Developmentally Appropriate Learning in Elementary Classrooms

Mar 17 / S Hassebroek
"What the hand does, the mind remembers."
Dr. Maria Montessori

Students are most engaged when they are constructing their learning to build on what they already know to reconstruct or build upon prior knowledge. However, our brains are not wired for reading and writing. Our brains are wired for science, art, math, and general language! As a classroom teacher, we balance how and when to lean into explicit instruction and when to present a discovery or hands-on-learning approach. 

During independent work time, students are presented with structured play and exploration of classroom materials. Children are able to connect with their peers: laugh, negotiate, and co-construct their learning.

"Play is the highest form of research"
Albert Einstein 

In the elementary years, there is an increased pressure to move into academic content, and keep children moving through their curriculum. How can classroom teachers find the balance? 
  • Manage Expectations: In what curricular areas is there a discovery or play-based approach
  • Reflect on Teaching: Which lessons have an explicit instruction approach or a discovery approach
  • Encourage and honor the work of the child: Lift up the examples of discovery of learning when they occur

Playful learning in Literacy
Instruction and feedback during reading and writing blocks must be explicit and clear. However, once the children have learned the skill, they can apply the learning in playful and fun approaches. The curriculum provides games and activities that allow the children to apply learning to new situations. This can look like: 
  • Reading known words in contexts
  • Writing known words in new contexts
  • Applying known words to new activities like: Roll & Reads, Sentence Diagramming, Function of Words work

Navigating instruction and independent work expectations when integrating the Science of Reading into a Montessori environment is a big challenge! Understanding when that explicit instruction and feedback occur, and where there can be independent application to science, math, music, art, and beyond is the work of this community of practice. 

Join us to engaging in conversations to help you find your balance in the classroom!

"The child gives us a beautiful lesson – that in order to form and maintain our intelligence, we must use our hands." (Dr. Maria Montessori,The 1946 London Lectures, p. 153)
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