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Learning to Read & Write the Montessori Way

By Jacqueline Geaney

The concept sounds simple enough. Large letters are cut from sandpaper, mounted to cardstock squares and viola-a child can now see, feel and eventually learn the alphabet. But there is much more behind this seemingly straightforward Montessori method of reading instruction. Like all Montessori lessons, each minor detail of the Sandpaper Letters is carefully planned out, from the preparation of the cards to how they are introduced.

A key theme in Montessori philosophy is to not introduce too many concepts at once which can be confusing and overwhelming to a child. So according to traditional Montessori practice, all of the Sandpaper Letters should be lower case for the first few lessons. Capital letters should be introduced only after the child has mastered the lower case letters.

Another general aspect of Montessori instruction is to prepare students for a natural progression to a higher level of learning. For this reason the sandpaper letters are to be in simple cursive. When children learn from the start to form cursive letters, they begin linking their letters and writing efficiently at a younger age. Also letters such as “p” and “d” are easier to distinguish in cursive than in print, so the cursive method avoids that confusion.

Careful thought is also put into the mounting paper. Different colored paper is designated for consonants and vowels, traditionally with blue as the background for consonants and pink as the background for vowels. This distinction comes into play later as students build on their understanding of letters and sounds.

Ellen Fox of the Montessori Academy of Delran says that teachers “never point out the difference but students usually make the connection on their own.”

As for the actual reading instruction, the child is initially taught only to pronounce the sounds that letters make and not the letter names. Again this is characteristic of Montessori education in two ways. This method ensures that the child does not confuse the letter name with the sound, a common problem for children learning to read. In the long run this method also facilitates the transition to the next step of reading comprehension, which is linking different sounds. 

The manner of sound instruction is critical says Fox. There is a tendency with reading instruction to over enunciate to the point that letters sound harsh and unnatural, and students mimic that harsh sound. This happens especially in large classrooms, which is why Montessori schools teach reading in small groups of no more than three students per instructor. It is important for the teacher to pronounce letters softly as they are normally spoken.

The order in which letters are introduced is also important. For instance, ‘b’ and ‘d’ are very similar and their introductions should be spaced out to avoid confusion.

The final and most obvious aspect of Montessori philosophy is the importance of incorporating hands-on learning. This comes into play as the child learns to trace each letter the way it would be written, holding his or her fingers in a writing position. The child is instructed to make the sound of the letter after each tracing and repeat this a few times with each letter. The tactile sensation in combination with making and hearing the sounds is designed to help the child really learn and understand phonetics.

“It leaves a sensorial impression on the brain,” says Fox. “They learn to read effortlessly.” In her experience, when a student sees a letter but cannot remember the sound, tracing over the letter helps that student recall the memory. If you ask a Montessori student how he or she learned to read, often times children will say “Oh I taught my self,” and as Fox said, “That’s what we want them to think.”

Jacqueline Geaney is a freelance writer.