Language Arts

In a Montessori classroom, language arts is a self-paced system that helps children develop their communication and literacy skills. It's designed to meet each child's needs, interests, and readiness for learning. The curriculum incorporates both spoken and written language, and focuses on children's natural development. Montessori language development also encourages children to use their senses of touch, sight, and sound to learn language. For example, children can trace sandpaper letters with their fingers to learn the shape and feel of the letter. In the Montessori approach to Language Arts, children are introduced to the sounds of letters before the names of the letters, encouraging them to develop phonemic awareness. This method promotes early reading skills by fostering the ability to blend sounds into words. Through engaging activities such as sandpaper letters, moveable alphabet, and phonetic storytelling, children learn to associate sounds with symbols, empowering them to explore language creatively and independently. This foundational understanding of sounds supports their overall literacy development in a holistic and natural way.

Later curriculum is divided into three stages:

1. Moveable Alphabet: Children use moveable letters to create words and sentences.

2. Reading and Writing Stage: Children learn mechanical reading, which is sounding out a word and comprehending it. They also learn total reading, which involves phonetic reading and phonograms.

3. Word Study: Children work with phonograms and digraphs to master reading and writing skills. They also learn to decode sounds and symbols to decipher words, and to read for meaning. 

Other activities in the curriculum include: Singing songs and poems, using grammar command cards, using colored wooden grammar boxes, writing sentences, using grammar strips, sound games, storytelling, Grace and Courtesy lessons, and conversation .