The Hand Chart, a key lesson within the Montessori Elementary historical past curriculum, offers children a primary take a look at the Story of People in a condensed type. This lesson helps children admire how early people used their palms to outlive, to invent tools, and to make vital discoveries. Most of all, it highlights the event of writing.
The Hand Chart is definitely a ten-foot-long strip of black material that represents how lengthy people have been on Earth. Within the middle of the in any other case clean material is an image of a hand holding an early stone device. There’s a shock on the very finish: a half-inch huge crimson strip representing recorded historical past, from the primary pictographs to right this moment’s computerized paperwork.
Children are amazed to see the comparatively brief time through which individuals have been writing, in comparison with how lengthy people have been on Earth. The lesson additionally introduces youngsters to the ideas of historical past or written data, represented by the slim crimson strip, and prehistory, the time earlier than writing, represented by the longer black strip.
With impressionistic classes like this one, the main points come later, as children are impressed to do analysis and uncover solutions to their very own questions. A pupil would possibly study that people have been on Earth for eight million years after which calculate that each foot on the Hand Chart represents 800,000 years! In my Montessori training, we have been advised that the crimson strip represents 5000 years of recorded historical past. Some scientists now imagine that the earliest pictographs are 700,000 years previous. Others imagine the earliest pictographs are 70,000 years previous. New discoveries are made on a regular basis. Do not forget that the Hand Chart is supposed to provide children the impression of how brief a time people have been writing, somewhat than a selected variety of years.
Cosmic Education and the Great Lessons
Within the Montessori Elementary classroom, the Universe and all its wonders are provided to children by means of the Nice Classes. These dramatic tales are about
- the formation of the Universe, stars, photo voltaic system, and Earth,
- the event of life on Earth,
- human evolution,
- the development of language,
- and the development of mathematics.
Maria and Mario Montessori believed in beginning with the massive image. Children study that we’re all made from stardust! They marvel on the Universe, Earth, and our shared human ancestry. This sense of reference to others helps foster empathy and promotes world peace. Children start to understand all that got here earlier than them, making their lives right this moment attainable. The Great Lessons are the muse of Cosmic Training and the premise of the Elementary curriculum.
When and Find out how to Current the Hand Chart
Each the Lengthy Black Strip and the Time Line of Life (two different Montessori history supplies) have a slim strip on the finish representing the brief time that people have been on Earth. With the help of each the Hand Chart and the Time Line of People, we stretch out these slim strips to take a more in-depth take a look at the time of people on Earth.
The Hand Chart is an impressionistic link between the Second Nice Lesson, “The Coming of Life, ” and the Third Nice Lesson, “The Coming of People.” Much less is extra! An excessive amount of details about dates, instruments, or pictographs compromises the elemental Montessori precept of supporting every pupil’s skill to independently and confidently pursue data. You’re giving children the important thing to open the door to no matter pursuits them.
Inform the story with thriller and suspense. The next is one instance of how this lesson may very well be offered. Nevertheless, you can also make the lesson far more significant by telling the story in your personal phrases.
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