ASMAA ZULFIQAR

D19008

MODULE 6 ASSIGNMENT

Question 1:

How do we give the concept of grass letters , root letters and sky

Letters to the child?

These are ten wooden rods similar to the Red Rods. Their lengths vary from 1

Decimetre to 1 meter. Each decimeter is painted in red and blue sections. The shortest

Rod that is 1 decimetre is red. The second is 2 decimetre long, with one-half painted red

And the other half blue. All the other rods are divided in a similar manner.

Ideally, there should be a refrain in terms of teaching kids to read and write before the

Age of six/seven, however, in preparation for it, certain things may be taught to create a

Helpful base. This includes introducing children to sensorial experiences of appropriate

Materials as early as the age of three years old.

A vast majority of written language is based in lower case letters, and as such these

Should be introduced and taught first to the child as opposed to capital letters; for e.g. ‘a’

Instead of ‘A’. During this stage, only sounds are pronounced instead of words
Themselves.

Material:

● Small Moveable Alphabet (all in the same colour)

● Large piece of paper with four lines; top and bottom lines are pink in colour while

The rest are aquamarine

Concept of the Grass Letters: The directress starts off by introducing the concept of the

Grass letters to children. She takes out the letter ‘a’ from the box and places it right

Between the first set of lines. She then demonstrates to them how the letter fits

Completely between the middle two lines, and this is what is referred to as the ‘grass

Letter’. She then asks the children to find other letters that fit between said lines in the

Same way. When they have done so with all the possible letters, she announces that

These are known as the “grass letters in small alphabet”, i.e. a, c, e, i, m, n, o, r, s, u, v,

W, x and z.

Concept of the Sky Letters: Next up, she takes out the letter ‘b’ and places it at the start

Of the second set of guidelines and demonstrates to the students that a letter with a

Stem that goes up all the way to the pink line is known as a ‘sky letter’. Again, like
Earlier, she asks them to find other letters whereby the stem goes up to the pink line.

When they have successfully done so with all the possible letters, she announces that

These are known as the “sky letters in small alphabet”, i.e. b, d, f, h, k, l, and t.

Concept of the Root Letters: Lastly, she places the letter ‘j’ on the third set of guidelines

As the children are now ready for this stage. She explains to them that a letter with a tail

Going down to the lower pink line is known as a ‘root letter’. She then encourages them

To find all such letters with a tail going down. Once they have successfully done so, she

Announces that such letters are known as the “root letters in small alphabet”, i.e. g, p, q,

J and y.

Grass, sky and root letters are introduced to children in the Montessori Classrooms

Through Three Period Lessons, which is a very useful method of teaching them not just

In the classroom setting but in the home environment as well. It is vital that both

Directresses and parents encourage the child in the process of learning to write these

Groups of letters on a chalkboard or the marker board after arranging them out on the

Mat.

Question 2:
Write a detailed note on Montessori green boards and writing on

Paper exercises.

Preparatory Exercise:

Material:

● Tray large enough to make a sandpaper letter

● Enough sand in the tray to cover the bottom

Presentation:

This work is done parallel to work with the Sorting Letters. The directress invites a child

To come work with her. Together, they choose one sandpaper letter and bring it over to

The table, placing it next to the tray of sand. They trace the sandpaper letter a couple of

Times, before the teacher shows the child how to trace the letter in the tray and explain

That they are both the same letter. She also shows him how to make it disappear by

Shaking the tray gently while still placed on the table. The child can continue emulating

This exercise with his hands in the sand before he can progress towards using a

Stylus/pen etc. Finally, when he is completely comfortable with the former, he may

Graduate towards Chalkboard work

Material:

● Set of green chalkboards 32cm x 50cm each

● The first board is blank on one side and ruled to guide the placement of letters on

The other side

● Tray with chalk in a holder, an eraser, a dust cloth, and a hand cloth

● Sandpaper letters and numerals

Presentation:

The children are invited over and told that they will be learning how to write with the aid

Of something, as you have them bring over the box with the eraser, dust cloth and hand

Cloth. They are then asked to choose a sandpaper letter. All the materials are gathered

And placed above the chalkboard, including the tray. The sandpaper letter is traced a

Couple of times, after which the directress writes the sandpaper letter multiple times with

A chalk on the board in a straight line across. They are then erased in a left to right and

Top to bottom fashion with the eraser, before wiping the board with the dust cloth.

Finally, the hands are cleaned with the hand towel/cloth. Now the children are
Encouraged to repeat the same steps as the directress. A change of clothes may be

Recommended after this exercise to clean up any chalk residue or strains. The child

Should be encouraged to make the letters smaller as his skills improve

Square Board Exercise:

Material:

● Set of green chalkboards 32cm x 50cm each

● The board has one side ruled in squares and the other ruled in horizontal lines

● Tray with chalk in a holder, an eraser, a dust cloth, and a hand cloth

● Sandpaper letters and numerals

Presentation:

Following the same method as above, the directress shows the child how to write a

Single letter or numeral in a square. The same letter will be repeated across the row and

The child may even choose to make the same letter over the entire board. Alternatively,

They may choose a different one for each separate row. Either way, their choice should

Be respected. Some kids may find doing the whole board overwhelming or boring, in

Which case they may be allowed to follow their own pace and progress towards each
Row as and when they are ready. Similarly as before, the child should be encouraged to

Make the letters smaller as his skills improve.

Double Guide Lines Board Exercise:

Single Line Board Exercise:

Material:

● Single Line Board

● Sandpaper letters

Presentation:

Exercise is carried out the same as earlier, however, there is a possibility that with all

The practice above, they might prefer writing straight onto paper at this point instead of

A single line board.

When the child is secure writing with the chalk, you can talk to the child about the

Letters, and ask which one is most like the sandpaper letter. This is the beginning of the

Child assessing and becoming aware of their own writing. Sometimes it is helpful to talk

About “why” one may look more like the sandpaper letter. This helps to give the child

Practice in writing.
Question 3:

What are upper case letters? How do we introduce them to the

Child?

Upper case letters here refer to english language alphabets in there capital form.

Materials: Three sets of twenty six cards, one for each letter of the alphabet:

● The first set is 8x10cm and each card has one letter written in the lower case, i.e.

Small letter

● The second set is 98cmx10cm and each card has one letter written in the upper

Case, i.e. capital letter

● The third set is 16cmx10cm and has one letter written in both the lower and

Upper cases; the lower case letter on the left and the uppercase letter on the

Rig

Material:

● Set of green chalkboards 32cm x 50cm each

● Double guide line board

● Tray with chalk in a holder, an eraser, a dust cloth, and a hand cloth
● Sandpaper letters and numerals

Presentation:

Follow the same steps as before. Additionally, show children how to place the body of a

Letter between the two lines and how the stem goes above the line and the tail below.

On the first set of lines, do a letter with a main body only. On the second line, make a

Letter with a stem, while on the third, one with a tail. Using sandpaper letters is not

Necessary at this stage.

Single Line Board Exercise:

Material:

● Single Line Board

● Sandpaper letters

Presentation:

Exercise is carried out the same as earlier, however, there is a possibility that with all

the practice above, they might prefer writing straight onto paper at this point instead of

a single line board.

When the child is secure writing with the chalk, you can talk to the child about the

letters, and ask which one is most like the sandpaper letter. This is the beginning of the

child assessing and becoming aware of their own writing. Sometimes it is helpful to talk

about “why” one may look more like the sandpaper letter. This helps to give the child

practice in writing.

Question 3:

What are upper case letters? How do we introduce them to the

Upper case letters here refer to english language alphabets in there capital form.

Materials: Three sets of twenty six cards, one for each letter of the alphabet:

● The first set is 8x10cm and each card has one letter written in the lower case, i.e.

small letter

● The second set is 98cmx10cm and each card has one letter written in the upper

case, i.e. capital letter

● The third set is 16cmx10cm and has one letter written in both the lower and

upper cases; the lower case letter on the left and the uppercase letter on the

right.

Presentation:

This exercise is most suited to children around the age of five. The directress starts off

by inviting a child to come and with her as she introduces the material to him. Initially

she chooses three letters where the capital letters hold a striking resemblance to their

lowercase letter counterparts. She then introduces the names of the letters to the child

in this lesson, in contrast to only introducing their sounds as discussed earlier.

She then shows the child the lower case letter first before showing the upper case and

announcing its name alongside its nature as being a ‘capital letter’. She repeats the

same for two more letters. She uses the help of Three Period Lessons to enforce the

learning of these terms, using ‘upper case’ and ‘capital letter’ alternatively. When it is

apparent that the child is comfortable with these, she continues on with three at time

now until all the letters have been covered.

The teacher now lays out all the lower case letters at random in vertical columns,

leaving ample room beside it to place the capital letters. She gives the child the upper

case letters one at a time and has him place each next to the lower case letter. She

then poses a question to him in a manner of discussion, asking if the capital letter looks

the same or different to the lower case letters, using the terms ‘capital letter’ and ‘upper

case’ interchangeably. Once all the letters have been covered in the lesson and placed

accurately, she checks with the third set of cards before replacing it. She concludes by

collecting the lower case letters, as well as the upper case letters in alphabetical order

respectively.
This exercise enables children to recognise and differentiate the upper case form of the

letter from the kind he already knows, i.e. the lower case. It als aids in the punctuation

of a sentence as well as indirectly helps the child write.

Question 4:

Explain How would you give the concepts of subtraction and

division?

Material:

● Collection of objects/animals

● Colour-coded grammar cards - black nouns, royal blue adjectives, red verbs and

gray articles

Presentation:

The directress starts off by introducing children to the box containing the collection of

objects/animals and giving them a chance to set up the farm and have a discussion

about what the objects and different animals are unto. This is very helpful for children

who are not proficient in the language of instruction as second-language speakers, as

well as kids with delayed language concerns as this gives them an opportunity to

practice and explore the language in a stress free and casual environment.

Once they have worked with the early grammar noun cards, they can then be

introduced to the noun cards in the farm. The teacher should ask the child to set up the

farm, take out the black and naming cards, and then read them out one by one as she

places them next to the relevant objects. Similarly, once the children have familiarity

with early grammar adjective cards, they may be introduced to the farm box adjective

cards by demonstrating to them how to place the adjective cards next to the noun cards.

The child first reads the noun card, attempts to find the object is then asked to go

through the adjective cards to try and find a word that best describes the objects, for

e.g. ‘plump’ to be paired with ‘piglet’. The teacher may also introduce the first set of

lower case article cards by teaching the children how to place this next to the adjective

card. Allow them to continue this exercise with the rest of the objects and pairing cards.

Finally, the verb as well as upper case article cards may be introduced to the children,

with the verb cards being placed next to the noun cards, and article cards next to the
adjective cards. The child starts by reading the first noun, for e.g. ‘man, finding an object

to match it, and then associating an adjective with it, for e.g. ‘strong’. The teacher then

directs them to the final part of the exercise by asking, “What does the strong man do?”.

The child may respond in one of several verbs, for e.g. ‘sits’. The directress then

reminds him that they are constructing a sentence, which needs the article card to start

with a capital letter. The child finds the card saying ‘The’, hence completing the

sentence, i.e. “The strong man stands.”

On each occasion the cards are returned to the bottom of their respective piles so that

The child can read the next card. The child then reads the next noun card and continues

Sentence building as before.

These exercises assist children in learning the grammatical structure of phrases and

Sentences through the use of cards.

Question 5:

Prepare material for the following and send along with

Assignment;

Logical Adjective Game

Tall Shelf

Hot Sun

Green Cat

Small Apple

Logical Adverb Game

Speak politely

Run. Quickly

NOUN CARDS

Frog.

Lamp.

Bed.

ADJECTIVE CARDS

The green Frog

A blue Bed

A useful lamp

VERBS CARDS

clean

eat

write

. Give