Vocabulary Building

Spelling words should definitely be student driven, and many of my colleagues like to balance a selection of student driven words with words that are immediately meaningful to them - words from their prepared environment.

This integration of language and all of the other learning areas is a fundamental aspect of the cosmic curriculum at work. No learning area is in isolation of another, they are all connected, and language is the key to all learning.

I have created some cards with vocabulary words from the various learning areas to incorporate into the classroom. They could be printed onto coloured card, but I prefer plain white for spelling. Although they are grouped by learning area, I am taking a selection of words from each area based on what various children in the class are working on and placing them on the shelf (I have a box earmarked to house them in but I am also considering a clear canister for this purpose as well). Alternatively they could all be put in a large jar, like fishbowl words, for children to choose freely.

A fun activity, especially as a start of the year team building exercise, is to take a selection of words that would be good to act out, place them in a jar or box and invite the children to play charades.

These lists are primarily targeted for upper elementary, but lower elementary children may also benefit from incorporating these words into their spelling repertoire. I think the children also benefit from this as it may act as a form of revision and can lead to discussion and spark a re-interest in some learning areas.

Please note in the biology set that both protista and protoctista appear - please choose according to which your class follows.

Language list, Math list, Geometry list, Biology list, History list and Geography list

What do you do in your elementary learning environment to enrich spelling and vocabulary?

Aesthetics and the Prepared Environment

During my training and studies one thing that really stuck a chord with me personally about the prepared environment was the idea of aesthetics.

Upper Primary classroom courtesy of Lincolnshire Montessori 

     "The child should live in an environment of beauty"

                                                        - Dr Maria Montessori

Introducing Fractions

After the key lesson for introducing the concept of fractions we then go on to start providing the language aspect.

For this presentation I use a narrow strip of black paper, labels for 'denominator' and 'numerator' and corresponding number and word cards. I also like to write on strips of paper at the conclusion of the lesson.

Firstly we explain to the child that there are two parts of the fraction to understand. The number under the black line is called the denominator. The denominator is the family name - it tells us how many members belong to that family.

The numerator is above the line and tells us how many of the family are present.

We then produce the corresponding numeral over the denominators:

We then continue with the rest of the three period lesson by asking the children to show the denominator, asking what numerators do, etc. To finish we show the child how we write these:

Revision of this lesson is required before moving on to the next presentation.

You can find a PDF file of the labels that can be used for this lesson, and any extensions, here. After this lesson the children can practice matching them and even writing them if they like.