used. Some forms of poetry carry strict rules that encourage students to pick the very best words for their work. I have included two lessons I presented on Diamante poetry, the graphic organizers my students used, and my reflection on the lesson. This form of poetry begins with a theme. Verbs, adjectives, and nouns are used to describe the theme. I encouraged my students to find a theme, then make lists of verbs, nouns, and adjectives that related. The next step, was to pick their very favorite ones. This step opens the door to more discussion about language, synonyms, antonyms, alliteration and meter. Students learn to master these forms of communication and to love the world of words. Poetry allows students to develop their vocabularies as well as their communication skills. Students select their best words, closely examine words and their meanings, and seek to convey their feelings through words.
The Montessori biology curriculum is rich with academic language. Young students are exposed to and use scientific vocabulary that often surprises their parents. In our intervention space, we work hard to expose our students to grade level content, including the Montessori biology curriculum. One area of that curriculum that has been fun to focus on is Zoology. In a typical classroom, these students would go through a sequence of lessons involving the 5 classes of vertebrates. Since fish were the first to appear on the earth, they are the first group of vertebrates that are taught. In order to make the lessons accessible to the students in my class, we incorporated fish into every aspect of our day. Students did a Cosmic Kids yoga routine about a fish. They were offered a video of a large aquarium filled with different varieties of fish as a sensory break. A fish from a neighboring classroom was a special guest for the day. And there were several fish related art projects. I have included a picture of one project that all of the students participated in. I also created a fish puzzle to help students identify the parts of the fish including the fin, eye, mouth, tail, body, and gills.