The Montessori Three Period Lesson.

One question I always hear is “how do you teach kids *blank* in a Montessori way?” Enter: shapes, colors, numbers, sounds, letters… anything and everything. And the answer is almost always, the Three Period Lesson. 

Widely known, shared and taught in Montessori circles, The Three Period Lesson was actually developed by Seguin, a French physician who worked with children with special needs. Seguin was a big inspiration to Maria Montessori. Truthfully, you probably unknowingly use the Three Period Lesson without even thinking about it — because it makes so much sense. But let’s break it down.

In Montessori, we isolate a skill during each lesson. So we’re not teaching letters and numbers at the same time. We’re not teaching colors and shapes at the same time. We pick one and dive in. Let’s say our child is learning about shapes, we would first set them up for success by choosing just 3 shapes at a time and then we’ll start with the lesson — first we introduce the object, then we identify it, and finally we recall it. It will sound like this:

Step #1: The Naming Stage

Typically, there isn’t much language in a Montessori lesson but the words that are spoken are deliberate. Which brings us to step #1: The Naming Stage. You want to pick one of the objects, and you’re going to point to it and say out loud “this is a circle”. That’s it! Then you’ll point to the square and say “this is a square.” And lastly, point to the triangle and say “this is a triangle.”

Step #2: The Recognizing Stage

The next step is to see if your child can recognize the object by its name — “show me the circle” is all you’ll say. Then “show me the square” and “show me the triangle”. This way you’re still giving them the name and waiting for them to point to the right shape. If they point to the wrong shape, you’ll go back to step #1 and introduce the names again. There’s no need to say things like “no, that’s not it” or “Remember! I just told you!” — these are unnecessary.

Step #3: The Remembering Stage

Once you’ve given the name, and they’ve recognized the object by its name, the final step is to ensure cognition by asking “what is this?” as you point to one of the objects. You’ll need to wait for them to recall the name and you’ll want to be mindful of being patient and giving them time to speak their thoughts. The hope is they’ll say “a circle”. 

And that’s it! You can use this same method for teaching letters or animals or colors or cutlery! “This is a fork” and “this is a spoon” — “show me the fork” and “show me the spoon” and so on. 

Have you heard of the Three Period Lesson?