Comments on: What Kind of Reading Program Belongs in Montessori?

By: Susie

Susie — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 05:41:05 +0000

Thanks Lori – you are right. The teacher is a really lovely person but I think she is at a loss when it comes to expanding the program and still keeping it true to Montessori principles. There is not really a director of the school per se, but I will have to share my concerns with the de facto head as I think you are correct that this won’t get better on it’s own. As I learn more and more about what happens at other Montessori schools, I have come to see that the program at this school is severely lacking. Wish me luck and thanks for all your input!!

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:21:30 +0000

Actually, I suggest sharing your concerns with the director…this doesn’t sound like what Montessori elementary is supposed to be. I don’t think it will improve on its own. Montessori elementary is actually very difficult to do correctly, so this teacher may need some additional help or instruction to do it successfully.

By: Susie

Susie — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 05:09:35 +0000

Work is not really shared at the school. I could ask to see what she is working on but to tell you the truth, I am concerned about what I might find. She has definitely regressed in her spelling and writing skills since being at this school. All I hear is that they are working on things and it’s a 3 year cycle and they will all catch up but the students are producing very little. I think there is some journal writing going on and then they work on the language cards and that is it. Luckily my child can read well (she read before coming to this school) but I know many of the children in the class aren’t reading. I hope it improves.

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:30:41 +0000

Sure, no problem! Yes, definitely ask your child’s teacher…they should be showing you your child’s work on a regular basis (parent/teacher conferences, etc.) so that’s a good time to find out what the class is working on. You can also ask to observe.

By: Susie

Susie — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:14:48 +0000

Thanks Lori for your informative reply. I believe my child’s school has something similar in their Albanesi language program but more often than not I see the kids mostly working on isolated skills. In the elementary program there is no research or story writing going on. I will look into things further and see if they at least have 3-part cards as maybe they do and I just don’t know about it.

Thanks again for your reply : ) I appreciate it.

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:45:34 +0000

Hi, Susie! 3-part cards are a backbone of Montessori education; they are used throughout preschool and elementary to teach terms and concepts. Examples would be Parts of a Plant, Types of Clouds, Parts of a Mountain, etc.

In preschool, the three parts are 1) a picture 2) a label card (with the name of the picture) and 3) a control card with the picture and label together

In elementary, the three parts are 1) a picture 2) a label card 3) a definition card

Children match them and then write or draw something they’ve learned (the older the child, the more they can write about it).

The Pink, Blue, and Green Series work is not meant for sentences per se (although they can write sentences about the words they are learning). It is for teaching phonics, vocabulary, spelling, and reading skills.

The writing comes in through research, story writing, and the 3-part cards as mentioned above.

By: Susie

Susie — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 21:20:05 +0000

Thanks for your reply Lori. Would you explain to me what are the 3-part cards. Also, how do you extend the Pink, Bue, and Green series work for the children so they are getting a more complete program. For example, do you have them write sentences with the words they are working on.

Thanks again for the reply.

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:58:06 +0000

Hi, Susie! I’m not familiar with the Albanesi language cards, but hopefully someone will stop by who is.

Any child in a Montessori environment should be doing lots of Pink, Blue, and Green Series work as well as work with sight words which leads to fluent reading.

There should also be age-appropriate reading books and any children who can read should be doing 3-part cards, research, etc. that uses and expands their reading skills.

By: Susie

Susie — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:02:26 +0000

At my child’s Montessori school, they use Albanesi language cards. Every day for language the children work on a card. From what I can see, the cards focus on phonetic skills in isolation. There is no other reading program and the children are often matching words to picture cards and then writing out the word or filling in the missing letter/blend in a word and then writing out the word, or the older children are working a lot on identifying the parts of speech but not actually doing their own writing. I am not sure how this approach will foster independent fluent readers and writers – perhaps I am missing the boat on this one but it doesn’t seem like it’s working. Most of the grade one students can’t read simple books or write a sentence. They don’t know simple sight words ( I, is, am etc) and can’t independently spell many C-V-C words. Please someone who is familiar with Albanesi help me understand this approach and should it be done in this way?

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 01:28:19 +0000

Thanks for the link, Leonie! I will look into that site. I love the combination of phonics and whole reading, so it sounds great.