These are uncertain times, friends. It makes it hard to imagine what life will be like in the next several months. It is stressful when there are so many unknowns and it is difficult to make plans. Once before in my life, my husband and I were separated, on and off, for about 3 or 4 years. I was in a position where I could not see my future clearly. It took some getting used to, but I learned to live without knowing the future, as if I ever had. I learned to live in the present for long stretches of time and I found peace. A friend of a friend of mine is from war-torn Cameroon in western Africa. From his perspective, the rest of the world is now getting a taste of what he and his peers have lived with their entire lives - scarcity of basic goods and services, lack of medical care, isolation indoors because it is too dangerous to go out, exile from home, fear and uncertainty. Dr. Montessori said, "Education is a work of self-organization by which man adapts himself to the conditions of life." Adaptation is one of the Human Tendencies that have allowed humankind to endure and thrive. Our education continues as we adapt ourselves to these new conditions.
Meanwhile, some parents of our Philomath Montessori School community have been reaching out to say that they are really enjoying this time at home with their kids. Thank you, Jessica, for providing our families, via email, with some great "homeschooling with Montessori" resources and thanks to the parents who have shared some great stories and pics with the Philomath Montessori Facebook group. Join them and keep up with their adventures. It is fun to see what parents and kids are doing at home. Now, let's reach into the mailbag and see what folks are wondering about today. Here's one:
Dearest Guide,
My son is a fledgling reader and is getting really good at sounding out individual phonetic words of a few letters in length. Many of the beginning-reader books we have contain a lot of "sight words" such as was, she, the, one and you, for example, that cannot be sounded out. Should I be teaching him how to read these words?
Sincerely,
Excited Amateur Educator
Gentle Parent,
What a great question! The short answer is, yes, it's time to learn what we call "puzzle words" and I will tell you the very best way to do it. But first, a history lesson! Did you know that Dr. Montessori pretty much invented the concept of" "reading without books?" Think what a boon this was to education back in those days when books were rare luxuries (and still are in many homes and schools.) Isn't this a boon to us with all the libraries and schools closed? In the Prepared Environment, our children, once they have been writing a good long while, spontaneously begin reading. We then provide them with many opportunities to read without ever cracking a book. A book can be very intimidating and, as our Gentle Parent discloses, can be full of non-phonetic words and unknown subject matter. Children are invariably more successful at reading something which they already know about, full of familiar words and ideas. So we give them objects that they know the names of, that are phonetic and words written on paper labels to read and match to the objects. Often these objects are in a basket. Sometimes they are objects that are part of our Casa dei Bambini, as a Montessori classroom was originally named. Words like "bell," "plant," "basket," "hat," etc allow a child to practice reading and gain skills and confidence as she places labels next to the appropriate item in her casa. This concept can be extended to writing commands for the child to read, then act out, like " grab a hat" or labeling sensorial qualities in the environment like "short" or "salty" or "heavy." There is much, much reading that can be done, and is best done, without books.
We have in our environment ten packets of ten words, each printed on their own separate card. If one learns all of these "puzzle words" one will know 100 words that they can read, not by sounding them out, but by recognition. When not knowing these words become an obstacle to your child's reading, it is time to introduce them. We do this via the famous "3 Period Lesson." This is the technique by which we impart new vocabulary, such as the names of geometric shapes, names of tools, animals or vegetables or even the phonetic sounds of the sandpaper letters. Just as the name suggests, it is done in 3 periods. It is done in the spirit of a game.
In the First Period the teacher introduces the new vocabulary by naming the objects. 3 is usually a good number to be learned at once. Not too many to master, nor too few to challenge. In the case of puzzle words, one would have 3 cards (you could use 3x5 cards) that each have a word written on them in PRINT. That's important. Cursive is for writing, but virtually effortlessly, children who have been writing for months in cursive can transfer their knowledge of sounds and are able to read in print. Most of what we read in life is in print. You can choose 3 words that would be helpful for your child to know. Let's select "the" "I" and "was" for our first lesson. Introduce the concept of the puzzle word to begin. The lesson might go something like this:
"You can sound out words, right? But some words cannot be sounded out, because when you do, they make no sense. We call them puzzle words. And we can learn to read them anyway. This word is "the." This is how you read it. (Teacher looks at the card and says "the") Now you do it. Yes. Let's use it in a sentence. The mouse ate the cheese. You think of a sentence with "the" in it. (The child says one. The teacher sets this card aside, face down.) Now this one is "I." You read it. No, don't try to sound it out. It won't make sense. Just look at it and say "I." Yes. Now tell me a sentence with "I" in it. (Teacher sets aside this card and introduces "was" in the same way. That is the First Period - naming the vocabulary to be learned.
In the Second Period, it gets really fun. The teacher issues a series of commands requiring the child to hear the word, reach for the object named and perform a task with it. Sometimes the child is required to say the names of the objects. It may sound something like this:
Put "the" here. Touch "was." Point to "I." Knock on "was." Tickle "the." Turn all the cards face down. Can you find "was?" Let me turn one over. Is this "I" or "the?" (Now the child gets to say the word.) Give me "was." Give me "the." I'm hiding them behind my back! Pick a hand. (The teacher shows one card.) Is this "the" or "was?" Pick another hand. Is this "the" or "was?" Stand up and take "I" to the coffee table. Leave it there. Put "was" on the arm of the couch. Put "the" under Daddy's chair. Bring me "I." Bring me "the." Bring me "was." And the game goes on and on as long as it is fun and engaging. And when your child errs and reaches for the wrong word? Tell them so tactfully and factfully ( I made up that word for catchiness!) Say, "that is 'was'." Can you find "the?" Put "the" here. Put "the" here. Tap "the." Put "the" here. Kids find it a fun surprise when you do a succession of commands with the same word at times. If your child is following your commands confidently and indicating that they have learned and remembered the new vocabulary, you can go on to the next step. If they seem unsure and make many errors, stay at this level, playing games as long as it is fun and engaging, then end the activity.
In the Third Period, we ask the child to demonstrate her knowledge. "What is this? What is this? What is this?" the teacher asks of each new word, giving the child time to answer. If they do not answer or answer wrongly, supply the correct information. "That word is "was" just as cheerfully as if they had said it correctly. At this point, one can go back to the First Period and begin playing again, end the activity or learn one, two or three new puzzle words. If the child named one correctly, get one new word. If they named two correctly, bring out two more. If they named them all correctly, learn 3 new words if the child wants to. After learning these 3, review all of the words you worked on. Maybe review them again in a few hours and several times during the day so they stick. Keep learning and reviewing as days go by. I think you could web search "common sight words for beginning readers" or something like that to generate a list of words to learn or just pick them out as you and your child encounter them during your read aloud time. Turn each word into a card and keep them all together or organize them into sets of ten. None of the words is more important than another so it matters not in which order your child learns them. Enjoy this new stage of reading with your child, Gentle Parent! The doors just keep on opening from here! Wishing your child further joyful learning, I remain,
Your Guide,
Doni
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