Pincushion Hill Montessori School
Elementary Classroom
Introduction 6-10 years of age
The Elementary years are the time in a student’s life of the greatest intellectual energy and curiosity. The child seeks a balance in the development of the imagination using hands-on materials through exploration.
The Five Great Lessons is a group of stories that were developed to provide Elementary students with a “big picture” of the world and life. During their developmental period, children are becoming aware of their world. These important lessons are told over and over again to further motivate the students to extend their research. The Great Lessons serve to initiate student discovery! The children will begin to develop an awareness of the material world as they begin to explore the topics of history, geography, math, science, and language.
The Five Great Lessons for Montessori Elementary
The First Great Lesson – The Universe and Earth
- The Universe
- The Solar System
- Composition of the Earth
- Volcanoes
- Rocks
- Chemistry: The Three States of Matter
The Second Great Lesson – Life Comes to Earth
- Living and Non-Living
- Bacteria
- Plants ( classification, parts of ferns, conifers, and flowering plants )
- Trilobites
- Fossils
- Dinosaurs
- Classification Work
- Oceans and Ocean Life
- Kingdom Animals ( classification and parts of: mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds )
- Continents
- Mountains
- Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide
The Third Great Lesson – Humans Come to Earth
- Ancient Civilization
- Fundamental Needs
- The History of
- Tools
- Food Preparation and Storage
- Clothing
- Shelter
- Transportation
- Medicine
- Art
The Fourth Great Lesson – How Writing Began
- History of Writing
- Hieroglyphics and Cuneiform Writing
- Writing Systems
- Alphabets ( different styles )
- The Printing Press
The Fifth Great Lesson – How Numbers Began
- History of Mathematics
- Different Number System
- History of Numbers
- How “zero” Came to be
- Invention of the Calendar
- Systems of Measurement
- Economic Geography