the importance of writing before reading

Benefits of Introducing Writing Before Reading

1

The Importance of writing before reading; How Montessori

materials and curriculum support this learning process

By

Tahzeem Ryan

A Master’s Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of

The Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Education – Montessori

___________________________________

Advisor

___________________________________ Date

University of Wisconsin – River Falls

2015


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Abstract

TheImportanceofwritingbeforereading;HowMontessorimaterialsand

curriculumsupportthislearningprocess

Thisactionresearchexaminesthebenefitsofwritingbeforereadinganddocuments

howtheMontessorimaterialsandmethodsupportstudentstousewritingasafoundation

forlearningtoread.Duringasixmonthperiod,Idocumentedandobservedtheprogressof

mystudentsinreadingandwriting.Ichosesixcasestudiesrepresentingvariousagesand

bothgenders,anddocumentedthelearningjourneysofthesechildrenfromwritersto

readers.Datafromobservationsandworksampleswerecollectedinthespringandfallfor

eachofthesixstudents.Analysisofdatarevealedthatthereweremanythingsthatallsixof

thechildrenhadincommon,despitetheirvariedagesandgenders.Theforemostofthese

wassignificantprogressintheirlanguagedevelopment.Myanalysisoftheclassasawhole

indicatedtomethatthestudents,overtime,choseworksthatweremoredirectlyrelatedto

readingandwriting.Italsorevealedthatthechildrenwereshowinganincreasedinterest

inreadingandwriting,evenoutsideoftheschoolenvironment.Myresearchledmeto

concludethatitisbeneficialtoteachwritingbeforereadingbecauseoftheefficiency,

effectiveness,and—mostimportantly—thewaythatitengagesthestudents.Itbuildsup

theirself‐esteemwhilealsomotivatingthemtoachievemoreandmore.

Keywords:Montessori,sensitiveperiods,reading,writing,efficient,language,writing

beforereading


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“Achilddoesnotreaduntilhereceivesideasfromthewrittenword”MariaMontessori,

DiscoveryoftheChild,p229).

Introduction

MariaMontessoridiscoveredthatchildrenhaveasensitiveperiodforlanguage,and

itisatthistimethechildneedstobeexposedtolanguage,otherwisethechild’sattainment

oflanguagewillneverbeassuccessfulasitpotentiallycouldhavebeen.Manyofthe

conceptsandmethodsweteachinMontessoriseemlikegreatideasfromthemomentthey

arefirstexplainedtous.“Ofcourse,“wesay,“thatmakesperfectsense.”However,when

beginningmystudies,onethingthatstoodouttomeasoddwastheconceptofteaching

writingbeforereading.Generallyacceptedwisdomtellsusthatonecannotwriteuntilafter

onehaslearnedwordsbyreadingthem.Forthisreason,Iwasimmediatelyenchantedby

thisidea.Iaskedmyself:Howcanachildwritewithouthavinglearnedtoreadfirst?How

coulditbebeneficialtoapproachsuchanimportantpartoflearningfromthisangle?AsI

delvedintothetheoriesbehindthisapproach,itstartedtomakesense.AndthenwhenI

sawitinactionintheclassroom,Iwasastounded.

WhenaskedtoexplainMontessori,Iamoftennotsurewheretostart.Idescribethe

mixedageclassroomandtheindependenceandfreedomthechildrenhavetochoosetheir

ownwork.WhenImentiontoothersthatalmostallofmystudentsareabletoreadbythe

timetheyarefive,orinkindergarten,theyareastounded.Thisfueledmyinterestin

understandinghowtheMontessoricurriculumisabletosupporteachchildtoensurethat

mostareabletoreadbytheirkindergartenyear.Withmanyofmystudentswhomoveon


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topublicschoolafterbeinginmyMontessoriChildren’sHouseclassroomfortwoorthree

years,thereisaconcernthatchildrenwillbeboredintraditionalelementaryclassroom

unlessinvitedtochallengethemselveswithmoreandmoreadvancedreadingmaterialas

theymovealongtheiracademicjourney.

MariaMontessoridiscoveredthatintroducingwritingbeforereadingisthemost

efficientandeffectivewayforstudentstolearnhowtoread.Shealsodiscoveredan

“explosionintowriting”occursbeforereading‐beforethechildcaneverreadwhathe/she

haswritten.Traditionalschoolsteachthestudentsthealphabetandmanykeywords

beforeanexpectationofwriting.Ifwebreakdowntheprogressionoflearningtoread,the

veryfirststepistheprocessofmatchingletterswithsounds.Itissimplyanexercisein

rotememorization.However,ifchildrenlearntoreadfirst,theyaregoingthroughthe

stepsofworkingoutwordsthatsomeoneelsehaswritten.Althoughthischildmaybe

familiarwithsomelettersandkeywordsthatchildwillnotfeelthesamesenseof

familiarityandownershipofthelettersandsoundsasachildwhoisintroducedtowriting

first.Forthechildwhowritesfirstthesearetheirownwordsandletters,andtheycan

arrangetheminanyordertheydesire.Thenwhentheybegintoread,theyrecognizethese

letterswithwhichtheyarealreadyfamiliar.Itisanorganicprocess,andIhavefoundthat

childrenaremostsuccessfulwhenreadingandwritingareintertwinedinthisway.

Ihaveseenthegreatpridesomanyofmynonreaderstakewhentheycopywordsor

writetheirname—thatprideintheirwork,andsenseofaccomplishmenttheyachieve.This

allcontributestotheirloveoflearning,andthebeautyofMontessoritakesplace.Iwas

amazedbythisphenomenonmanystudentswouldbesuddenlyandseamlesslyableto


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read.Onedaytheywerenotableto,andthenextdaytheywere.Thisalsotakesthe

pressureoffthechildastheyunconsciouslyarelearningtoreadwithouttheknowledge

thattheyaredoingso.

LiteratureReview

“TodayintheUnitedStates,thegoalofeducationistoensurethateverychild

becomesliterate”(vanKleeck,Schuele,2010,p.342).Presently,accessibilityforeducation

inAmericahasbroadened,aswellaswhatitmeanstobeliterate.Today,thedefinitionof

literacyhasevolvedfromthesolecriteriaofbeingabletoread;toexpectingstudentsto

haveamuchwiderfoundationofknowledgeandhigher‐levelskillsets.“Currentpractices

inpreschool,havebroadeneddevelopmentallyappropriatepracticeforpreschoolersto

includeimplicitandexplicitpre‐literacyinstructiontargetingorallanguage,phonological

awareness,printawareness,andalphabetknowledge”(vanKleecketal,2010,p.341).This

statementimpactsthechildrenandteachersofourfuturebecausetheyareresponsiblefor

acquiringmoreskillsearlierinthecontextof“literacy.”TheMontessoricurriculum

introduceswritingbeforereading,whereasthetraditionalschoolmodelintroduces

childrentoreadingbeforewriting.Itisimportanttonotethatthereisaspectrumand

manytraditionalclassroomsthatsupportabalancedliteracyapproachareinviting“kid

writing”or“phoneticwriting”,aftersomephonicsandsightwordexperiencein

KindergartenandGrade1.However,theseclassroomsdonothavethespecificliteracy

supportactivitiesintroducedatanearlieragethatcharacterizethewritingbeforereading

Montessorienvironment.

MariaMontessorisaid,


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“Writingdevelopseasilyandspontaneouslyinalittlechildinthesamewayas

speech,whichisalsoamotortranslationofsoundsthathavebeenheard.Reading

ontheotherhand,formsapartofanabstractintellectualculture.Itinterpretsideas

acquiredbygraphicsymbolsandisacquiredonlylater.”(Montessori,1967,p199)

Writingbeforereadingisamoreefficientwaytoteachthechildinasuccessive,

unconsciousandpressurefreemanner.Thechildisabletofamiliarizethemselveswiththe

lettersthroughwriting,andthenputthoseletterstogethertomakewordsandstart

reading.Oncethechildhasbeenintroducedtoahandfuloflettersandtheirsounds

includingavowel,theyareempoweredtowritepurposefully.

Presently,schoolaccessibilityisavailabletoawidervarietyofchildrenandthe

expectationofsuccesswithintheeducationsystemisvitaltothefuturesuccessofthechild

(VanKleecketal,2010,p.344).Childrenandeducatorshaveahigherexpectationfor

success,resultinginmorepressureforthechildtobeacademicallyreadyinordertobe

successful.TheMontessoriMethodgivesthechildthetoolstobesuccessfulandthe

opportunitytobecomeliterateatanearlyagebyintroducingspecificmaterialsatspecific

stagesofdevelopment.Dr.MariaMontessoriobservedthattheimportanceofintroducing

language,specificallyreadingandwriting,toayoungchildisessentialinordertoutilize

thesensitiveperiodofthechild.Shealsoobservedthatthiscreatesaconcretefoundation

ofknowledgewithinthechild,aswellasinstillingaloveoflearning.Dr.MariaMontessori

createdtheMontessoricurriculumbasedonthechild’sneeds.Herscientificobservations

oflearningprocesses,andhowthechildinteractswiththeirenvironmentandmaterials,

arethebasisoftheMontessoricurriculum.


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“Thehandofachildofsixorsevenhasalreadylostitspreciousperiodofsensitivity

tomovement.Thisdelicatelittlehandhasleftbehindthatblessedperiodinwhich

itsmovementswerecoordinated.Itisthereforecondemnedtomakeunnaturaland

painfuleffortstoacquirenewmodelsofoperation.”(Montessori,1967,p204)

TheMontessoricurriculumallowsthechildtoexploreandchanneltheircreativity

throughwriting,permittingheravarietyofeducationaladvantages.TheMontessori

curriculumusesaspecificsetofmaterialsinordertointroducelanguagetothechild,both

directlyandindirectly.WhenthechildrenentertheChildren’sHouseattheageofthree,

theyareimmediatelyputtowork—workthatispurposefulandenjoyabletothechild.

Theyarefirstintroducedtopracticallifeactivities,suchassorting,beading,pouring,and

theuseoftools,toaideinmasteringthepincergrip.Practicallifeactivitiesalsoinclude

careoftheenvironment,whichintroducesstructureandordertothechild.Exercisesin

graceandcourtesyteachacceptablesocialbehavior(Richardson,1997,p.244).Allofthese

activitieshelpthechildrendevelopgoodgrossandfinemotorcoordination,whichis

indirectlypreparingthechildforreadingandwriting.

Thesensorialmaterialsaredesignedto“educatethesenses,”allowingthechildto

createandunderstandorderandsequencewhenworkingwiththematerials.“Thenthey

learntocontrast,tocompareandmatch,todiscriminate,todistinguishdifferentsense

impressionsandtoputtheminsomesortoforderthroughthegradationsofquality”

(Richardson,1997,p245).Richardsonisillustratingthesystematicprogressiontosupport

learningwiththematerials,andhowthematerialsintroducethechildtothewholeconcept

beforebreakingitdownintoparts.Theteacherfirstintroducespreparatoryexercises,such


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assoundgamesandworkwiththemetalinsets.Oncethechildisabletounderstandand

usetheexercisesinthepracticallifeandsensorialarea,theteacherintroducesmaterials

thatdirectlyintroducereadingandwritingtothechild.Theseincludethesandpaper

letters,metalinsets,movablealphabet,andobjectboxes.Thissuccessiveexposureto

readingandwritingisaneffectivewayforthechildtoexpressherthoughts,allowingfora

creativechannelofexpressionthatisindividualtothatchild(Johnstone,2001).Creative

writinginstillsprideinthechildandgiveshimapositiveoutlookonreadingandwriting,

givinghimanopportunitytouselanguageinameaningfulcontext(Soundy,2003).Writing

alsoallowsthechildtoworkonhisorherpincergrip,whichinturncanincreasefine

motorskillsandattentionspan.Thisallowsthechildmoreopportunityforsuccesswithin

theclassroom(Graham,2010)MariaMontessoriobservedthatchildrenexperiencedan

explosionofwritingwherethechildjustwantedtokeepwriting,evenifthelettersdidn’t

formwords.Childrenfamiliarizedwithlanguageatanearlyagethroughexposuretoletter

sounds,avarietyofliterature,andtheopportunitytoexpresstheirideas,willwritepages

andpages,evenifthelettersorwordsdon’tmakesense.Thisexperienceinstillspride,

allowingchildrentomakemistakeswithoutbeingafraid(Johnstone,2001).

Montessorieducationintroduceslanguageataveryearlyage,usingphoneticsto

teachthelettersofthealphabet.Thispermitsthechildtoidentifytheletterwiththesound

first,allowingthechildtosoundoutwordsandbegintorecognizelettersinothercontexts.

EachspecificsetofmaterialswithintheMontessoricurriculumcanbeadaptedtofitthe

needsofthespecificchild,usingavarietyofstrategiessuchasnaminggames,visualand

conceptualmatching,andsortingactivities(Soundy,2003).TheMovableAlphabetisacore

materialinthelanguageMontessoricurriculum.Theminilessonscontainedwithinitare


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tailoredandmeaningful,whichformsthestairwayofknowledge,asMontessoridescribed

thestructuredlessons(Woods,2002).Onceexposedtolanguagethoughthesematerials,

thechildisabletousethelanguageinameaningfulcontextanduseitasanavenueto

expressherthoughtsandideas.DorathyOhlhavernoticedthat“ouryoungchildrencome

touswiththesyntaxoftheirlanguagealreadyformedandcancommunicatethoughtsifwe

arewillingtolisten”(Ohlhaver,2001,p.36).Teachershavetheopportunitytoprovidea

positiveandsuccessfulrelationshipbetweenreadingandwritingandthechild,inorderfor

thechildtomaintainandensuretheproductiveeducationalexperiencesofhisacademic

journey.

Exposuretoavarietyofliteratureisessentialtoinspirethechildtoborrowideas

andhelpthemchannelandexpresstheirthoughtsandcreativitythroughlanguage.

“Childrenneedseveralgenresofliterature,likepicturebooks,fiction,nonfiction,fantasy,

poetry,andstoriesaboutculturesandchildrenfromaroundtheworld…Whenbookshave

themesandactivitiesthatrelatetopersonalexperiences,theyseereasonstobecome

literate.”(Lawhon&Cobb,2002,p.116)Thechildisabletoborrowideasandusethe

literature,suchaspoems,stories,songs,etc.forhisownideasandinspiration.Introduction

totheseformsofliteraturealsoprovidesamodelofgoodwritingforthechild.

“Indozensofstudies,researchershavefoundthat,doneright,earlyhandwriting

instructionimprovesstudentswriting.Notjustitslegibility,butitsquantityandquality”

(Graham,2010,p.49).Strugglingwithhandwritingcanleadstudentstoavoidwriting,

causingthemtobelievethattheyarenotgoodatwriting,thusfallingbehindtheirpeersin

readingandwriting.SteveGrahamwrites“justasyoungreadersmustlearntodecode


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fluentlysotheycanfocusoncomprehension,youngwritersmustdevelopfluent,legible

handwritingsotheycanfocusongeneratingandorganizingideas.”(Graham,2010,p.49)

“ChildreninMontessoriearlychildhoodprogramsappeartobetappingintothe

tremendouspoweroffantasytoengagewiththeirfriendsandtonarratestoriesthat

preparethemformorecomplexliteracyselections”(Soundy,2003,p.130).Thisgives

childrenanopportunitytoemulateideasandaddtothemfromtheirownunderstanding

andimagination.Theactofwritinginitselfhasmanyadvantagesforthechild,including

developingcoordination.Stewart,etal.didastudyexploringtheeffectoffinemotorskill

activitiesonthedevelopmentofattentioninkindergartners.Theyhypothesizedthat

practiceoffinemotorskills,throughactionssuchaswriting,increasedattention.

Researchersalsoobservedthatalackofattentionspaninearlyyearspredictedanegative

effectonlateracademicperformance.Thestudydemonstratedthatfemalesparticularly

enhancedtheirattentionspanbyfinemotorskillpractice,butmorestudiesarenecessary

todeterminetheeffectonkindergarten‐ageboys(Stewart,Rule&Girodano,2007,p.103).

Poetryisapowerfultoolteacherscanusetoconnectwiththeirstudentsinaunique

andbeautifulway.Poetryallowsthechildtoexpressthemselvesandinspirespersonal

expression.Inherarticle,“FollowthePoet,”LauraReidnotedthatexposuretopoetryin

herclassroomallowedthechildrentoincreasevocabulary,inspiredcreativeimagerywhile

exposingthemtomanywaysofdescribingtheirworld,andthemselves.Thiscreatesan

opportunityforchildrentoexpressthemselvesandillustratestheirconnectionstothe

worldaroundthem(Reid,2009,p.20).


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Inconclusion,earlyexposuretolanguage,specificallyreadingandwritingis

extremelybeneficialforyoungeragedchildrenduringtheirpreschoolyears.Teachersmust

assistchildrenintakingadvantageoftheirsensitiveperiodsforlanguage,inorderto

maximizetheirpotentialattainmentoflanguageskills.Inordertoutilizethechild’s

sensitiveperiodforlanguage,thechildneedstobeexposedtowritingearlyandcanbe

introducedtocontextthroughsandpaperletters,practicallifeworks,andcreating

opportunitiesfortracingand/orwriting.Oneofthebenefitsofearlywritingismasteryof

thepincergripwhichallowstherefinementoffinemotorskills.Earlywritingcanalso

increaseattentionspan,whichcanbeanindicatorofapositiveandsuccessfulacademic

futureforthechild.Writinggiveschildrenawaytoorganizeandexpresstheirideas,which

instillsconfidenceandpride.TheMontessoricurriculumfostersthisloveoflearning

throughlanguage,allowingstudentstothrive.Thispositiveattitudetowardslanguage

allowschildrentoblossom,andwillenhancetheliteracyandoverallacademic

developmentofournextgeneration.IbelievethattheMontessoriMethodenhancesthe

child’sreadinesstoreadwhilereinforcingtheirloveoflearning.Iviewthisloveoflearning

andcreativewritingasapowerfultool,givingchildrenachanceforsuccessthrough

language‐resultinginanoverallincreaseinvocabulary,knowledge,andacontinuationof

thisthirstforlearninginfutureacademicendeavors.ThisledmetowonderifIcould

capturetheorganicprocessofthisseamlesstransformationfromwritingtoreadingas

evidenceoftheeffectivenessoftheMontessoriMethod.


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Questions

Thecentralquestionofmyactionresearchwas:

WhyisiteffectivetoteachwritingbeforereadingandhowdotheMontessorimaterialsand

curriculumfosterthisprocess?

SubsidiaryQuestions

1. Isitbeneficialtoteachwritingbeforereading?HowdoestheMontessoricurriculum

supportthat?

A.howcanachildwritewhentheydon’tknowhowtoread?

2. Asthechildrenareshownmorepresentationsaboutreadingandwriting,dothey

choosemorereadingandwritingworksontheirown?

3. DotheMontessorimaterialsrelatingtoreadingandwritingworkforchildrenofall

agegroups?

4. Howdoesearlywritingbenefittheirlongtermdevelopment?

Methodology

ParticipantsandSetting

IconductedthisresearchinmyownChildren’sHousepreschoolclassroom.

Participantsinthisprojectwere28preschoolersfromages2.5to5yearsofage.Inthis

classroom,90%ofthestudentsareCaucasian,and10%areofAsianbackground.The

settingisaprivateMontessorischoollocatedinaMidwestCitysuburb.Thepopulationof

thisschoolis58preschoolers,and2kindergartenersin2Children’sHouses.Theschool

alsohasaninfanttoddlerroomandatoddler/transitionroom.Ifocusedonsixindividuals


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forcasestudies.Iwantedparticipantsofeachgenderforagesthree,four,andfive.Myfirst

requirementfortheparticipantswasthattheywereenrolledinourprogramfulltime.I

thenchoseparticipantsofeachgenderforthreeagegroups‐three,four,andfive.Iinitially

gavethesestudentsanassessmentinMaywhichconsistedofassessingchild’slettersound

knowledge,namewriting,abilitytorecognize/writenumbers,andabilitytoread/write

threeandfourletterwords.Someoftheseassessmentsincludeddataonmaterialthe

childrenwereworkingonatthetime.Ithengavethecasestudiesthesameassessmentin

October,andcomparedthedataforbothmonthstolookforpatternsandseeifIcould

drawsomeconclusions.

Methodology

Themethodologyusedwasaqualitativestudyincorporatingsixcasestudiesto

documentandfollowthestudents’progressioninasixmonthwindow,focusingon

documentingtheirjourneyfromwritingtoreading‐andfindingpatternsintheselearning

journeys.Iintroducedawritingopportunityforallthestudentsbygivingeachchilda

purplebookatthebeginningofworktime.Thispurplebookconsistedofwritingpages

stapledtogether,andeachdaythestudentwouldgetanewpageonwhichtheteacher

wouldwriteortraceawordforthechildaccordingtotheirability.Thepurplebookwasmy

toolforassessinganddocumentingthehandwritingprogressforallthechildreninthe

classroom,whilegivingthechildtheopportunitytopracticewritingdaily.Oncethe

studentsfinishedtheirpurplebook(wegavethemeachanewbookevery2weeksorso)

theywouldcelebratebyusingfoamystickersandgelpenstodecoratetheirwork.The

studentsenjoyedhavingthisopportunityforwritingatthebeginningofeachworktime,


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andbegantoaskforitifIdidn’thandthepurplebooksoutrightaway.(Figure1,2,and3

showexamplesofchildrenworkingonpurplebooks).

Igaveeachofthesixcasesstudystudentsanassessmentatthebeginningofthesix

monthwindow,andgavethemthesameassessmentattheendofthesixmonthwindow.

Thisassessmentincludednotingprogressoflettersounds,abilitytowritename,number

recognitionandwrittenabilityofnumbers,aself‐portraitdrawing,andtheabilitytoread

orwritewords.Ialsosentasurveyhome(seeAppendixC)withparents,askingabouttheir

child’swritingandreadinghabitsathome,atthebeginningandtheendofthesixmonth

period.Finally,Ikeptarecordofstudentactivitiesandsoundandletterknowledgefor

comparativepurposes.

Materials:

IusedtheMontessorimaterials(SeeAppendixB)withintheclassroom,focusing

primarilyonworksthathavewritingordirectreadingand/orwritingcomponentswithin

them:

Figure 1: Child tracing his last

name

Figure 2: Child writing

word “practice”

Figure 3: Child writing “puppet

show”


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Sandtray

Writingname(seeFigures1,35)

SandpaperLetters(SeeFigures30,31)

MovableAlphabet(SeeFigure6)

MetalInsets(SeeFigures14,15)

Books

Objectboxes(SeeFigure13)

Copying/tracing(SeeFigures7,8,10,11)

Sentencewriting

Journal(SeeFigure16)

Procedures:

Thechildrenallowedmetophotographtheirwork,andIcollecteddataduringour

Montessoriworktimeperiods.Isentapermissionletterhometoalltheparentsinthe

classroominformingthemofmyresearchproject,andwhatIhopedtolearn(SeeAppendix

A).InthemonthofMayInoteddailywhichspecificlanguageworkswerebeingusedwithin

theclassroombyourstudents.ThelistofworkschosencanbefoundinAppendixB,andI

choseworksthathadamoredirectlinktoreadingandwriting.Ichosetotakethe

observationanhourintoourworktimetoallowstudentstobegintotrulyfocusontheir

works,andallowamoreauthenticviewofthematerialsbeingchosen.Inthemonthof

October,ImadethesameobservationswiththesamespecificguidelinesIhadprescribed

forMay.Iwantedtocomparethetwomonthsandseeifthereweremorereading/writing‐


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relatedworksbeingtakenoutbytheclassasawholeduetosuccessivepresentations

withintheareaoflanguage.

Ichosesixstudentsformycasestudies,anddocumentedtheirindividualjourneys

inwritingandreading.Igaveeachchildanassessmentinthespringof2015,andthen

againinOctoberof2015,tomeasuretheirprogress.Ialsosenthomeasurvey(See

AppendixC)totheparentsofthesechildren,askingsomequestionsrelatedtothechild’s

readingandwritingactivitiesoutsideoftheclassroom.Isentthissameparentsurvey

homeinthefallof2015tomeasuretheprogressofthechildoutsideoftheschool

environment.

Findings/Results

Theresultsforimprovementinreadingandwritingfortheclassasawholewas

quitepositive,asevidentfromtheresultsofthesurveysbelow:


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Figure4.InterestinLiteracy

Iwaspleasedtoseethatthestudents’interestoraptitudeimprovedacrossallofthe

questions.Ialsoreceivedsomeverypositivefeedbackfromparents.Iwasparticularly

interestedtoseethelargegrowthintheInterestinwritingquestion.Ithinkthattheuseof

thepurplebooks,aswellasthetimeIspentfocusingontheimportanceofwriting,seems

tohavemadeanimpressiononthestudents.Muchoftheimprovementdemonstratedin

thistablemustcertainlybearesultofthechildrengettingolderandmoreintunewith

languageingeneral,sothisdatacan’tbetakenatfacevalueasscientificallyaccurate.

HoweverIthinkitisstillaworthwhilerepresentationofhowpresentationshavemadean

impressiononthechildren.Also,thefeedbackfromparentsabouttheirchildren’slevelof

interestincreasingwasnotableaswellasencouraging.


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Figure5.ClassChoicesinLiteracyRelatedActivities


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Inthegraphabove,itwasfascinatingtoseethattheamountoftimestheselanguage

workswerechosenincreasedinnearlyeverycategoryfromMaytoOctober2015.Iwas

interestedtolearnthatmetalinsetswerethemostpopularlanguageworkschosenbythe

children.Iamcuriousifthefactthatthreepeoplecandothisworkatthesametimelends

tothepopularityofthework.Studentscansitbyeachothercarefullytracingshapesand

writingshapenameswhilechattingwiththeirneighbors.Themetalinsetswerealsothe

onlyworkthatdidnotshowanincreasefromMaytoOctober.Ithinkthiscanbeexplained

bythefactthatthisworkwasalreadysopopularthattherewasnotmuchroomforgrowth.

Anotherfactormaybethatinitiallythechildrendon’thavetheability/knowledge/facility

toworkwiththerestofthelanguagematerials.Asthisabilityincreases,andtheirinterest

inwritingwordsalsoincreases,theneedformetalinsetworkdecreases.

Thetracing/copyingwork,books,andnamewritingwerealsopopularworkinboth

months.Itisinterestingtonotethatthemostpopularworkswereonesthatallagesofthe

classroomcoulduse.Thesandtrayandjournalwritingworkwerethetwoworksthat

increasedthemostfromMaytoOctober.Thesandtrayisapopularworkintheclassroom

forallages,andthestudentsreallygotintowritingstoriesandmakingillustrationsto

accompanythem.ThisgraphillustratesthenaturalprogressionMontessoricurriculumas

thestudentschoosemoreworkswithreadingandwritingcomponentswithinthem,

whetherconsciouslyornot.


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Figure 6. Two children are working on

the Movable Alphabet together.

Figure 7a. Child reading

three letter “a” words. Figure 7b. Child copying three letter

words

Figure 8. Child is writing three letter

words

Figure 9. Child is writing three letter

works


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Figure 10. Child is copying names of

the months of the year.

Figure 11. Child is writing names of

different insects .

Figure 12. Child is sequencing story

about Johnny Apple Seed.


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Figure 12. Child is matching picture to

three letter words

Figure 13. Child is working with

Object Box 1

Figure 14. Child working on Metal

Insets

Figure 15. Students work together on

their shape book.


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CaseStudies

CaseStudy#1‐3yearoldboy

Spring2015

Figure18.CaseStudy1inspring2015

ParticipantAisabletocountandidentifyhisnumbersupto10.Hisself‐portraithas

afaceandeyes,buthehastroubletracinghisname.Heisworkingonpracticallife

Figure 16. Student writes and

illustrates a story Figure 17. Student is decorating her

work with stickers and gel pens


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activitiestoworkonhisfinemotorskills.ParticipantAenjoyscuttingwork,andthesand

paperlettersandnumerals.Hehasjustbeenshownnumberrods,andlovestoworkonhis

continentsmap.Healsoenjoysthepinktower,aswellasthebrownstairs.ParticipantA

alsorecognizesandcanreciteletternamesbutnotthephoneticsounds.

Fall2015

Figure19.CaseStudy1infall2015

ParticipantAisnowabletotracehisnamesuccessfully,andhisself‐portraitisa

circlewithtwolonglinesforeyes.Hisfinemotorskillshaveimprovedsincespring,aided

inpartbywritinginhispurplebooks.ParticipantAenjoysworkingwiththesensorial

material,andespeciallyenjoysrollingandunrollingaworkrug.Helovestotakeoutthe

pinktowerandbrownstairs.ParticipantAisalsoworkingonhiscontinentmap,andlikes

workingwiththescienceanimalpuzzles.Healsoenjoyswritingwiththechalkboard,and

practicinghisnumbers1through10.ParticipantAnowknowsmoreofthephoneticletter

sounds,ashealsoworkswiththesandpaperlettersdailyduringworktime.


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Casestudy2‐3yearoldgirl

Spring2015


ParticipantBdrewaverydetailedself‐portraitwithhair,eyes,mouth,body,feet

andhands.Sheenjoysart,drawing,andcoloringingeneralimmensely.Sheisableto

recognizenumbers1,2,3,and0andcancountupto10.Sheisworkingonsandpaper

numerals,numberrods,andhasjustfinishedmakinghermapofthecontinents.Sheenjoys

thecolortablets,binomialcube,andtheknobbedcylindersonthesensorialshelf.

ParticipantBalsoknowsmanyletternames,butdoesnotacknowledgeanyofthephonetic

soundssheknows.ParticipantBworkswiththesandpaperlettersdaily.

Fall2015

ParticipantB(now4yearsold)isnowabletorecognizeallhernumbersuptoten.

Shehasbeenrecentlyshownteenboardsandisveryexcitedtobedoingthatwork.Shehas

masteredspindleboxesandcardsandcountersbutcontinuestotakethisworkoutasshe

stillenjoysit.ParticipantBknowsallofherphoneticlettersoundsandhasbeenworking


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onreadingthreeletterwords.ShejustrecentlymoveduptothefirstBobbook,andsheis

soexcitedtobereading.ParticipantBisalsoworkingonherNorthAmericamap,andshe

likestoworkwiththesandpaperletterswithotherchildrenwhoneedextrahelp.


Casestudy3‐4yearoldboy

Spring2015

Figure22.CaseStudy3inSpring2015


27

ParticipantCisabletowritehisnameonhisown,andhisself‐portraitisacircle

witheyesandamouth.ParticipantArecognizesallhisnumbersandisabletocountupto

120.Heknowsallhiscolorsandshapes,andenjoysworkingwiththenumberrods.He

enjoyscarryingthemcarefullywithtwohandsandisverypurposefulwithhiswork.He

alsoenjoysworkingwiththehundredboard,andisstartingtoreadthreeletterwords.He

knowsallofhisphoneticsoundsandisworkingwiththemovablealphabet.ParticipantC

enjoysworkingwiththeknoblesscylindersandthecolortablets,andhisfavoriteworkis

thetrinomialcube.

Fall2015


ParticipantCisnowworkingontheadditionstripboardandsimpleaddition.He

lovesmath,andstillcontinuestotakeoutthehundredboardasitishisfavoritework.Heis

alsoworkingonthedecimalsystem,andreallyenjoysthefetchinggame.ParticipantCis

abletowritenumberscorrectlysuchas1000,52,71,15butwrote20050for250.

ParticipantCisnowonBobBook11,andhisaccuracyandabilitytolinkthelettersto


28

pronouncethewordcorrectlyisamazing.Heenjoysreadingandlikestositinthebook

cornerrockingtohisfavoritebook.ParticipantCisalsoabletowritewordscorrectlysuch

asmop,bed,rug,andtip.

CaseStudy4‐4yearoldgirl

Spring2015


ParticipantDisabletowritehername,andcreateaself‐portraitwithaface,eyes,

nose,mouth,andhair.Sheisabletorecognizehernumbersfrom0to10.Sheisableto

countupto29,andknowsallhershapesandcolors.ParticipantDisveryquietandshy,

andalthoughsheknewalloftheletternamesshedidnotwanttotellmehowmany

phoneticsoundssheknew.ParticipantDisworkingonherlettersoundsdaily,andis

workingoncardsandcounters.Sheenjoysteachingtheyoungerchildrenthenumberrods

andthespindleboxwork.ParticipantDiscurrentlyworkingonmakinghermapofthe

continents,andenjoysworkingwiththeknoblesscylindersandthecolortabletboxes.


29

Fall2015


ParticipantDisnowabletowriteherfullname,andherself‐portraitincludesa

body,feetandhands.Shehasmasteredherteenandtenboards,andhasjustbeen

introducedtothedecimalsystemandthefetchinggame.Sheisabletowritenumbers

correctlysuchas10,18,11,and100andisabletocountupto39.ParticipantDisnowable

towritethreeletterwordswithsomehelp,asshehaslearnedthephoneticsoundsofthe

alphabet.Examplesincludepig,bed,map,andcat.ParticipantDislearningherNorth

Americamapandenjoysartprojectsaswellascuttingandpasting.Shehasmasteredthe

movablealphabetandisreadytostartreadingBobbooks,aseriesofchildren’sbooks

designedtoteachreadingskillsacquisition

.


30

CaseStudy5‐5yearoldboy

Spring2015


ParticipantEisabletowritehisname,includingemphasizingthedotontheiaspart

ofhissignature.Hisself‐portraithasaface,body,handsandfeetandhair.Thereisdetailin

hispictureandanumber13withintheface.ParticipantEknowsallhislettersoundsandis

abletowritethreeletterwordssuchascat,gap,rat,bat,andcabwithsomehelp.Heworks

withthemovablealphabetoften,andenjoysworkingwiththeobjectboxes.ParticipantEis

abletowritenumbersbutworkingondirectionalityofthenumbers.Hecancountupto39,

andisworkingonhisNorthAmericaMap.ParticipantEhasmasteredteenandtenboards,

andenjoysworkingwiththehundredboard.Hehasrecentlybeenshownthedecimal

systemandlovesthefetchinggame.ParticipantEisonthesecondBobbooks,andisproud

tobereadingandsoundingoutwords.


31

Fall2015


ParticipantEisabletowritedoubledigitnumberswithmorenumbersfacingthe

correctdirection.Heisnowabletocountupto100,andcanwritethreeletterwords

withouthelp.ParticipantEisabletoreadthreeletterwordswitheasebuthassome

troublewithfourletterwords.HeisworkingonhisUnitedStatesmap,andisverycloseto

learningallthestates.ParticipantEisworkingonaddition,fetching,andisreadytobe

shownsubtraction.Heenjoysbeingarolemodelintheclassroom,andlovestohelpthe

youngerchildrenwithworkshehasalreadymastered.Heenjoyswritingstoriesbut

worriesaboutthecorrectspelling.ParticipantEstillenjoysworkingwiththeknobless

cylinderboxesandthefabricworkonthesensorialshelf.


32

CaseStudy6‐5yearoldgirl

Spring2015


ParticipantFisabletowritehernameandherself‐portraitincludesaface,body,

handsandlegs.Sheknowshernumbers,andcancountuptoonehundred.Sheisworking

onteenandtenboards,andhasjustbeenshownadditionwiththestripboard.Participant

Fenjoysworkingwiththeknobbedcylindersandthecolortabletboxes.Sheisworkingon

herNorthAmericamapandisveryclosetoknowingallofit.Sheisstartingtoreadthree

letterwordsandlevel1books.ParticipantFenjoysworkingwithheryoungerfriendsand

teachingthemthecorrectwaytousetheirworks.ParticipantFlovestoworkwiththecolor

tabletbox3andthetrinomialcube.Sheenjoyswritingandcopyingwords.


33

Fall2015


ParticipantFisabletowritehernamebutstillcontinuestowriteherSbackwards.

Herself‐portraithasmorerealisticarmsandlegsandiswearingclothes.Thehandshave

fingersanddetailisshownwithinthedrawing.ParticipantFisabletocountto100,andis

verygoodwithwritingnumberssuchas2000,43,20,75.Shecanwritethreeletterwords

independently,andcanreadthreeletterwordswithease.ParticipantFisworkingon

readingfourletterwordsandisonthesecondsetofBobbooks.Sheenjoysbeingaleader

andarolemodelfortheyoungerchildreninourclassroom,andisalwayswillingtohelpa

friend.ParticipantFenjoyswritingstoriesandillustratingherwork.ParticipantFalso

enjoysworkingwiththemetalinsetsandcreatingbeautifulshapeswiththework.


34

Interpretations/Discussion‐

Mysixcasestudiesillustratedthejourneyofgoingfromwritingtoreading,andI

wasabletodocumenttheirprogress.Iobservedthesechildrenforsixmonths,andby

choosingapairofthree,four,andfiveyearoldsofoppositegendersIwasabletocompare

amongalloftheageandgenderdemographicsinmyclassroom.Itwasinterestingtonote

thattherewerecertainthingsthatweredifferentforeachofthe6children,andother

thingsthatwereuniformamongallofthem.

OneofthethingsthatInoticedwhichwasconsistentamongallofthestudentswas

thefactthateachandeveryoneofthemmadesignificantprogressinboththeirwritingand

reading.Alsonotableamongthemallwasthattheprocessdidnotfeelforced.Itwasself‐

initiated,andproceededateachchild’sownnaturalpace.Foreachofthemthefirstthing

theywantedtodo(forsomeofthemthisprecedesmycasestudies)wastowritetheir

name.Thiswasthecaseforeachofthem,aswellasalltheotherchildrenIhavetaught.I

thinkthisrelatesbacktothefactthatwhattheyarewritingneedstohavemeaningaswell

assomelevelofconnectiontotheirworld.Ihavealsodiscussedhowmuchithelpswhen

thechildfeelsasenseofownershipofthewordstheywrite.Thedesiretowritetheir

namesiscertainlyappropriate,then,giventhatitistheonewordthatthey“own”.Finally,

thelastthingIobservedtobeconsistentamongallofthechildrenwasthedeepsenseof

pridetheytakeinboththewordstheywriteaswellaswordsthattheyread.Icameto

realizethatthisisadrivingforceintheirlanguagedevelopment.

Justasthereweretraitswhichwerecommonallofthestudents,therewerealso

aspectswhichweredifferentforeachofthem.Thepointatwhicheachchildpassedthe


35

developmentalmilestonesforreadingandwritingvariedgreatly.Inatraditionalschool

thismightbecauseforembarrassmentorconcern,buttheChildren’sHouseissucha

cooperativeandnon‐competitiveenvironment,thateachmilestoneisajoy,nomatterhow

longittooktoreach.ThisispartofthepowerofMontessori—thatthelearningis

completelyindividualized,accommodatingeachchildbasedonwheretheyare

developmentallyratherthansettingguidelinesforthembasedontheirages.Thisstudy

alsoshowedmetheextenttowhichvariousMontessoriworkscanbeextendedto

incorporatereadingorwritingcomponents.GoingforwardIplantoexplorewaysto

extendvariousworksinordertoincorporatemultiplessubjects.

Conclusion/Discussion

Mycentralquestionwhenconductingthisactionresearchwastolearnwhyitis

moreeffectivetoteachwritingbeforereading,andhowtheMontessorimaterialsand

curriculumfosterthisprocess.Myobservationsandtheanalyzeddatasuggestthat

introducingwritingbeforereadingdoesprovetobeeffective.Thesuccessivenatureofthe

materialsandtheeaseinwhichitispresentedallowsforsuccesseachtimetheyaregivena

newchallengewithintheclassroom.Theytakeprideandownershipintheirwork,andthe

sheerjoyofdoingtheworkisthesolereasonitwaschosen.Iwasabletodocumentand

watchthejourneyofmysixcasestudies,andtheiraptitudeandunderstandingofwriting

andreadingincreasedgreatly.Myobservationsanddatagatheringallowedmeto

understandthatwritingisnecessarybeforeintroducingreadingbecauseitisanefficient

andsuccessfulwaytostartchildrenontheirreadingjourney.ThebeautyoftheMontessori

curriculumistheeasewithwhichlanguagelearningtakesplaceandhowunconsciousthe


36

childisofthefactthattheyarelearningtoreadandwrite.Inmycasestudies,itseemedas

thoughonedaythechildwasnotreadingandthenextdaytheywere.Iwasabletowatch

thechildtranscendfromwritertoreaderbyintroducingappropriatematerialsatthe

appropriatetime.

Thesandpaperlettersallowthechildtofulfillasensoryneedandconnectthesense

oftouchandsoundsothechildisabletoassociatethephoneticsoundwiththesightofthe

letter.Ifoundthatthechildrenenjoyedworkingwiththesandpaperletterseventhough

theyalreadyknewtheirsounds.Theyalsoenjoyedworkingwithyoungerfriendswho

neededhelp.

Howcanachildwritebeforetheyknowhowtoread?Achildissimplygiventhe

exposureandopportunitytowriteatanearlyage,andcombinedwithpracticallifeworks

andexposuretothesandpaperletters,thechildrenbegintowrite.Althoughtheirletters

Figure 30.

This child is using the sand

paper letters to practice

his capital letter sounds.

Figure 31.

The child decided to match the

upper case sand paper letters to the

lower case sand paper letters in

order of the alphabet


37

don’tmakewords,theyarepracticingtheskillofwritingandrecognizingthelettersofthe

alphabetandconnectingthephoneticsoundsattachedtotheletter.

Figures 32 and 33. These children are working on their fine motor coordination with a practical life tong

work, and cutting work.

Duringthisexposuretowriting,MariaMontessorinoticedinherobservationsthat

herstudentsexperiencedanexplosionofwriting,andevenifthechildcouldn’treadthey

couldnotstopwriting.Figures34,35,36,and37showexamplesofstudentsexhibiting

signsofexplosionofwriting:

Figure 34. Child is using whiteboard

to write letters

Figure 35. Child is practicing writing

her name on chalkboard


38

Asthechildrenareshownmorepresentationsaboutreadingandwriting,dothey

choosemorereadingandwritingworksontheirown?ThedatathatItookfromthe

monthsofMayandOctobershowedanincreaseinchoosingworksthathadadirect

readingorwritingcomponenttoit.Thiscouldbeduetothesuccessivepresentations

withintheMontessoricurriculum.Theparentsurveysalsomentionedanincreaseintheir

childrenwantingtoreadorwrite,aswellastalkingaboutreadingandwriting.

DotheMontessorimaterialsrelatingtoreadingandwritingworkforchildrenofall

agegroups?ThisconceptistheintendednatureoftheMontessorichildren’shouse.The

youngerstudentsareabletoseetheolderstudentsreadingandwriting,whichgivesthem

incentivetowanttoreadandwritealso.Theorganicnatureofthematerialandthe

independenceoftheprogramallowthechildtoworkattheirownpaceallowthechildto

besuccessfuleachtime.Theyoungerstudentsarecuttingandpasting,choosingpractical

lifeworksandsensorialmaterials,unawarethattheyarepracticingreadingandwriting

already.Theintroductionofthepurplebooksallowsallstudentstheopportunitytowrite

dailyandimprovetheirfinemotorskills.

Figure 36. Child is writing her

numbers

Figure 37. Two children work together to

practice writing their numbers


39

Howdoesearlywritingbenefittheirlongtermdevelopment?

Earlywritingbenefitseachchild’sacademiclongtermdevelopmentbecauseitsets

themupforsuccessintheirfutureadvancingacademics.Thestudentslearntoreadand

writeinano‐pressureatmosphereandareallowedtoworkatapacethatiscomfortable

forthem,allowingthemtoexperiencetheloveoflearning.Thisloveoflearningisalsopart

ofthekeytohowMontessorichildrenareabletoreadandwriteeffortlesslyand

unconsciously.

ActionPlan/Implicationsforfurtherresearch

Ilearnedsomuchwatchingmystudentsovertheselastsixmonths.Itwasgreatto

seehowmucheachchildgrewandmaturedoverthesesixmonthsanditwasespecially

interestingtogaugemysixcasestudiesandanalyzetheirprogress.Iwouldbeinterestedto

takethisstudyfurtherandanalyzesixcasestudieswhoaretaughttoreadbeforethey

couldwrite.SincethistimeIdidnothavecontroldataforcomparison,I’dliketocompare

thetwosetsofdata.ThisresearchstudyalsomademerealizethatalltheMontessori

materialscanbeextendedtoincorporatesomeformofreadingorwritingwithinthem.I

pickedcertainmaterialsthatdirectlyrelatedtoreadingandwriting,butmanyofthe

materialsinothersubjectscouldincorporatethesecomponentsaswell.

UnfortunatelyIwasnotabletoanswermyfourthquestionviaquantifiableor

qualitativedata,whichwaswhetherearlywritingbenefitsachild’slong‐termdevelopment.

Thiswouldrequirealonger‐termstudy,andeventrackingchildrenaftertheyleavetheir

Montessorischool.ItissomethingaboutwhichIamverycurious,butIdon’thavethe

resourcestocarryoutthisinvestigationonmyown.OverallIfeelthatIlearnedalotfrom


40

thisprocess,anditwilldefinitelyaddanotherdimensiontomywritingandreading

presentations.


41

References

Dunn,SharonElise,AssessingStudents’Writing:ASixTraitsApproach,MontessoriLife,2000,12(3),37‐39.

Graham,Steve.WanttoImproveChildren’swriting?Don’tNeglectTheirHandwriting,

EducationDigest,2010,76(3),49‐55.

Johnstone,Susan,CreativeWritingforEarlyElementary,MontessoriLife,2001,13(4).48‐49.

Lawhon,Tommie,Cobb,JeanneB,RoutinesThatBuildEmergentLiteracySkillsinInfants,Toddlerss,,andPreschoolers,EarlyChildhoodEducationJournal,2002,30(2),113‐118.

Montessori,Maria(1967)TheDiscoveryoftheChild.NewYork:NY:RandomHousePublishingGroup.

Ohlhaver,Dorothy,PreludestoWritinginEarlyChildhood,MontessoriLife,2001,13(4),36‐37.

Reid,Laura,FollowthePoet:PoetryintheMontessoriClassroom,MontessoriLife,2009,Issue3,16‐23.

Richardson,SylviaOnesti,TheMontessoriPreschool:PreparationforWritingandReading,AnnalsofDyslexia,1997,47,241‐256.

Soundy,S.Cathleen,PortraitsofExemplaryMontessoriPracticeforAllLiteracyTeachers,EarlyChildhoodEducationJournal,2003,31(2),127‐31.

Stewart,RogerA,,Rule,AudreyC.,Girodano,DebraA.,TheEffectofFineMotorSkillActivitiesonKindergartenStudentAttention,EarlyChildhoodEducationJournal,2007,35(2),103‐109.

VanKleeck,Anne;Schuele,C.Melanie,HistoricalPerspectivesonLiteracyinEarlyChildhood,AmericanJournalofSpeech‐LanguagePathology,2010,19(4),341‐355.

Woods,CarolS.BuildingaStairwaytoLiteracywiththeMontessoriMovableAlphabet, MontessoriLife,2002,19‐24.

Zeece,PaulineDavey,Learning,Literacy,andLiteratureinChildren’sSocialWorld,EarlyChildhoodEducationJournal,2002,30(2),119‐124.


42

Appendix A

DearParent/Guardian,

IamcurrentlyworkingonmyMaster’sdegreeattheUniversityofWisconsin,RiverFalls.Aspartofmydegree,Ihavechosentocreatearesearchprojectillustratingtheadvantagesandimportanceofintroducinglanguage(readingandwriting)atanearlyage.Iwillbeusingstudentsamplesasevidenceinmystudy,andamaskingforyourpermissiontoallowmetouseyourchild’swork.Iwillalsobemonitoringyourchild’sprogressthroughouttheyeartosupportmyhypothesis.

Theinformationinthisresearchwillbekeptconfidential,andyourchild'sparticipationinthisprojectiscompletelyvoluntary.Onlythosechildrenwhohaveparentalpermissionandwhowanttoparticipatewilldoso,andanychildmaystoptakingpartatanytime.Youarefreetowithdrawyourpermissionforyourchild'sparticipationatanytimeandforanyreasonwithoutpenalty.

Ifthereareanyquestionsatanytimeaboutthestudyortheprocedures,pleasecontact:

MollyVanWagner

DirectorofResearch,UWRF

(715)425‐3195oremailmolly.van‐[email protected]

And/orProfessorGayWard(715)425‐[email protected]

Iammorethanhappytosharetheresultsandfindingsofmyresearchwithparticipantfamilies.Iamlookingforwardtotheopportunitytoconductmyresearchusingyourchildasaparticipant.

Iagreetoallowmychild_____________________toparticipateinTahzeemRyan’sresearchprojectfor2015.Ifyouwantyourchildtoparticipateinthisresearchproject,pleasesignonthelinebelow.

Parent/Guardian’sPrintedName Signature Date


43

AppendixB

__________2015Week:_________

Worksandactivities

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

MovableAlphabet

Sandpaperletters

MetalInsets

Books

Objectboxes

Copying/tracing

Sentencewriting

Journal

Sandtray

Writingname


44

Appendix C

Parent Survey

(All data will be used anonymously)

1. My child is able to write his or her name legibly.

2. My child shows interest in writing when at home (i.e. has journal or asks for paper).

3. My child points out words they see in their environment.

4. My child shows interest in reading (even if they are not able to read).

5. My child talks about reading or writing works they do at school.

Yes No

Yes No

Yes No

Yes No

Yes No

the importance of writing before reading

Documents