Why We Teach Writing Before Reading
When my kids started showing signs that they were interested in reading and writing, like most Moms, I turned to the internet to research how to teach kids to read and write. I wanted to know the right way to do these things so I don't confuse them. I also didn't want to contradict what they were learning in their Toddler and Children's House - especially during their Kindergarten year. What I learned is that the internet can be a confusing place. Do kids need to be able to recognize letters before they start writing them? That made sense to me, but Montessori teaches it the other way around. Keep reading and I'll clear up the confusion by telling you why writing is taught before reading in the Montessori method.
Montessori assumes a totally different way of teaching reading by teaching writing first. This approach is far more effective and efficient because by the time you learn to read you’ve already learned to write. Traditional education approaches reading through an intellectual process. Montessori begins teaching reading long before the intellectual process is ready giving it a great head start. Montessori education begins with the training of the senses. That is why there is tremendous emphasis on practical life and sensorial materials in the classroom. None of it “appears” intellectually stimulating but it is the basis of success in Montessori reading.
Montessori embraces all of the senses (and trains them all) to serve the acquisition of reading. Washing dishes, scrubbing clothes develop large motor skills. Polishing, spooning, sorting develop small motor skills. Both are essential for success in learning how to write. Then your child moves on to the sensorial materials. Each material develops different senses again reinforcing those needed for writing but also developing the senses for acquiring the sounds of language.
The reading process starts with the writing – one letter at a time, one sound at a time. It is not your ABCs but the phonetic sounds that create the building blocks for reading. The use of the senses with the sandpaper letters enhance the total process. Each sound, each letter is slowly marinated into the child’s senses – audibly, visually, tactilely. This is fun – no pressure. Recognizing letters and signs along the street adds to the child’s delight in the process.
They begin to put the letters together with the moveable alphabet. They begin to sound words out one sound at a time. They begin to write them on chalkboards and on paper. They begin to discover the power and sounds in the marks they make on paper. They begin to read without pressure because the reading has had a long gestation period through the practical life materials, through the sensorial materials, and through the writing exercises.
The hard work of learning to read has a magical element in Montessori. At first, you don’t and then you do and you have a written record to verify the magic. You can read without learning how to write but you cannot write without learning how to read.
This is one of my favorite topics. I find the process of learning to read and write fascinating, especially because it is a skill that everyone uses for a lifetime. Use the comments below to tell me about what challenges or successes you are experiencing with your child's reading and writing. I love talking about this!