A Montessori Moment: Connecting Letter Sounds to Words Using Objects

Do you have a lot of junky toys at your house, too?  Small animals, plastic figurines, stuff that seems to appear all over the house?

At the November 10 PTA meeting, Carolina Musawwir, Parent Involvement Chair, shared this hands-on Montessori reading activity that may give you a new appreciation for those things.  All you need besides the toys are some paper and markers (or a computer and printer if you want to get fancy).

************

This activity incorporates phonemic awareness (the sounds within spoken words), phonics awareness (the relationship between letters and the spoken sounds), and vocabulary, all of which are essential in an effective reading program.

Materials Needed
Small toys or miscellaneous items; paper and marker or a computer and printer.

Procedure
Write the alphabet, by hand or on the computer, on sheets of paper, 3 letters per page. Place the sheets of paper (you’ll have 9 of them) on the floor in front of you and the child, so you can see and reach each letter.  Place all the small toys/items in a container, such as a basket.  Introduce the activity to the child by demonstrating how it “works,” then have the child do it him/herself.

1) Pick up a toy and slowly say its name.  At this point, focus only on the sounds within the word.  Name the item a couple of times emphasizing the sounds.

2) Once you have pinpointed the beginning sound, look at the alphabet laid out in front of you.  Find the letter which makes the beginning sound.

Placing toys below the correct letter

3) Place the toy/item on the paper below the correct letter.

4) Continue doing this with all the toys, or until the child loses interest.

To have your child check his/her work (something kids should be able to do in all Montessori activities), you’ll need to have some cards – one card for each item you’re using.  Put a picture of the item on one side and write the word for the item clearly on the other side.  When it’s time to check and self-correct, find the card with the picture that matches a toy.  Flip the card over to see the corresponding word.  What is the first letter in the word?  Did you correctly identify the beginning letter of the item?

Using a card to self-correct

For a more challenging variation, try to identify the ending sound and letter (instead of beginning sound) in each toy/item.

Here’s how they’re learning:

Phonemic Awareness
The child chooses an item from the basket and slowly names it, emphasizing every sound within that word.

Phonic Awareness
The child then thinks back to the beginning sound in the word and connects it to a letter.  He/she then places the item under the letter that makes that sound.

Vocabulary
Children check their work by matching the picture to the item, then flipping the card over and seeing the word and its beginning letter.  This enables children to see the concrete connection between the word and the object while also exposing them to new vocabulary.