How to Teach Beginning Phonetic Reading Using Montessori Methods

Learning to read is one of the most exciting events in a child's early learning career.

Phonetic reading involves sounding out words using the sounds that the letters make. Traditionally, formal lessons in phonetic reading come after beginning word building lessons in the Montessori curriculum, but every child is different and you will need to adjust your lesson plans to fit the needs of each individual student. There are many lessons that can be used to teach and practice phonetic reading in the Montessori curriculum because reading is an extremely exciting skill and students often want to devote a large portion of time to learning and practice. In order to keep them interested, they need to be able to learn in a variety of ways.

Things You'll Need

• Pink boxes, each containing an objects and a cards with the names of the objects on them (these names should be easy 3 letter words)
• Pink boxes, each containing word and corresponding picture cards
• Word and picture cards
• Montessori "Secret Box"
• Word list

Instructions

1. 

   Start out by using pink object boxes. Each box should have cards with a words on them that describe the objects. For example, you might have a plastic cow figurine in a box with a card that says "cow." The child should remove the cards and the objects from the box, then practice sounding out the letters in faster and faster repetition to derive the name of each object. For example, "cow" might first sound like, "Kuh, Aw, Wuh," but with faster repetition and the help of the object, the student will figure out the word.

2. Move on to pink word card boxes. These boxes contain a cards with pictures on them and corresponding cards with words describing the pictures. For example, you might have a card with a picture of a baseball bat and a card with the word "bat" on it. As with the object boxes, the child will look at the picture and then sound out the letters on the card to determine what the word card says.

3. Use the large picture cards with the word cards. Large picture cards have up to six pictures mounted on them. The word cards are still smaller and separate. The child should sound out the letters on the word cards in order to match the words to the proper pictures. Once the child has matched a word and a picture, he can place the word card directly underneath the picture.

4. Work with the secret boxes. Secret boxes hold multiple squares of colored paper with phonetic words written on them. Many instructors make these secret boxes more exciting by using origami paper for this exercise. The child should unfold a piece of paper and sound out the word. Once she has deciphered the word, she can refold the paper and replace it in the box. She should work through an entire secret box to complete a reading lesson. Secret boxes are harder than all of the previous lessons because they do not contain any visual hints as to the nature of the word, so they should be used only after a child is very comfortable with the words contained in any given secret box.

5. Finish with word lists. Word lists are lists of three letter phonetic words written on pink cards. They can have related sounds or not, depending on the preference of the instructor. A child should select a word list and read the words to himself. Once he has read the entire card, he can replace it in its spot.

Tips & Warnings

• These methods are listed in order of increasing difficulty. Most Montessori classrooms have many sets of each of these lessons. This will keep a child entertained and focused while she is learning the lessons. While they do not have to know each lesson inside and out before moving on to a different format, it is good to make sure that they are quite comfortable before making major transitions, such as from the object and picture boxes to the secret boxes.

Resources

• Learn about different Montessori curricula here.