MONTESSORI
ASM
Faculty/Staff
CURRICULUM
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
Children's House (3 - 6 years old)
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Elementary (6-9 & 9-12 years old)
&
Middle School (12-14 years old)
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This is the fundamental idea behind the Montessori philosophy of education. In order to develop his physical, intellectual, and spiritual powers to their fullest, the child must have freedom - a freedom the Doctoressa observed could be naturally achieved through self-order and realization in the classroom. Montessori urges educators to ‘follow the child’, to observe children’s behavior and thereby prepare classrooms that reflect their specific developmental tendencies and needs. This ‘prepared environment’, which possesses a certain order, enables a child to develop at his own pace and according to his own capacities, in a non-competitive setting. The Montessori Method encourages children to learn independently; to use their minds to identify, understand and master the materials and concepts present in their environment. At each step in this process, the materials test his understanding and correct his errors. Since the child has learned to work independently in the prepared environment, a Montessori teacher is more often able to individually interact with students. The teacher prepares the classroom, guides activity, and offers each child intellectual stimulation. Notably, though, it is the child who learns and is motivated by the work to complete a given task or project. Montessori introduces children to the joy of learning at an early age and provides a framework upon which academic and social growth may progress hand in hand. The Montessori child is truly free to learn because he has acquired, through his active participation in a unique classroom environment, a developmentally precise physical and mental order, or ‘inner discipline’. To help parents better understand the different parts of a Montessori education here at the Andover School of Montessori, the staff has created this Overview of Studies. It should help to clarify and highlight the key components of our program at each multi-age grouping. Montessori has shown that children learn developmentally, at a variety of rates and in a variety of ways. Our programs reflect a respect for these overviews and a child’s individual needs rather than a rote adherence to a generalized syllabus. It is important to note that this document does not express an exact chronological depiction of the studies engaged in by ASM students. Presentations of lessons and materials will vary depending upon an individual’s readiness, as well as his or her own cognitive, social, and emotional development. What follows is an overview of the general sequence of materials, presentations, and concepts that a student experiences at the Andover School of Montessori. |
9+"
Knowledge can be given where there is eagerness to learn; so
this is the period when the seeds of everything
may be sown, the child's mind being as a fertile field and ready
to receive what will germinate into culture...
if asked how many seeds may be sown my answer is: as many as
possible."
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"Dignity comes with the ability to take care of oneself,
to give help to others and to maintain an environment that allows for both kinds of help."
--Maria Montessori
The Practical Life exercises are important elements in Montessori education. They provide the fundamental building blocks on which the entire Montessori method is constructed. The Practical Life exercises are those first presented to the young child entering a Montessori school.
The aims of these exercises are both developmental and social. By developing the child's coordination and concentration, and enhancing his natural sensitivity to order, the child accumulates successful interactions with his environment. This grants the child self-sufficiency and independence. Practical Life exercises are simply various kinds of everyday domestic activities such as pouring, scooping, scrubbing a table, polishing silver, etc.
The Practical Life Area fosters the development of graceful movements along with courteous, respectful behavior. Opportunities are provided for the continuous physical, psychological and moral growth of the child. These opportunities create a behavioral foundation upon which all the more "academic" achievements of a Montessori program are set.
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The Practical Life Lessons consist of: *Care of Person
*Care of Environment
*Food Preparation "Control of Movement" Fine motor development Pouring/scooping Pinching/squeezing Twisting/turning
Gross Motor Development Outdoor activities
Grace and Courtesy
Social interaction skills |
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Children's House Sensorial Work (3 year cycle)
--Maria Montessori
The Sensorial Area of the classroom is designed to heighten the child's senses by isolating each sense and exploring it to the fullest. This helps the child with observation, comparison, judgment, reasoning, and decision-making skills needed for later academic areas. The Practical Life Area is the foundation of the Montessori experience and the Sensorial Area is the heart. The Sensorial Area helps a student to order his sensory impressions and the senses are the keys to knowledge.
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The Sensorial Lessons consist of:
*Auditory Learning
*Visual
Discrimination
*Tactile Learning
*Learning through
complex senses Smell (Olfactory) Taste (Gustatory) |
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Sensorial learning is viewed as the foundation for all later learning and awakens the mind to mathematical ideas.. The power of order is basic when considering math for the 3-6 classroom. Order links the impressions of a student's outer world with his inner world. The child does not consider his math as "work". Instead, he is drawn to it by an internal drive to bring order and form to his world--to classify and to understand.
The purpose of math materials in the Montessori preschool curriculum is not to teach math at an early age, but rather to assist each child in developing their own process and personality.
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The Mathematics Lessons consist of:
*Numeration
*The Decimal System
*Linear Counting
*Four Operations
*Abstraction: The Bridge
*Memorization |
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--Maria Montessori
Language is the method of communication between people through speech and the written word.
The activities in the Practical Life and Sensorial areas of the classroom encourage the natural development of the child’s ability to write. In Dr. Montessori’s Casa Dei Bambini, four year olds revealed to her this spontaneous writing phenomenon. It was this spontaneous writing, in part, that made her method world famous.
Dr. Montessori used a phonetic approach to reading. The child is introduced to the individual sounds of each letter in the alphabet while making the association of the letter sound to its written symbol. This knowledge of individual letter sounds is utilized as the child begins to construct wo
rds by auditorily discriminating the beginning, middle, and ending sounds in a word. The introduction of sight words to the child’s vocabulary of phonetic words, allows the child to construct sentences. The unfolding of what Dr. Montessori referred to as “the explosion into reading and writing” is a personal experience specific to the individual child.
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The Language Lessons Consist of:
*Auditory Preparation
*Visual Preparation
*Motor Preparation
*Analysis
*Reading on Word Level
*Correct Expression *Function of Words |
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Reading is the framework upon which all other elementary studies lay. It is the vehicle that, in distinct turns, is examined, erected, and then embraced as the means of exploring related elementary disciplines. Development of writing fiction and non-fiction provides the impetus, initially motivating an enjoyment of the creative process, and later, by including each student in the work of editing, as further refinement of the same. A more formalized, individual presentation of grammar, spelling, and sentence analysis skills enriches each student's efforts.
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LOWER ELEMENTARY, AGES 6 – 9
'Learning to Read'
- sound/symbol relationship (phonetic reading)
fluency)
Communication - art of listening
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storytelling
Composition - penmanship -cursive
- fiction
- story elements - non-fiction - paragraph elements - summarize events - sequencing - first letter writing - first research report
Writing Process - drafting - revising - editing - publishing
Language Skills
- word study - grammar
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UPPER ELEMENTARY, AGES 9 - 12 ‘Learning to Read & Reading to Learn' - sight words and contextual clues - comprehension
- reading for pleasure
- literature circles
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poetry study - dictionary, encyclopedia - electronic media, internet Communication - art of listening
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storytelling Composition - penmanship
- cursive - story elements - narrative writing - summarize events - outlining - note taking - non-fiction - paragraph elements - types of paragraphs - summarize events - sequencing - letter writing - outlining - note taking - research report
Writing Process - graphic organizer - drafting - revising - editing - publishing
Language Skills - word study - grammar
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Cultural Studies in the elementary classroom can take as their source the Great Lessons. These lessons are broadly engaging, impressionistic stories formed around grand and universal themes. Their panoramic retelling, along with the accompanying materials, serve as a springboard for the student's studies of life and the universe. They provide the backdrop against which the vivid connections between science, culture and all living things are made. Awareness of the interrelatedness between all living things is what Montessori called “Cosmic Education.” Children see themselves as part of a whole. They become aware of their relationships with other people and things, which brings them to an understanding of the responsibility they have to others.
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LOWER ELEMENTARY, AGES 6 - 9 The Great Lessons
The Story of the Universe The Story of Writing The Story of Mathematics
History
- time
- stages in the progress of civilization
Geography
- physical geography -map skill -work of wind and water
Physical Sciences
- process of scientific inquiry Botany/Zoology
- the five kingdoms of life |
UPPER ELEMENTARY, AGES 9 - 12 The Great Lessons
The Time Line of Early Humans (I & II) History
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fundamental needs of humans Geography
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physical geography Physical Sciences
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process of scientific inquiry
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rocks and their properties Botany/Zoology
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the five kingdoms of life |
- Maria Montessori
The math manipulatives remain some of the most elegant and intuitive of the Montessori materials. Daily use with these materials enables elementary children to begin to move from concrete to abstract reasoning. Through presentations and continual practice during the five year elementary program, students master math facts and computation skills. Such concepts are used in problem solving and practical applications in their every day lives.
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LOWER ELEMENTARY, AGES 6 - 9 Numeration - numerical quantities - numerical symbols - place value - even/odd - introduction to the concept of zero - rounding Computation - (+ x - ÷) concepts - (+ x - ÷) operations - memorization of math facts thru 12 - exploration of numerical patterns Fractions - concept - naming/vocabulary - first equivalence study - static operations with like denominators (+ -) - introduction to mixed numbers Measurement - linear (standard & metric) - time (read) - analog - calendar - money (value of, + -) - temperature (reading) - weight Cooperative Problem Solving - word problems and critical thinking - estimating - graphing (bar, line) - patterns and relationships
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UPPER ELEMENTARY, AGES 9-12 Numeration - numerical quantities - numerical symbols - place value thru millions - concept of 0 - use of comma - prime numbers - rounding - integers (knowledge of number line) Computation - (+ x - ÷) concepts - (+ x - ÷) operations - factors/multiples - divisibility - percent/ratio/proportion - exponents Fractions & Decimal Fractions - concept - naming/vocabulary - equivalence study - static operations (x, ÷ ) - dynamic operations ((+ x - ÷) - simplifying and reducing Measurement - linear (standard & metric) - time - temperature (Fahrenheit/Celsius) - weight Pre-algebra - binomials and trinomials - solving for the unknown - variables - squaring/cubing Cooperative Problem Solving - word problems and critical thinking - estimating - graphing (pie, data collection, ordered pairs) - patterns and relationships - money |
Geometry has been defined as an awareness of the relationship between man and the objects in his environment. Montessori saw the study of geometry as practical, based on the physical reality of our world. Exploration of these shapes, and their names and structure, provide the ground work for later studies ranging outside the confines of the classroom.
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LOWER ELEMENTARY, AGES 6 - 9 Sensorial Exploration of Shapes Lines - types of lines - parts of lines - relationships between lines - constructing lines Angles - types of angles - parts of angles - congruency, similarity, equivalence Plane figures - classification of simple polygons - study of triangles - types of triangles - parts of triangles - vocabulary - congruency, similarity, equivalence
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UPPER ELEMENTARY, AGES 9 - 12 Sensorial Exploration of Shapes Segments and Angles - construction - relationships between lines - relationships between angles - complementary - supplementary - operations with angles Plane figures - advanced study of triangles - measurement & relationships - quadrilaterals - classification - parts of quadrilaterals - complex polygons - regular and irregular - circles - parts - relationships - congruency, similarity, equivalence Measurement - use of ruler, protractor, compass - perimeter - area - volume - surface area
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Overview of the Middle School Curriculum
Mission Statement
Through the middle school years, students at the Andover school of Montessori will continue to learn and grow in a familiar, supportive, and sage environment. Having become confident and competent independent learners, they will successfully transition to schools beyond ASM.
Philosophy
The Andover School of Montessori Middle School program provides a student centered education based on a foundation of Montessori principles that incorporate developmentally appropriate methods in a multi-age group setting.
Educational goals include the use of interdisciplinary units to integrate all subject areas as well as providing life experience through internships and community service. The goal of the student/parent/teacher team is to work in concert with one another to meet the academic, social and psychological needs of the adolescent in an integrated, process-oriented curriculum. This holistic approach is aimed at helping students to become independent thinkers and life-long learners.
The Andover School of Montessori Middle School curriculum is divided into two distinct cycles.
The first cycle will last for two years for the sixth and seventh grade. Unit topics will vary in focus and theme.
The second cycle will be one year in length for the eighth grade, and will focus on United States History, Civics and Government, and advanced science topics. Learning during this year will become more traditional in nature, in order to prepare students for the more traditional high schools they will be attending.
All three age groups will work together during the math hour in the morning. Lessons and learning will be done on an individual basis.
One hour per week will be devoted to an age level class.
Sixth & Seventh grade – Geography, study skills and learning tools
Eighth grade – SSAT Preparation & Autobiography writing
Math
The first hour of each morning is devoted to mathematics. Students work at their own pace using the Saxon math series. Each lesson incorporates review of basic skills, problem solving, and direct teaching of a concept. Students receive one-on-one or small group lessons as needed.
Science
The ASM middle school science curriculum is diverse and covers an array of topics, with the aim of providing a base of knowledge in many areas, and an introduction to the wide variety of sciences. These topics include:
Geology
Astronomy
Laws of Motion
Weather and Climate
Ecosystems
Atmosphere
Energy
Oceanography
The eighth grade curriculum will focus on rounding out a middle school base of knowledge, and will focus on chemistry, physics, biology, and earth science.
Students also attend health classes, which focus on the human body, the different systems within the body, and how to take care of your own body.
Language
The Language curriculum is divided into two distinct parts: Literature Circle and Writer’s Workshop.
Literature Circle involves discussion of theme, plot, character development, etc. Novels and poems being read are involved directly with the unit being studied.
Writer’s Workshop involves two things: skill lessons (spelling and punctuation, style, or form) and the writing process, which includes peer-editing sessions.
History
The History curriculum (for the first cycle) is taught and explored through the thematic unit. Students research, problem solve and discuss these topics. Focus is placed on recurring themes in history, patterns and connections to present day. These topics include:
Ancient Civilizations
The Space Race (Cold War)
Slavery (throughout the world including present day)
The changing environment
Mastery Learning
Learning is achieved through completion of each weekly work cycle. Assignments are assessed based on a 3-2-1-0 rubric. Students are expected to achieve an overall 90% on class work and homework, and an overall 90% on the final assessments given. This 90% represents the high academic standards we hold throughout ASM, and ensures a quality education.