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Areas of Learning In a Montessori Classroom
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| PRACTICAL LIFE AREA |
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Purposes |
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The lessons of Practical Life develop a sense of and appreciation for order, self- confidence, independence and an ability to concentrate and follow a sequence of steps. Lessons of grace and courtesy are given to help children play and work together in a peaceful and caring environment.
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Content |
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- Transferring activities (spooning, grasping, scooping-tongs- tweezers)
- Pouring activities (wet, dry-large and small pitchers)
- Manipulative activities
- Dressing skills-care of self (zippering, Velcro, snapping, tying)
- Polishing and scrubbing activities
- Care of environment (sweeping and dusting)
- Snack preparation
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| SENSORIAL AREA |
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Purposes |
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The sensorial materials were designed to help the child to focus attention on the physical world exploring each of the senses with small changes to the characteristics of objects. Each piece of material is self-correcting and allows the child to make observant assessments of their work.
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Content (five senses) |
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- Sight- The properties of size, shape, volume and color
- Touch- The properties of size, shape, volume, texture, temperature
- Hearing- The properties of sound, including pitch and volume
- Taste- Recognition of differences between tastes: salty, sweet, bitter and sour
- Smell- Differentiation of likenesses and differences of aroma
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| MATHEMATICAL AREA |
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Purposes |
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The Montessori math materials and lessons help children to develop an understanding of math concepts through the use of educational materials that make abstract concepts clear.
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Content |
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- Whole number concepts and numeration from one to ten
- Sequencing and quantity of numerals from one to one hundred
- Place values of units-tens, hundreds, and thousands
- Concrete exploration of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
- Identifying squares and cubes of numbers from one to ten through skip counting
- Exploration of geometric shapes, time, measurements, fractions, and currency
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| LANGUAGE AREA |
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Purposes |
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Children three to six years of age are in a "sensitive period" for absorbing language. The Montessori environment is rich in oral language, listening to stories, reciting poems, singing, and talking to others. Pre-reading activities along with the Montessori sandpaper letters assist in the development of writing and lead to reading.
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Content |
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- Simple to difficult Lotto matching games
- Rhyme - opposites
- Classification
- Nomenclature
- Alphabet-sandpaper letters and sounds of letters
- Vowel work
- Reading
- Story writing
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| SCIENCE AREA |
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Purposes |
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Science concepts are presented in sensorial ways to provide real-life experiences.
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Content |
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- Classify natural science environment: Plants and animals-Animal kingdoms
- Physical science: Magnets, sink and float, solar system, simple machines
- Biological sciences: Mammals, human body, reptiles, dinosaurs, amphibians, birds, fish, insects, flowers, leaves and trees
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| SOCIAL STUDIES/GEOGRAPHY AREA |
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Purposes |
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The goal of the curriculum is to develop a global perspective of people and their cultures.
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Content |
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- Continent puzzle maps and globes
- Country flags and artifacts
- Land/water
- Land forms: island/lake, peninsula/gulf, isthmus/strait
- Celebrations of various cultures through: Music, cooking, literature and art projects
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