Blog

How Do You Use Montessori Grammar Boxes?

25th October 2021

Online courses in Montessori Teacher Training have seen a lot of changes over the last couple of years. Since the shift to the online mode was an overnight alteration, the Montessori Teacher Training courses in Malaysia has also seen more applications than ever.

Neighbouring with one of the pioneers of the education industry, Singapore, it is always a regular strive for the Malaysian educators and education designers to be at par and keep up with the changing mindsets of the present-day learners.

They give detailed attention to not only the nurturing of the children but also how it should keep changing as per the learning needs of the young learners. That includes the different methods namely Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Waldorf, etc.

Today, we are going to take a look one such Montessori apparatus that has been quite the game changer!

Montessori apparatus are didactic in nature. Which means it can be assembled, dismantled and are self-explanatory. This helps the learners to become more experiential and use their critical thinking. How tools are designed to teach them practical life skills, the language development is also given equal attention.

Tools to teach phonics and grammar are regularly used in the class for the learners to grow with a better acquisition of the language. What’s more- as per the learning needs of your learners, you can set objectives and create class specific tools too!

One such tool is the grammar symbol box. Introducing grammatical structures and concepts are challenging in a Montessori class since it is majorly theoretical. For the age group, more hands-on practice is required. With the grammar symbol box, you can teach the parts of speech with ease and symbols that would later prove as visual prompts in their advanced academic life.

It is a set of nine boxes and a total of forty small objects/symbols to guide the learners with the concept identification. The boxes can be made of cardboard or any other material that is user friendly for the target learners. The boxes should have enough space to hold symbols, labels- the forty small objects. The set goes like:
 

1. Noun box- 10 small objects like the miniature toys. For example, dolls, animals, transport, kitchen tools, school supplies, etc. Put them in a box and paste a big red triangle made of paper on top. Along with the objects also keep 10 such red triangles in the box. Prepare labels for the nouns/objects selected and keep it along with the other items.
    
2. Article box- Make 3 different cut outs of triangle made of a lighter shade of blue- the smallest one for “a”, a small one for “an” and another of the same size of the red triangle (noun). Prepare labels with the three articles. They should be equal in number. So if you have 10 noun/objects, you must have 10 sets of article labels and triangle cut outs to practice the placement of the articles and nouns.
    
3. Verb box- For this we will not need objects. This creates awareness about the difference between a noun and a verb. A noun can be seen, felt but a verb needs to be done. For this make black circles and paste one on the box where you would keep the circle cut outs. You can make five of those excluding the one pasted on the box. Prepare labels of action word that can match with the nouns/objects.
    
4. Adverb box- This one also does not have objects since it modifies a verb. Make labels of adverbs that can combine well with the verbs you have put aside in the verb box. You can make 6-8 labels that you can interchange with the verbs and use. As for the symbols, cut out circles of the same shade of blue that you have used for the articles.
    
5. Adjective box- For this you would need colour 4-5 colour labels that are commonly present in the noun/objects. Prepare 2 types of labels- first, names of colours and second, if you have same colour papers make square cut outs. Or else, you can always make square cut outs and fill the blank part with crayons or felt pens.
    
6. Pronoun box- For this prepare 6-8 pronoun labels and symbols. The symbols would be smaller cut outs of red triangles than the noun ones.
    
7. Conjunction box- Have labels with 3-4-word sentences. The sentences can have the same noun/verb/article that they have learnt from the other boxes. It can be different as well, so no pressure there. As for the conjunctions, make name labels and symbol labels. The symbol being small cut outs of red rectangles. So, when you join 2 sentences you keep the rectangles in between and then play with the conjunction labels to make the learners understand how the meaning change.
    
8. Interjection box- Prepare a yellow exclamation sign and paste it on the box. Interjections are there own sentences so in Montessori we would only focus on the way interjection helps us to emote better. Prepare 6-8-word labels and add a exclamation mark after each one of them, for example, on the labels you are going to write wow! ouch! run! no! etc.
    
9. Preposition box- This part of speech can be best understood by doing. For this paste a black star on the box. Prepare a few more stars and preposition labels. Along with that keep toys in the box. You can also use the ones from the noun box. Use one toy at a time and show the learners the changing positions of the toy. With each changing position place a black star on the spot and introduce the relevant preposition afterwards. Go for the basic ones like in, on, by, above, below, of, etc.

Symbolism in young learner’s education play a vital role in remembering and carrying forward the knowledge in future. The grammar boxes are surely going to help the learners retain the concepts better and learn the parts of the speech in a more practical way. Montessori Teacher Training courses in Malaysia will help you a lot! This helps them to apply the language learnt in their everyday life which in turn makes learning an acquired skill.