Language

Toddler and Primary children are immersed in language the moment they enter the classroom. Spoken language is encouraged as children communicate with each other individually, in small groups, and in large groups. A library of books is available for enjoyment and information. Stories are read and told individually, in small and large groups. Songs, poetry, and finger games bring spoken language to life for the young child.

At the Primary level phonemic awareness is taught through hands on activities and games, the alphabet is learned with fun and interesting sorting and matching works; handwriting is practiced through tracing shapes, sandpaper letters, and using chalkboards; moveable alphabet letters are used for writing words, and labels are used all over for word recognition. Reading for four or five year old children in a Montessori program usually follows an immersion in writing activities, mostly done using the moveable alphabets. The children spontaneously synthesize all of the phonemes they have learned and the sight words they have been given and often discover one day that they can read! In addition to a wide range of suitable fiction and non-fiction books in each classroom, there are vocabulary cards in relation to every subject area (nomenclature of everyday objects, geometry, science, world cultures, etc.).

Enrichment of vocabulary across the curriculum is a constant focus in the Primary classroom. Another daily occurrence is reading aloud to the children as a group. Introductory activities in areas of grammar, syntax and word study form a part of the early language work. Dr. Maria Montessori described the five to seven year old children as “word lovers,” such was their great interest in language at this age. The concepts of noun, verb, preposition, subject, direct object, etc. are introduced in playful activities using a miniature environment and a variety of movement games. The Montessori grammar symbols used throughout the Elementary Program are first introduced at this age.

Just as in the Math curriculum the Elementary level Language curriculum begins at age six with a “Great Lesson” called “The Story of Communication in Signs”. The lesson takes students through the development of written language from pre-alphabetic signs right up to the printing press. In the Lower Elementary years, the history of spoken language is presented and the story of our Roman alphabet is told. Different ancient alphabets (e.g. hieroglyphs) are studied. There are both instructional and self-teaching materials so students can explore, memorize, and practice writing in different alphabetic forms.

Specific elementary level lesson areas include word study, grammar and syntax, composition, reading, reference and study skills, & listening and speaking skills.

The study of the nine principal parts of speech spans the three Lower Elementary years. Parsing of prepared sentences, one’s own writing, and the writing of given authors is done using card material and colored grammar symbols. Classification of nouns and adjectives and the basic verb tenses are also presented. Students work on the classification of simple sentences and familiarity with the parts of a sentence, such as predicate, subject, direct and indirect objects and adverbial phrases. Sequential Montessori materials are used for these studies.

The study of the structure of a paragraph begins in the Lower Elementary program and continues into the early Upper Elementary years. Students have opportunities for a wide variety of creative writing, which includes various forms of poetry, short story, fairy tale, and nature writing. They also write reports in areas such as zoology, geography and history. The mechanics of writing including punctuation and capitalization, and basic spelling rules are a major focus of the Lower Elementary years. The development of beautiful handwriting is emphasized beginning with cursive writing (already begun during the Primary years) and then later with print. Keyboarding skills are begun in the third year of the Lower Elementary program.

Students read from selected fiction in school on a daily basis. Nightly reading at home is also encouraged. Students may borrow books from the school library. Classroom Guides read aloud to the class on a daily basis. The work students do in the various subject areas involves the reading of words, phrases and sentences using the specific scientific nomenclature of the subject. There are many reading exercises connected to the grammar and syntax activities. Students are introduced to interpretive reading exercises. These exercises involve dramatic interpretation of a piece of literature. During the later portion of third year Lower Elementary students begin to read and discuss the Junior Great Books classic stories, which then continues into the Upper Elementary years.