Montessori and phonetics (2023)

Montessori did not write much on phonetics.according, tended to treat it as an integral part of the discussion of reading and writing, which she believed to bemoltenright at the beginning. In line with his approach to always finding connections between the brain and the hands, he believed that before a child begins to read,he or she must learn to write! As the child writes a word (which is a slower process than reading it), he repeats it several times. “…writing also serves the humblest task of fixing the words that represent perceptions and ofanalyzing them into their component sounds…” (The discovery of the child, 1986, p.247) [emphasis added]. Omontessori fireplaceteaching to write prepares the child to learn to read; Based on Montessori experiences, this approach makes the reading process much smoother. “In fact, writing prepares the child to mechanically interpret the combined sounds of the letters that make up the word she has written. In other words, a child can read the sounds of words” (The discovery of the child, p.229). Writing automatically leads to good practice.

“When a child is learning to speak, he can hear the component sounds of a word imperfectly, but this is not the case when he is learning the graphic signs corresponding to the individual sounds of a word. He is given a sandpaper letter, which he can see and touch, and its corresponding name. This not only fixes clearly in the child's mind the sound that he heard, but his hearing of the sound is associated with two other perceptions, the sight and the sensation of the written sign” (Ibid, p.250).

One of the steps in preparing a child to write is phonemic instruction. Here is a brief summary:

A prerequisite for this is that the child has already had a lot of practice with Montessori manipulatives that develop motor skills of the fingers and hands, e.g. button cylinders, smooth and rough flats and flat inserts.Teaches the sounds of the letters of the alphabet, first the vowels and then the consonants, but it is not necessary to finish all the vowels before starting the consonants. A sound is immediately followed by a word, which is played with emphasis on the focus sound. stage 3Montessori approachIt is often.

1. Association of sight and touch with sound. The teacher gives the child two sandpaper cards at a time, beginning with 'i' and 'o'. Then point out the respective sounds. After each sound, let the child touch the letter immediately, then trace it, guiding the index finger where necessary. The child repeats as many times as he wants. The smooth paper under the sandpaper acts as error control. All letters are taught using this method.
2. Perception. A child should be able to recognize letter shapes by hearing the corresponding sounds. The teacher, pronouncing the sounds, asks the child for specific cards. If a child cannot recognize the sounds, the teacher should ask him to play them. If you still don't register, the class ends and continues another day.
3. Speech. The child must be able to pronounce the sounds corresponding to the letters of the alphabet. This is assessed by asking the child to read the various letter cards.

When teaching consonants, the teacher pronounces 'only' the sound and immediately shows it in a word and pronounces one or two syllables, emphasizing the consonant sound. Don't always use the same vowel with the consonant. In the end, the teacher pronounces only the consonant, repeatedly, and then the consonant with different vowels. The child must repeat the sound alone and with vowels, eg.m, m, m, ma, ma, yo, yo, mi, mi.Separate pronunciations of the sounds of the alphabet will reveal any speech defects, and the teacher should be warned about this.

The child is now ready to learn to write the letters of the alphabet and syllables. Montessori called her approach to writing: the method ofspontaneous writing.

Montessori writes about how she initially suffered ("like everyone else") from the prejudice that the teaching of reading and writing should be postponed if possible and certainly not started before the age of 6 (The discovery of the child, p.199). He concludes that the age of six is ​​too late, as many of the child's movements would already be fixed and the child would have passed the period of sensitivity to movement. The child would therefore be condemned to make unnatural and painful efforts in the search for writing. She argues that a four-year-old is perfectly prepared to learn to write.

Almost all the children in their schools began to write at the age of 4 “...and by the age of five they can read and write at least as well as children who finished the first grade” (Ibid, p.234). He added that some enthusiastic children started writing at the age of three and a half.

Speech develops between 2 and 5 years of age (Ibid, p.246). A child of three or four years has already begun to speak (The discovery of the child, p.249). "But it's going through that period where the mechanism of spoken language is perfected." (Ibid., p. 249). "It would be advantageous for the child if he could exercise the motor channels of speech and accurately fix the movements necessary for perfect speech before he acquires wrong habits and reaches an age when it is no easier to change his motor mechanisms and their defects. . . they become incorrigible” (Ibid, p.249). "Therefore, only after a child has started to speak is it time for him to analyze his words and refine them." (Ibid., p. 249).

When the focus shifted to reading, she used word cards (in italics) and 3D objects for familiar words (which are frequently pronounced by children “and represent objects that are present or well known”). These Montessori materials are available in a set called The Pink Series. The objects are to help the child in the interpretation of the writing. "The first step in reading... is terminology, that is, reading the names of known objects." (ibidemp. 230). “I allow him to slowly translate the written word into sounds and, if the interpretation is correct, I simply say: 'Faster'” (Ibid., p. 231). Continue this until the child understands or guesses the meaning of the word. “That is all there is to the exercise of reading. It is very fast and presents very little difficulty for a child who has already been prepared to write. (Ibid., p. 231). "When a child reads a letter, he places it in front of the object whose name it bears and the exercise ends." (Ibid., p. 231). After the children have been trained in this way,Montessori introduced games to make the exercise more enjoyable and readable.easier and clearer.

The 3 Montessori stages used in teaching the alphabet as a reading activity

1. Show a card and say: "That isone one one.” "Then, when giving the consonantal sounds, he immediately joins them to a vowel to form a syllable." For example.mom, mom, mom.Here, too, a visual image is used. (Ibid., p. 250). The child touches the letters at the request of the teacher and traces them with his hand.
2. exercise in association. “The teacher repeats several times: ‘What is¿A?''Point thea.' 'Play thea’ Or ask: ‘What is themetro?' 'Which ismadre'
3. The teacher, pointing to the letters or a group of syllables, asks the child: 'What is that?' The boy replies: 'a,' o 'metro,' o 'mother.' "...pronunciation is determined as much by seeing the letters as by hearing." (Ibid., p. 250).

More important than the teacher's explanation is the child's job of repeating everything and repeatedly tracing the letters on the sandpaper with his finger.

“The association work described above continues for a period of six months or more, that is, from the age of three and a half to four years…”. (Ibid., p. 252).

Moving on to word composition

A child is ready for this step when he recognizes some of the vowels and consonants. Place in front of the child, a table with all the vowels and half of the consonants (Today it is calledMontessori Mobile Alphabet Box, which has multiple copies of each card). The letters are identical in size and shape to the sandpaper letters and are cut out of colored cardboard or leather. Each letter is a loose object that can be manipulated. The vowels are red and the consonants are blue. (The colors are changed in the Montessori materials used today. Does anyone know how and when this change was made?). For error control, each letter has a white cardstock strip on the back, but low. This helps with proper letter placement and guidance in lining it up correctly with other letters. The white stripe also corresponds to the ruled boards of the table where the letters would be placed, as a kind of simulation of writing. These letters are placed on a table like words, based on the sounds produced. The teacher demonstrates the activity as follows:

Pronounces a word and then breaks it down into its component sounds. As you pronounce each sound, show the letter and place it on the table, until you complete the word. The boy then goes to work. This exercise had remarkable results. Children began to pronounce almost any words and names on their own, without letters. They also wanted to form words and names that they did not know and asked for help to do so. She saw the children's mouths move as they spoke words silently as they pondered in front of the box. She recommends this activity for four-year-olds.

The importance of teaching writing at the right age can mean the difference between acquiring writing skills as joyfully satisfying exercises or painful drudgery. If the foundation for writing is carefully prepared, writing will develop "explosively" rather than gradually. "The additional experience led to a smoother procedure." To all the teachers who read these words,kindly take a look around and observe the quality of your students' writing, as well as their attitude towards writing, (regardless of their ages) and kindly send us your feedback..

COMING SOON: ZOOPHONICS AND MONTESSORIBy Grace Bosman

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