Produced by Alicia Williams, Emmy and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was
produced from scanned images of public domain material
from the Google Print project.) Music files created by Linda
Cantoni.
[Transcriber's Notes: Bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and
italic text by _underscores_. Superscripted text will be precede by a ^
and surrounded by {braces}.
Two symbols were used to show stressed and unstressed syllables. These
have been represented by U and --.]
THE MONTESSORI ELEMENTARY MATERIAL
[Illustration: The first Montessori Elementary Class in America, opened
in Rivington Street, New York, May, 1916.]
_THE ADVANCED MONTESSORI METHOD_
THE MONTESSORI ELEMENTARY MATERIAL
BY
MARIA MONTESSORI
AUTHOR OF "THE MONTESSORI METHOD," "PEDAGOGICAL
ANTHROPOLOGY," ETC.
TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN BY
ARTHUR LIVINGSTON
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ITALIAN AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
_WITH FORTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
AND WITH NUMEROUS DIAGRAMS_
[Illustration]
NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
_Copyright, 1917, by_
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
_All rights reserved, including that of translation into
foreign languages._
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The patent rights in the Montessori apparatus and material are
controlled, in the United States and Canada, by The House of Childhood,
Inc., 16 Horatio Street, New York. The publishers are indebted to them
for the photographs showing the Grammar Boxes.
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE
So far as Dr. Montessori's experiments contain the affirmation of a new
doctrine and the illustration of a new method in regard to the teaching
of Grammar, Reading and Metrics, the following pages are, we hope, a
faithful rendition of her work. But it is only in these respects that
the chapters devoted to these subjects are to be considered a
translation. It will be observed that Dr. Montessori's text is not only
a theoretical treatise but also an actual text-book for the teaching of
Italian grammar, Italian reading and Italian metrics to young pupils.
Her exercises constitute a rigidly "tested" material: her Italian word
lists are lists which, in actual practise, have accomplished their
purpose; her grammatical categories with their relative illustration are
those actually mastered by her Italian students; her reading selections
and her metrical analyses are those which, from an offering doubtless
far more extensive, actually survived the experiment of use in class.
It is obvious that no such value can be claimed for any "translation" of
the original material. The categories of Italian grammar are not exactly
the categories of English grammar. The morphology and, to a certain
extent, the syntax of the various parts of speech differ in the two
languages. The immediate result is that the Montessori material offers
much that is inapplicable and fails to touch on much that is essential
to the teaching of English grammar. The nature and extent of the
difficulties thus arising are more fully set forth in connection with
specific cases in our text. Suffice it here to indicate that the
English material offered below is but approximately "experimental,"
approximately scientific. The constitution of a definitive Montessori
material for English grammar and the definitive manner and order of its
presentment must await the results of experiments in actual use. For the
clearer orientation of such eventual experiments we offer, even for
those parts of Italian grammar which bear no relation to English, a
virtually complete translation of the original text; venturing meanwhile
the suggestion that such studies as Dr. Montessori's treatise on the
teaching of Italian noun and adjective inflections--entirely foreign to
English--may prove valuable to all teachers of modern languages. While
it might seem desirable to isolate such superfluous material from the
"English grammar" given below, we decided to retain the relative
paragraphs in their actual position in the Italian work, in order to
preserve the literal integrity of the original method. Among our
additions to the text we may cite the exercises on the possessive
pronouns--identified by Dr. Montessori with the possessive
adjectives--the interrogatives and the comparison of adjectives and
adverbs.
Even where, as regards morphology, a reasonably close adaptation of the
Italian material to English uses has been possible, it by no means
follows that the pedagogical problems involved remain the same. The
teaching of the relative pronoun, for instance, is far more complicated
in English than in Italian; in the sense that the steps to be taken by
the child are for English more numerous and of a higher order. Likewise
for the verb, if Italian is more difficult as regards variety of forms,
it is much more simple as regards negation, interrogation and
progressive action. We have made no attempt to be consistent in adapting
the translation to such difficulties. In general we have treated the
parts of speech in the order in which they appear in the Italian text,
though actual experiment may prove that some other order is desirable
for the teaching of English grammar. The English material given below is
thus in part a translation of the original exercises in Italian, in part
new. In cases where it proved impossible to utilize any of the Italian
material, an attempt has been made to find sentences illustrating the
same pedagogical principle and involving the same number and character
of mental processes as are required by the original text.
The special emphasis laid by Dr. Montessori upon selections from Manzoni
is due simply to the peculiar conditions surrounding the teaching of
language in Italy, where general concepts of the national language are
affected by the existence of powerful dialects and the unstable nature
of the grammar, vocabulary and syntax of the national literature. We
have made no effort to find a writer worthy of being set up as a like
authority, since no such problem exists for the American and English
public. Our citations are drawn to a large extent from the "Book of
Knowledge" and from a number of classics. Occasionally for special
reasons we have translated the Italian original. The chapter on Italian
metrics has been translated entire as an illustration of method; whereas
the portion relating to English is, as explained below, entirely of
speculative character.
To Miss Helen Parkhurst and Miss Emily H. Greenman thanks are due for
the translation of the chapters on Arithmetic, Geometry, and Drawing.
CONTENTS
PART I
GRAMMAR
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE vii
CHAPTER PAGE
I. The Transition from the Mechanical to the Intellectual
Development of Language 3
II. WORD STUDY 12
Suffixes and Prefixes 13
Suffixes 13
Prefixes 17
Compound Words 18
Word-Families 20
III. ARTICLE AND NOUN 22
Singular and Plural 25
Masculine and Feminine 27
Singular and Plural in English 33
IV. LESSONS--COMMANDS 39
Nouns 40
Commands on Nouns 48
V. ADJECTIVES 51
Analyses 51
Descriptive Adjectives 51
Permutations 55
Inflection of Adjectives 56
Logical and Grammatical Agreement of Nouns and Adjectives 59
Descriptive Adjectives 61
Adjectives of Quantity 63
Ordinals 64
Demonstrative Adjectives 64
Possessive Adjectives 65
Comparison of Adjectives 65
VI. VERBS 66
Analyses 66
Permutations 68
Lessons and Commands on the Verb 69
Lessons with Experiments 74
VII. PREPOSITIONS 77
Analyses 77
Permutations 80
Lessons and Commands on Prepositions 81
VIII. ADVERBS 85
Analyses 85
Permutations 87
Lessons and Commands on Adverbs 90
A Burst of Activity: the Future of the Written Language in
Popular Education 93
Commands Improvised by the Children 96
IX. PRONOUNS 98
Analyses 98
Personals 98
Demonstratives 99
Relatives and Interrogatives 99
Possessives 101
Permutations 101
Lessons and Commands on the Pronoun 102
Paradyms 106
Agreement of Pronoun and Verb 108
Conjugation of Verbs 110
X. CONJUNCTIONS 113
Analyses 113
Coordinates 113
Subordinates 114
Permutations 115
Lessons and Commands on the Conjunction 115
Comparison of Adjectives 117
XI. INTERJECTIONS 120
Analyses 120
Classification 122
XII. SENTENCE ANALYSIS 124
Simple Sentences 124
The Order of Elements in the Sentence: Permutations 132
Compound and Complex Sentences 136
Test Cards 140
The Order of Clauses in the Sentence: Sentence Forms
in Prose and Verse 144
Permutations 147
Test Cards 151
Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions 155
Sequence of Tenses 157
Punctuation 160
XIII. WORD CLASSIFICATION 164
Kinds of Words 164
Classified According to Formation 164
Classified According to Inflection 165
Classified According to Their Use 165
PART II
READING
I. EXPRESSION AND INTERPRETATION 171
Mechanical Processes 171
Analysis 173
Experimental Section: Reading Aloud 179
Interpretations 182
Audition 196
The Most Popular Books 198
PART III
ARITHMETIC
I. ARITHMETICAL OPERATIONS 205
Numbers 1-10 205
Tens, Hundreds and Thousands 208
Counting-frames 210
II. THE MULTIPLICATION TABLE 217
III. DIVISION 223
IV. OPERATIONS IN SEVERAL FIGURES 225
Addition 225
Subtraction 227
Multiplication 228
Multiplying on Ruled Paper 235
Long Division 237
V. EXERCISES WITH NUMBERS 241
Multiples, Prime Numbers and Factoring 241
VI. SQUARE AND CUBE OF NUMBERS 251
PART IV
GEOMETRY
I. PLANE GEOMETRY 259
II. DIDACTIC MATERIAL USED FOR GEOMETRY 265
Squares and Divided Figures 265
Fractions 267
Reduction of Common Fractions to Decimal Fractions 273
Equivalent Figures 277
Some Theorems Based on Equivalent Figures 282
Division of a Triangle 289
Inscribed and Concentric Figures 290
III. SOLID GEOMETRY 292
The Powers of Numbers 294
The Cube of a Binomial 295
Weights and Measures 295
PART V
DRAWING
I. LINEAR GEOMETRIC DESIGN DECORATION 301
Artistic Composition with the Insets 305
II. FREE-HAND DRAWING: STUDIES FROM LIFE 307
PART VI
MUSIC
I. THE SCALE 319
II. THE READING AND WRITING OF MUSIC 326
Treble and Bass Clefs 328
III. THE MAJOR SCALES 333
IV. EXERCISES IN RHYTHM 341
Singing 365
Musical Phrases for Rhythmic Exercises 367
V. MUSICAL AUDITIONS 376
PART VII
METRICS
I. THE STUDY OF METRICS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 383
Stanza and line 384
Rhyme 384
Tonic accents (stresses) 385
Parisyllabic lines 386
Imparisyllabic lines 388
The cæsura 391
Metrical analyses 392
Translator's note on English metrics 395
Material for nomenclature 404
APPENDIX I 409
APPENDIX II 423
ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING
PAGE
The first Montessori Elementary Class in America _Frontispiece_
One of the first steps in grammar 24
Grammar Boxes, showing respectively two and three parts of
speech 25
Grammar Boxes, showing respectively four and five parts of
speech 78
Grammar Boxes, showing respectively six and seven parts of
speech 79
Grammar Boxes, showing respectively eight and nine parts of
speech 114
The children working at their various occupations in complete
freedom 115
Interpreted reading: "Smile and clap your hands" 174
Interpreted reading: "Take off your hat and make a low bow" 175
Interpreted reading: "Whisper to him" 188
Interpreting the pose and expression of a picture 189
Interpreted reading: "She was sleepy; she leaned her arms on
the table, her head on her arms, and went to sleep" 200
Exercises in interpreted reading and in arithmetic 201
The bead material used for addition and subtraction 214
Counting and calculating by means of the bead chains 214
The bead chain, square, and cube 215
The first bead frame 215
The second counting-frame used in arithmetic 226
Working out problems in seven figures 227
Solving a problem in long division 238
Bead squares and cubes; and the arithmetic-board for
multiplication and division 239
The bead number cubes built into a tower 282
The decagon and the rectangle composed of the same
triangular insets 283
The triangular insets fitted into their metal plates 283
Showing that the two rhomboids are equal to the two rectangles 288
Showing that the two rhomboids are equal to the two squares 289
Hollow geometric solids 296
Designs formed by arranging sections of the insets within the
frames 297
Making decorative designs with the aid of geometric insets 312
Water-color paintings from nature 313
The monocord 334
Material for indicating the intervals of the major scale 334
The music bars 335
The children using the music bells and the wooden keyboards 352
Analyzing the beat of a measure while walking on a line 353
PART I
GRAMMAR
MONTESSORI ELEMENTARY MATERIAL
I
THE TRANSITION FROM THE MECHANICAL TO THE INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF
LANGUAGE
In the "Children's Houses" we had reached a stage of development where
the children could write words and even sentences. They read little
slips on which were written different actions which they were to
execute, thus demonstrating that they had understood them. The material
for the development of writing and reading consisted of two alphabets: a
larger one with vowels and consonants in different colors, and a smaller
one with all the letters in one color.
(In English, to diminish the phonetic difficulties of the language,
combinations of vowels and consonants, known as phonograms, are used.
The phonograms with few exceptions have constant sounds and little
attention is paid to the teaching of the separate values of the
different letters: not until the child has built up his rules
inductively does he realize the meaning of separate vowel symbols.)
However, the actual amount of progress made was not very precisely
ascertained. We could be sure only that the children had acquired the
mechanical technique of writing and reading and were on the way to a
greater intellectual development along these lines. Their progress,
however extensive it may have been, could be called little more than a
foundation for their next step in advance, the elementary school. What
beyond all question was accomplished with the little child in the first
steps of our method was to establish the psycho-motor mechanism of the
written word by a slow process of maturation such as takes place in the
natural growth of articulate speech; in other words, by methodically
exercising psycho-motor paths.
Later on the child's mind is able to make use of the successive
operations performed with the written language which has been thus built
up by the child as a matter of mechanical execution (writing) and to a
certain extent of intelligent interpretation (reading). Normally this is
an established fact at the age of five. When the child begins to think
and to make use of the written language to express his rudimentary
thinking, he is ready for elementary work; and this fitness is a
question not of age or other incidental circumstance but of mental
maturity.
We have said, of course, that the children stayed in the "Children's
House" up to the age of seven; nevertheless they learned to write, to
count, to read, and even to do a certain amount of simple composition.
It is clear, accordingly, that they had gone some distance in the
elementary grade as regards both age and educational development.
However, what they had actually accomplished beyond the mechanical
technique of writing was more or less difficult to estimate. We can now
say that our later experiments have not only clarified this situation,
but enabled us to take the children much farther along than
before.
This only proves, however, that on beginning elementary grade work we
did not depart from the "Children's House" idea; on the contrary we
returned to it to give distinct realization to the nebulous hopes with
which our first course concluded. Hence the "Children's House" and the
lower grades are not two distinct things as is the case with the Fröbel
Kindergarten and the ordinary primary school--in fact, they are one and
the same thing, the continuation of an identical process.
Let us return then to the "Children's House" and consider the child of
five and one-half years. To-day in those "Children's Houses" which have
kept up with the improvements in our method the child is actually
started on his elementary education. From the second alphabet of the
"Children's House" we go on to a third alphabet. Here the movable
letters are a great deal smaller and are executed in model hand-writing.
There are twenty specimens of each letter, whereas formerly there were
but four; furthermore, there are three complete alphabets, one white,
one black, and one red. There are, therefore, sixty copies of each
letter of the alphabet. We include also all the punctuation marks:
period, comma, accents (for Italian), apostrophe, interrogation and
exclamation points. The letters are made of plain glazed paper.
The uses of this alphabet are many; so before we stop to examine them
let us look somewhat ahead. Everybody has recognized the naturalness of
the exercise, used in the "Children's House," where the children placed
a card bearing the name of an object on the object referred to. This was
the first lesson in reading. We could see that the child knew how to
read as soon as he was able to identify the object indicated on the
card. In schools all over the world a similar procedure would, I
imagine, be considered logical. I suppose that in all the schools where
the objective method is used much the same thing is done; and this is
found to be not a hindrance but a help to the child in learning the
names of objects. As regards the teaching of the noun, accordingly, we
have been using methods already in use--the objective method, with
practical exercises. But why should we restrict such methods to the
noun? Is the noun not just as truly a _part of speech_ as the adjective,
or the verb? If there is a method by which the knowledge of a noun is
made easy, may there not be similar ways of facilitating the learning of
all the other parts of speech (article, adjective, verb, pronoun,
adverb, interjection, conjunction, and preposition)?
When a slip with the interpreted word is placed on the object
corresponding to it, the children are actually distinguishing the noun
from all the other parts of speech. They are learning intuitively to
define it. The first step has thus been taken into the realm of grammar.
But if this "reading" has brought the child directly into word
_classification_, the transition has not been for him so abrupt as might
at first appear. The child has built _all_ his words with the movable
alphabet, and he has, in addition, _written_ them. He has thus traversed
a two-fold preparatory exercise involving, first, the analysis of the
sounds and, second, the analysis of the words in their meaning. In fact,
we have seen that, as the child reads, it is his discovery of the tonic
accent that brings him to recognize the word. The child has begun to
analyze not only the sounds and accent but also the form of the word.[1]
How absurd it would seem to suggest a study of phonology and morphology
in a nursery with four-year-old children as investigators! Yet our
children have accomplished this very thing! The analysis was the means
of attaining the word. It was what made the child able to write without
effort. Why should such a procedure be useful for single words and not
so for connected discourse? Proceeding to the classification of words by
distinguishing the noun from all other words, we have really advanced
into the analysis of connected speech, just as truly as, by having the
sand-papered letters "touched" and the word pronounced, we took the
first step into the analysis of words. We have only to carry the process
farther and perhaps we shall succeed in getting the analysis of whole
sentences, just as we succeeded in getting at the composition of
words--discovering meanwhile a method which will prove efficacious in
leading the child to write his thoughts more perfectly than would seem
possible at such a tender age.
For some time, then, we have been actually in the field of grammar. It
is a question simply of continuing along the same path. The undertaking
may indeed seem hazardous. Never mind! That "awful grammar," that
horrible bugaboo, no less terrible than the frightful method, once in
use, of learning to read and write, may perhaps become a delightful
exercise, a loving guide to lead the child along pleasant pathways to
the _discovery_ of things he has _actually performed_. Yes, the child
will suddenly find himself, one day, in possession of a little
composition, a little "work of art," that has issued from his own pen!
And he will be as happy over it as he was when for the first time words
were formed by his tiny hands!
How different grammar will seem to the young pupil, if, instead of being
the cruel assassin that tears the sentence to pieces so that nothing can
be understood, it becomes the amiable and indispensable help to "the
construction of connected discourse"! It used to be so easy to say: "The
sentence is written! Please leave it alone!" Why put asunder what God
has joined? Why take away from a sentence its meaning, the very thing
which gave it life? Why make of it a mere mass of senseless words? Why
spoil something already perfect just for the annoyance of plunging into
an analysis which has no apparent purpose? Indeed, to impose upon people
who can already read the task of reducing every word to its primal
sounds, would be to demand of them an effort of will so gigantic that
only a professional philologist could apply himself to it with the
necessary diligence, and then only because he has his own particular
interests and aims involved in such work. Yet the four-year-old child,
when he passes from those meaningless sounds to the composition of a
whole, which corresponds to an idea and represents a useful and
wonderful conquest, is just as attentive as the philologist and perhaps
even more enthusiastic. He will find the same joy in grammar, if,
starting from analyses, it gains progressively in significance,
acquiring, step by step, a greater interest, working finally up to a
climax, up to the moment, that is, when the finished sentence is before
him, its meaning clear and _felt_ in its subtlest essences. The child
has created something beautiful, full grown and perfect at its birth,
not now to be tampered with by anybody!
The analysis of sounds which, in our method, leads to spontaneous
writing, is not, to be sure, adapted to all ages. It is when the child
is four or four and a half, that he shows the characteristically
childlike passion for such work, which keeps him at it longer than at
any other age, and leads him to develop perfection in the mechanical
aspect of writing. Similarly the analytical study of parts of speech,
the passionate lingering over words, is not for children of all ages. It
is the children between five and seven who are the _word-lovers_. It is
they who show a predisposition toward such study. Their undeveloped
minds can not yet grasp a complete idea with distinctness. They do,
however, understand _words_. And they may be entirely carried away by
their ecstatic, their tireless interest in the _parts_ of speech.
It is true that our whole method was born of heresy. The first departure
from orthodoxy was in holding that the child can best learn to write
between the ages of four and five. We are now constrained to advance
another heretical proposition: children should begin the study of
grammar between the ages of five and a half and seven and a half, or
eight!
The idea that analysis must be preceded by construction was a matter of
mere prejudice. Only things produced by nature must be analyzed before
they can be understood. The violet, for instance, is found perfect in
nature. We have to tear off the petals, cut the flower into sections to
see how it grew. But in making an artificial violet we do just the
opposite. We prepare the stems piece by piece; then we work out the
petals, cutting, coloring, and ironing them one by one. The preparation
of the stamens, even of the glue with which we put the whole together,
is a distinct process. A few simple-minded people, with a gift for
light manual labor, take unbounded delight in these single operations,
these wonderfully varied steps which all converge to the creation of a
pretty flower; the beauty of which depends on the amount of patience and
skill applied to the work on the individual parts.
Analysis, furthermore, is involved quite as much in building as in
taking to pieces. The building of a house is an analytical process. The
stones are treated one by one from cellar to roof. The person who puts
the house together knows it in its minutest details and has a far more
accurate idea of its construction than the man who tears it down. This
is true, first, because the process of construction lasts much longer
than that of demolition: more time is spent on the study of the
different parts. But besides this, the builder has a point of view
different from that of the man who is destroying. The sensation of
seeing a harmonious whole fall into meaningless bits has nothing in
common with the alternating impulses of hope, surprise or satisfaction
which come to a workman as he sees his edifice slowly assuming its
destined form.
For these and still other reasons, the child, when interested in words
at a certain age, can utilize grammar to good purpose, dwelling
analytically upon the various parts of speech according as the processes
of his inner spiritual growth determine. In this way he comes to own his
language perfectly, and to acquire some appreciation of its qualities
and power.
Our grammar is not a book. The nouns (names), which the child was to
place on the objects they referred to as soon as he understood their
meaning, were written on cards. Similarly the words, belonging to all
the other parts of speech, are written on cards. These cards are all of
the same dimensions: oblongs (5 × 3-1/2 cmm.) of different colors: black
for the noun; tan for the article; brown for the adjective; red for the
verb; pink for the adverb; violet for the preposition; yellow for the
conjunction; blue for the interjection.
These cards go in special boxes, eight in number. The first box has two
compartments simply; the second, however, three; the third, four; and so
on down to the eighth, which is divided into nine. One wall in each
section is somewhat higher than the others. This is to provide space for
a card with a title describing the contents of the section. It bears,
that is, the name of the relative part of speech. The title-card,
furthermore, is of the same color as that used for the part of speech to
which it refers. The teacher is expected to arrange these boxes so as to
provide for the study of two or more parts of speech. However, our
experiments have enabled us to make the exercises very specific in
character; so that the teacher has at her disposal not only a thoroughly
prepared material but also something to facilitate her work and to check
up the accuracy of it.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The process of learning to read has been more fully set forth in
_The Montessori Method_; the child at first pronounces the sounds
represented by the individual letters (phonograms), without
understanding what they mean. As he repeats the word several times he
comes to read more rapidly. Eventually he discovers the tonic accent of
the word, which is then immediately identified.
II
WORD STUDY
When a little child begins to read he shows a keen desire to learn
words, words, words! Indeed in the "Children's House" we had that
impressive phenomenon of the children's tireless reading of the little
slips of paper upon which were written the names of objects.
The child must acquire his word-store for himself. The peculiar
characteristic of the child's vocabulary is its meagerness. But he is
nearing the age when he will need to express his thoughts and he must
now acquire the material necessary for that time. Many people must have
noticed the intense attention given by children to the conversation of
grown-ups when they cannot possibly be understanding a word of what they
hear. They are trying to get hold of _words_, and they often demonstrate
this fact by repeating joyously some word which they have been able to
grasp. We should second this tendency in the child by giving him an
abundant material and by organizing for him such exercises as his
reactions clearly show us are suitable for him.
The material used in our system not only is very abundant, but it has
been dictated to us by rigid experimentation on every detail. However,
the same successive choices of material do not appear among the children
as a whole. Indeed their individual differences begin to assert
themselves progressively at this point in their education. The
exercises are easy for some children and very hard for others, nor is
the order of selection the same among all the children. The teacher
should know this material thoroughly. She should be able to recognize
the favorable moment for presenting the material to the child. As a
matter of fact, a little experience with the material is sufficient to
show the teacher that the educational facts develop spontaneously and in
such a way as to simplify the teacher's task in a most surprising
manner.
SUFFIXES AND PREFIXES
Here we use charts with printed lists of words which may be hung on the
wall. The children can look at them and also take them in their hands.
LIST I
SUFFIXES: AUGMENTATIVES, DIMINUTIVES, PEGGIORATIVES, ETC.
_buono_ (_good_): buonuccio, buonino, buonissimo
_casa_ (_house_): casona, casetta, casettina,
casuccia, casaccia, casettaccia
_formica_ (_ant_): formicona, formicuccia, formicola,
formichetta
_ragazzo_ (_boy_): ragazzone, ragazzino, ragazaccio,
ragazzetto
_lettera_ (_letter_): letterina, letterona,
letteruccia, letteraccia
_campana_ (_bell_): campanone, campanello,
campanellino, campanino, campanaccio
_giovane_ (_youth_): giovanetto, giovincello,
giovinastro
_fiore_ (_flower_): fioretto, fiorellino, fioraccio,
fiorone
_tavolo_ (_board_): tavolino, tavoletta, tavolone,
tavolaccio
_seggiola_ (_chair_): seggiolone, seggiolina,
seggiolaccia
_pietra_ (_stone_): pietruzza, pietrina, pietrone,
pietraccio
_sasso_ (_rock_): sassetto, sassolino, sassettino,
sassone, sassaccio
_cesto_ (_basket_): cestino, cestone, cestello,
cestellino
_piatto_ (_plate_): piattino, piattello, piattone
_pianta_ (_plant_ or _tree_): piantina, pianticella,
pianticina, pianterella, piantona, piantaccia
_fuoco_ (_fire_): fuochetto, fuochino, fuocherello,
fuocone, fuochettino
_festa_ (_festival_): festicciola, festona, festaccia
_piede_ (_foot_): piedino, piedone, pieduccio,
piedaccio
_mano_ (_hand_): manina, manona, manaccia, manuccia
_seme_ (_seed_): semino, semetto, semone, semaccio,
semettino
_semplice_ (_simple person_): semplicino, semplicetto,
sempliciotto, semplicione
_ghiotto_ ("_sweet-tooth_"): ghiottone, ghiottoncello,
ghiottaccio, ghiottissimo
_vecchio_ (_old man_): vecchietto, vecchione,
vecchiaccio, vecchissimo
_cieco_ (_blind_): ciechino, ciechetto, ciecolino,
ciecone, ciecaccio
Note:--The rôle of augmentative and diminutive suffixes in English is
vastly less important than in Italian. Here are a few specimens:
_lamb_--lambkin
_duck_--duckling
_bird_--birdling
_nest_--nestling
_goose_--gosling
_mouse_--mousie
_girl_--girlie
_book_-booklet
_brook_--brooklet
_stream_--streamlet
_poet_--poetaster
The child's exercise is as follows: he composes the first word in any
line with the alphabet of a single color (e.g., black). Next underneath
and using the alphabet of the same color, he repeats the letters in the
second word which he sees also in the first. But just as soon as a
letter changes he uses the alphabet of another color (e.g., red). In
this way the root is always shown by one color, the suffixes by another;
for example:--
buono
buon_uccio_
buon_ino_
buon_issimo_
_For English:_
stream
stream_let_
lamb
lamb_kin_
Then the child chooses another word and repeats the same exercise. Often
he finds for himself words not included in the list which is given him.
In the following chart the suffixes are constant while the root varies.
Here the suffix changes the meaning of the word. From the original
meaning is derived the word for a trade, a place of business, an action,
a collective or an abstract idea. Naturally, the child does not realize
all this at first but limits himself merely to building the words
mechanically with the two alphabets. Later on, however, as grammar is
developed, he may return to the reading of these charts, which are
always at his disposal, and begin to realize the value of the
differences.
LIST II
macello (slaughter) macellaio (butcher)
sella (saddle) sellaio (saddler)
forno (oven) fornaio (baker)
cappello (hat) capellaio (hatter)
vetro (glass) vetreria (glaziery)
calzolaio (shoe-maker) calzoleria (shoe-shop)
libro (book) libreria (book-store)
oste (host) osteria (inn)
pane (bread) panetteria (bakery)
cera (wax) cereria (chandler's shop)
dente (tooth) dentista (dentist)
farmacia (pharmacy) farmacista (druggist)
elettricita (electricity) elettricista (electrician)
telefono (telephone) telefonista (telephone operator)
arte (art) artista (artist)
bestia (beast) bestiame (cattle)
osso (bone) ossame (bones, _collective_)
corda (string) cordame (strings, _collective_)
foglia (leaf) fogliame (foliage)
pollo (chicken) pollame (poultry)
grato (grateful) gratitudine (gratitude)
beato (blessed) beatitudine (blessedness)
inquieto (uneasy) inquietudine (uneasiness)
grano (grain) granaio (barn)
colombo (dove) colombaio (dove-cote)
paglia (straw) pagliaio (hay-stack)
frutto (fruit) frutteto (orchard)
canna (reed) canneto (brake)
oliva (olive) oliveto (olive-grove)
quercia (oak) querceto (oak-grove)
ENGLISH EXAMPLES
teach teacher
sing singer
work worker
cater caterer
wring wringer
conduct conductor
direct director
launder laundry
seam seamstress
song songstress
priest priestess
mister mistress
cow cowherd
piano pianist
art artist
pharmacy pharmacist
drug druggist
physic physician
prison prisoner
house household
earl earldom
king kingdom
count county
real reality
modern modernness
good goodness
sad sadness
aloof aloofness
The child's exercise with the two alphabets will be as follows:
frutto frutt_eto_
canna cann_eto_
oliva oliv_eto_
quercia querc_eto_
_For English_:
song song_ster_ song_stress_
art art_ist_ art_less_ art_ful_
LIST III
PREFIXES
_nodo_ (_knot_): annodare, snodare, risnodare
_scrivere_ (_write_): riscrivere, trascrivere,
sottoscrivere, descrivere
_coprire_ (_cover_): scoprire, riscoprire
_gancio_ (_hook_): agganciare, sganciare, riagganciare
_legare_ (_bind_): collegare, rilegare, allegare,
slegare
_bottone_ (_button_): abbottonare, sbottonare,
riabbottonare
_macchiare_ (_spot_): smacchiare, rismacchiare
_chiudere_ (_close_): socchiudere, schiudere,
richiudere, rinchiudere
_guardare_ (_look at_): riguardare, traguardare,
sogguardare
_vedere_ (_see_): travedere, rivedere, intravedere
_perdere_ (_lose_): disperdere, sperdere, riperdere
_mettere_ (_put_, _place_): smettere, emettere,
rimettere, permettere, commettere, promettere,
sottomettere
_vincere_ (_overcome_): rivincere, avvincere,
convincere, stravincere
_For English:_
_cover_: uncover, discover, recover
_pose_: impose, compose, dispose, repose, transpose
_do_: undo, overdo
_place_: displace, replace, misplace
_submit_: remit, commit, omit, permit
_close_: disclose, foreclose, reclose
_arrange_: rearrange, disarrange
The child's exercise with the two alphabets will be as follows:
coprire
_s_coprire
_ri_coprire
_For English:_
place
_dis_place
_re_place
LIST IV
COMPOUND WORDS
cartapecora (parchment)
cartapesta (papier maché)
falsariga (guide)
madreperla (mother-of-pearl)
melagrana (pomegranate)
melarancia (orange)
biancospino (hawthorn)
ficcanaso (busybody)
lavamano (wash-stand)
mezzogiorno (noon)
passatempo (pastime)
ragnatela (cobweb)
madrevite (vine)
guardaportone (doorkeeper)
capoluogo (capital)
capomaestro ("boss")
capofila (pivot-soldier)
capopopolo (demagogue)
caposquadra (commodore)
capogiro (dizziness)
capolavoro (masterpiece)
giravolta (whirl)
mezzaluna (half-moon)
mezzanotte (midnight)
palcoscenico (stage)
acchiappacani (dog-catcher)
cantastorie (story-teller)
guardaboschi (forester)
lustrascarpe (boot-black)
portalettere (letter-carrier)
portamonete (pocketbook)
portasigari (cigar-case)
portalapis (pencil-case)
portabandiera (standard bearer)
guardaroba (wardrobe)
asciugamano (towel)
cassapanca (wooden bench)
arcobaleno (rainbow)
terrapieno (rampart, terrace)
bassorilievo (bas-relief)
granduca (grand-duke)
pianoforte (piano)
spazzacamino (chimney-sweep)
pettorosso (redbreast)
_For English:_
sheepskin
cardboard
shoestring
midnight
midday
noontime
redbreast
appletree
afternoon
moonlight
starlight
doorknob
bedtime
daytime
springtime
flagstaff
rainbow
workman
housekeeper
pastime
chimneysweep
sheepfold
barnyard
sidewalk
snowshoe
shoeblack
firefly
steamboat
milkman
bathroom
streetcar
lifelike
pocketbook
inkwell
tablecloth
courtyard
honeycomb
beehive
flowerpot
buttonhole
hallway
midway
storekeeper
horseman
masterpiece
bookcase
The children read one word at a time and try to reproduce it from
memory, distinguishing through the two alphabets the two words of which
each one is composed:
carta _pecora_
bianco _spino_
piano _forte_
spazza _camino_
lava _mano_
_For English:_
moon _light_
work _man_
In the following chart the words are grouped in families. This chart may
be used by children who are already well advanced in the identification
of the parts of speech. All the words are derived from some other more
simple word which is a root and of which the other words, either by
suffix or prefix, are made up. All these roots are primitive words which
some day the child may look for in a group of derivatives; and when he
finds them he will realize that the primitive word is a noun,
adjective, or a verb, as the case may be, that it is the word which
contains the simplest idea, and so the derivatives may be nouns,
adjectives, verbs or adverbs.
On these charts appear various word-families. The teacher is thus spared
the trouble of looking them up. Furthermore the child will some day be
able to use them by himself. The exercises based on these are still
performed with two different alphabets of different color so that the
child can tell at a glance which is the root word.
WORD-FAMILIES
_terra_ (_earth_): terrazzo, terremoto, terrapieno,
atterrare, terreno, terriccio, terricciola,
territorio, conterraneo, terreo, terroso,
dissotterrare
_ferro_ (_iron_): ferraio, ferriera, ferrata,
ferrigno, ferrugginoso, ferrare, sferrare, inferriata
_soldo_ (_penny_): assoldare, soldato, soldatesca,
soldatescamente
_grande_ (_great_): ingrandire, grandiosità,
grandioso, grandiosamente, grandeggiare
_scrivere_ (_write_): scrittura, scritto, scritturare,
scrittore, inscrizione, trascrivere, sottoscrivere,
riscrivere
_beneficio_ (_benefit_): beneficare, benefattore,
beneficato, beneficenza, beneficamente
_benedizione_ (_benediction_): benedire, benedicente,
benedetto, ribenedire
_felicità_ (_happiness_): felice, felicemente,
felicitare, felicitazione
_fiamma_ (_flame_): fiammante, fiammeggiante,
fiammeggiare, fiammelle, fiammiferi, infiammare
_bagno_ (_bath_): bagnante, bagnino, bagnarola,
bagnatura, bagnare, ribagnare
_freddo_ (_cold_): freddolose, infreddatura,
freddamente, raffreddore, raffreddare, sfreddare
_polvere_ (_dust_): spolverare, impolverare,
polverino, polverizzare, polverone, polveroso,
polveriera, polverizzatore
_pesce_ (_fish_): pescare, pescatore, ripescare,
pescabile, ripescabile
_opera_ (_work_): operaio, operare, operazione,
operoso, operosamente, cooperare, cooperazione,
inoperare
_canto_ (_song_): cantore, cantante, cantare,
cantarellare, cantiochiare ricantare
_gioco_ (_game_): giocare, giocattolo, giocarellare,
giocatore, giocoso, giocosamente
_dolore_ (_pain_): doloroso, dolorosamente, dolente,
addolorare, dolersi, condolersi, condoglianza,
addolorato
_pietra_ (_stone_): pietrificare, pietrificazione,
pietroso, impietrire, pietraio
_sole_ (_sun_): assolato, soleggiante, soleggiare
_festa_ (_festival_): festeggiare, festino,
festeggiatore, festeggiato, festaiolo, festante,
festevole, festevolmente, festosamente
_allegro_ (_happy_): allegria, allegramente,
rallegrare, rallegramento
_seme_ (_seed_): semina, semenze, seminare, semenzaio,
seminatore, riseminare, seminazione, disseminare,
seminatrice
_For English:_
_wood_: wooden, woodworker, woody, woodsman, woodland
_earth_: earthen, earthy, earthly, earthborn,
earthward, earthquake, earthling
_fish_: fishing, fisherman, fishery, fishy,
fishmonger, fishnet
_well_: welcome, wellmeaning, wellknit
_war_: warrior, warlike, warship, warhorse, war-whoop,
warsong, war-cry
_play_: player, playful, playhouse, playmate
_politic_: politics, politician, political, polity,
politically
_hard_: hardly, harden, hardness, hardship, hardy,
hardihood, hardware
_turn_: return, turner, turnstile
_close_: disclose, closet, unclose, closure, foreclose
The child sees that the mother word is always the shortest. The _root_
remains in one color.
III
ARTICLE AND NOUN
[Note:--The English language presents a far simpler
situation than the Italian as regards the agreement of
article and adjectives. Gender itself being, in the
case of English nouns, more a matter of logical theory
than of word-ending, adjectival agreement in the
formal sense in practically unknown to English
grammar. Likewise the formation of the plural is much
simpler in English than in Italian, where the singular
and plural word-endings are closely associated with
gender. It is a question, in fact, whether the whole
subject of the gender of English nouns should not be
taken up somewhat later in connection with the
pronouns, where English shows three singular forms
masculine, feminine, neuter (him, her, it) as against
the Italian two, masculine and feminine (_lo_, _la_,
plural _li_, _le_, etc.). Signora Montessori's
discussion of the situation in Italian still remains
instructive to the teacher of English as an
illustration of method. We retain her text,
accordingly, in its entirety.--TR.]
As we have already said, the words chosen for grammatical study are all
printed on small rectangular pieces of cardboard. The little cards are
held together in packages by an elastic band and are kept in their
respective boxes. The first box which we present has two compartments.
In the holders at the back of each compartment are placed the cards
which show the part of speech to be studied, in this case _article_ and
_noun_. The article cards are placed in the article compartment and the
nouns in the noun compartment. When the children have finished their
exercise they replace the cards--the nouns in the place for the nouns
and the articles in the place for the articles. If the words _article_
and _noun_ are not a sufficient guide for the child, the color at least
will make the task easy. In fact the child will place the black cards
for the noun in the compartment indicated by the black guide-card
(marked _noun_); the tan cards for the article with the tan guide-card
(marked _article_). This exercise recalls the child's experience with
the alphabet boxes, where one copy of each letter is pasted to the
bottom of the box as a guide for the child in replacing the other
letters. The child begins to speak of the _article-section_, the
_noun-section_, and the _article-cards_ and _noun-cards_. In so doing he
begins to _distinguish_ between the parts of speech. The material must
be prepared very accurately and in a definitely determined quantity. For
the first exercise, the children are given boxes with the articles and
nouns shuffled together in their respective compartments. But there must
be just enough articles of each gender to go with the respective nouns.
The child's task is to put the right article in front of the right
noun--a long and patient research, which, however, is singularly
fascinating to him.
We have prepared the following words. We should recall, however, that
the cards are not found in the boxes in this order, but are mixed
together--the articles shuffled in their box-section and the nouns in
theirs.
il fazzoletto (the handkerchief)
il libro (the book)
il vestito (the dress)
il tavolino (the little table)
lo specchio (the mirror)
lo zucchero (the sugar)
lo zio (the uncle)
lo stivale (the boot)
i colori (the colors)
i fiori (the flowers)
i disegni (the drawings)
i compagni (the companions)
gli zoccoli (the wooden shoes)
gli uomini (the men)
gli articoli (the articles)
le sedie (the chairs)
la stoffa (the cloth)
la perla (the pearl)
la piramide (the pyramid)
la finestra (the window)
le scarpe (the shoes)
le addizioni (the sums)
le piante (the plants, the trees)
l'occhio (the eye)
l'amico (the friend)
l'acqua (the water)
l'albero (the tree)
gl'invitati (the guests)
gl'incastri (the insets)
gl'italiani (the Italians)
gl'insetti (the insects)
(We suggest as a corresponding English exercise the introduction of the
_indefinite_ article. This substitution involves four processes against
the eight of the Italian exercise. The use of _an_ before a vowel is
quite analogous to the problem of the Italian _l'_ and _gl'_. However
the theoretical distinction between the definite and indefinite article,
as regards meaning, is reserved by Signora Montessori to a much later
period, though the practical distinction appear in the earliest _Lessons
and Commands_.--Tr.)
the handkerchief
the book
the dress
the table
the mirror
the sugar
the colors
the flowers
the drawings
the children
the shoes
the men
a man
a pearl
a prism
a card
a window
a chair
a tree
an orange
an apple
an uncle
an eye
an insect
an American
an aunt
[Illustration: One of the first steps in grammar. The children are
deeply interested in placing the correct articles and nouns together.
(_A Montessori School in Italy._)]
The child tries to combine article and noun and puts them side by side
on his little table. In this exercise he is guided by sound just as
he was in building words with the movable alphabet. There the child's
first step was to find relationships between real objects and the
linguistic sounds corresponding to them. Now he sees suddenly revealed
to him hitherto unsuspected relationships between these sounds, these
words. To have an empirical way of demonstrating and testing these
relationships, to practise very thoroughly on two kinds of words,
suddenly brought forth into systematic distinctness from the chaos of
words in his mind, offers the child not only a necessary exercise but
the sensation of relief which comes from satisfying an inner spiritual
need. With the most intense attention he persists to the very end of the
exercise and takes great pride in his success. The teacher as she passes
may glance about to see if all the cards are properly placed, but the
child, doubtless, will call her to admire or verify the work that he has
done, before he begins to gather together, first, all the articles,
then, all the nouns, to return them to their boxes.
[Illustration: Grammar Boxes. The one on the left is for articles and
nouns only; the one on the right, for articles, nouns, and adjectives.]
This is the first step; but he proceeds with increasing enthusiasm to
set the words in his mind "in order," thereby enriching his vocabulary
by placing new acquisitions in an already determined place. Thus he
continues to construct, with respect to exterior objects, an inner
spiritual system, which had already been begun by his sensory exercises.
SINGULAR AND PLURAL
The exercises on the number and gender of nouns are done without the
help of the boxes. The child already knows that those words are articles
and nouns, so we give him now small groups of forty cards (nouns and
articles) held together by an elastic band. In each one, the group
(tied separately) of the ten singular nouns serves as the guide for the
exercise. These nouns are arranged in a column on the table, one beneath
the other, and the other cards, which are shuffled, must be placed
around this first group in the right order. There are two more cards of
different colors on which the words _singular_ and _plural_ respectively
are written; and these are placed at the top of the respective columns.
We have prepared four series of ten nouns in alphabetical order. In this
way four children may do the exercise at the same time and by exchanging
material they come in contact with a very considerable number of words.
This is the way the cards should finally be arranged in the four
different exercises:
_Singolare_ _Plurale_ _Singular_ _Plural_
il bambino i bambini the child the children, etc.
il berretto i berretti the cap
la bocca le bocche the mouth
il calamaio i calamai the inkstand
la calza le calze the stocking
la casa le case the house
il cappello i cappelli the hat
_Singolare_ _Plurale_ _Singular_ _Plural_
la maestra le maestre the teacher the teachers, etc.
la mano le mani the hand
la matita le matite the pencil
il naso i nasi the nose
il nastro i nastri the ribbon
l'occhio gli occhi the eye
l'orologio gli orologi the clock (watch)
il panchetto i panchetti the bench
_Singolare_ _Plurale_ _Singular_ _Plural_
il dente i denti the tooth the teeth, etc.
l'elastico gli elastici the elastic
il fagiolo i fagioli the bean
la fava le fave the bean
la gamba le gambe the leg
il gesso i gessi the plaster
la giacca le giacche the coat
il grembiale i grembiali the apron
_Singolare_ _Plurale_ _Singular_ _Plural_
il piede i piedi the foot the feet, etc.
il quaderno i quaderni the copy book
la rapa i rape the turnip
la scarpa le scarpe the shoe
la tasca le tasche the pocket
il tavolino i tavolini the table
la testa le teste the head
l'unghia le unghie the nail (finger)
Like material has been prepared for the masculine and feminine forms:
The masculine group is kept by itself, while the feminines are shuffled.
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
il conte la contessa the count the countess, etc.
l'amico l'amica the friend
l'asino l'asina the donkey
il babbo la mamma the father
il benefattore la benefattrice the benefactor
il bottegaio la bottegaia the shop-keeper
il cugino la cugina the cousin
il cuoco la cuoca the cook
il cacciatore la cacciatrice the hunter
il cavallo la cavalla the horse
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
il duca la duchessa the duke the duchess, etc.
il canarino la canarina the canary
il dottore la dottoressa the doctor
il dattilografo la dattilografa the stenographer
l'elefante l'elefantessa the elephant
il figlio la figlia the son
il fratello la sorella the brother
il gallo la gallina the cock
il gatto la gatta the cat
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
il leone la leonessa the lion the lioness, etc.
l'ispettore l'ispettrice the inspector
il lupo la lupa the wolf
il lettore la lettrice the reader
il maestro la maestra the schoolmaster
il marchese la marchesa the marquis
il mulo la mula the mule
il nonno la nonna the grandfather
il nemico la nemica the enemy
l'oste l'ostessa the host the hostess, etc.
l'orologiaio l'orologiaia the watch-maker
il poeta la poetessa the poet
il pellicciaio la pellicciaia the furrier
il padre la madre the father
il re la regina the king
il ranocchio la ranocchia the frog
lo sposo la sposa the husband
il servo la serva the man-servant
il somaro la somara the ass
Finally there are three series of nouns in four forms: Singular and
Plural, Masculine and Feminine. Each group has eighty cards counting
both nouns and articles, and the ten singular masculines in the guiding
group are kept together, apart from the others. The title cards (twelve
in number) are _singular_ and _plural_ and for each of them is a card
marked _masculine_ and a card marked _feminine_. The following is the
order of the material when properly arranged by the child:
SINGOLARE SINGULAR
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
l'amico l'amica the friend the friend, etc.
il bambino la bambina the child
il burattinaio la burattinaia the puppet-player
il contadino la contadina the peasant
il cavallo la cavalla the horse
il compagno la compagna the companion
il disegnatore la disegnatrice the designer
il dattilografo la dattilografa the stenographer
l'ebreo l'ebrea the Jew
il fanciullo la fanciulla the boy
PLURALE PLURAL
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
gli amici le amiche the friends the friends, etc.
i bambini le bambine the children
i burattinai le burattinaie the puppet-players
i contadini le contadine the peasants
i cavalli le cavalle the horses
i compagni le compagne the companions
PLURALE PLURAL
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
i disegnatori le disegnatrici the designers
i dattilografi le dattilografe the stenographers
gli ebrei l'ebree the Jews
i fanciulli le fanciulle the boys
SINGOLARE SINGULAR
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
il gatto la gatta the cat the cat, etc.
il giardiniere la giardiniera the gardener
il giovinetto la giovinetta the youth
l'infermiere l'infermiera the nurse
l'italiano l'italiana the Italian
il lavoratore la lavoratrice the worker
il medico la medichessa the physician
il materassaio la materassaia the mattress-maker
l'operaio l'operaia the workman
il pittore la pittrice the painter
PLURALE PLURAL
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
i gatti le gatte the cats the cats, etc.
i giardinieri le giardiniere the gardeners
i giovinetti le giovinette the youths
gl'infermieri le infermiere the nurses
gl'italiani le italiane the Italians
i lavoratori le lavoratrici the workers
i medici le medichesse the physicians
i materassai le materassaie the mattress-makers
gli operai le operaie the workmen
i pittori le pittrici the painters
SINGOLARE SINGULAR
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
il ragazzo la ragazza the boy the girl, etc.
il romano la romana the Roman
lo scolare la scolara the scholar
il sarto la sarta the tailor
il santo la santa the saint
il tagliatore la tagliatrice the cutter
l'uomo la donna the man
il vecchio la vecchia the old man
il visitatore la visitatrice the visitor
lo zio la zia the uncle
PLURALE PLURAL
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
i ragazzi le ragazze the boys the girls, etc.
i romani le romane the Romans
gli scolari le scolare the scholars
i sarti le sarte the tailors
i santi le sante the saints
i tagliatori le tagliatrici the cutters
gli uomini le donne the men
i vecchi le vecchie the old men
i visitatori le visitatrici the visitors
gli zii le zie the uncles
Occasionally class exercises are used in our schools for the four forms
of the Italian noun, masculine and feminine, singular and plural. They
take the form almost of a game, which the children find amusing. A child
for instance distributes around the class all the plural nouns. Then he
reads aloud a noun in the singular. The child who holds the
corresponding plural answers immediately. The same thing is next done
for masculine and feminine, and, finally, for all four forms at once.
When these exercises have become familiar to the child, others somewhat
more difficult may be presented. These new ones comprise: nouns which
change form completely as they change gender and of which, so far, only
the most familiar examples (_babbo_, "father," _mamma_, "mother," etc.)
have been given (Series A); nouns in which the form is the same in the
singular of both genders (Series B); those in which both genders have a
common form in the singular and a common form in the plural (Series C);
nouns which have only one form for both singular and plural (Series D);
nouns where the same form appears in both genders but with a different
meaning (Series E); finally, nouns which change gender as they pass from
the singular to the plural (Series F).
SERIES A
SINGOLARE SINGULAR
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
il babbo la mamma the father the mother
il becco la capra the he-goat the she-goat
il frate la suora the friar the nun
il fratello la sorella the brother the sister
il genero la nuora the son-in-law the daughter-in-law
il montone la pecora the ram the ewe
il maschio la femmina the male the female
il marito la moglie the husband the wife
il padre la madre the father the mother
il padrino la madrina the godfather the godmother
il porco la scrofa the hog the sow
il toro la vacca the bull the cow
l'uomo la donna the man the woman
il re la regina the king the queen
PLURALE PLURAL
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
i babbi le mamme the fathers the mothers, etc.
i becchi le capre the he-goats
i frati le suore the friars
i fratelli le sorelle the brothers
i generi le nuore the sons-in-law
i montoni le pecore the rams
i maschi le femmine the males
i mariti le mogli the husbands
i padri le madri the fathers
i padrini le madrine the godfathers
i porci le scrofe the hogs
i tori le vacche the bulls
gli uomini le donne the men
i re le regine the kings
SERIES B
SINGOLARE SINGULAR
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
l'artista l'artista the artist the artist, etc.
il collega la collega the colleague
il dentista la dentista the dentist
il pianista la pianista the pianist
il telefonista la telefonista the telephone operator
il telegrafista la telegrafista the telegraph operator
il violinista la violinista the violinist
gli artisti le artiste the artists the artists, etc.
i colleghi le colleghe the colleagues
i dentisti le dentiste the dentists
i pianisti le pianiste the pianists
i telefonisti le telefoniste the telephone operators
i telegrafisti le telegrafiste the telegraph operators
i violinisti le violiniste the violinists
SERIES C
SINGOLARE SINGULAR
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
il consorte la consorte the husband the wife, etc.
il custode la custode the keeper
il cantante la cantante the singer
l'erede l'erede the heir
il giovane la giovane the youth
l'inglese l'inglese the Englishman
il nipote la nipote the nephew
(grandson)
PLURALE PLURAL
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
i consorti le consorti the husbands the wives, etc.
i custodi le custodi the guards
i cantanti le cantanti the singers
gli eredi l'eredi the heirs
i giovani le giovani the youths
gl'inglesi le inglesi the Englishmen
i nipoti le nipoti the nephews
(grandsons)
SERIES D
_Singolare_ _Plurale_ _Singular_ _Plural_
il bazar i bazar the bazaar the bazaars, etc.
il caffè i caffè the coffee
il gas i gas the gas
la gru le gru the crane
il lapis i lapis the pencil
la libertà le libertà the liberty
l'omnibus gli omnibus the omnibus
la virtù le virtù the virtue
SERIES E
SINGOLARE SINGULAR
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculinr_ _Feminine_
il melo la mela the apple tree the apple
il pesco la pesca the peach tree the peach
l'ulivo l'uliva the olive tree the olive
il pugno la pugna the blow (punch) the battle
il manico la manica the handle the sleeve
il suolo la suola the floor the sole
PLURALE PLURAL
_Maschile_ _Femminile_ _Masculine_ _Feminine_
i meli le mele the apple tree the apples
i peschi le pesche the peach tree the peaches
gli ulivi le ulive the olive trees the olives
i pugni le pugne the blows (punches) the battles
i manichi le maniche the handles the sleeves
i suoli le suole the floors the soles
SERIES F
_Singolare_ _Plurale_ _Singular_ _Plural_
il centinalo le centinala the hundred the hundreds, etc.
il dito le dita the finger
la eco gli echi the echo
il paio le paia the pair
il riso le risa the smile (laugh)
l'uovo le uova the egg
THE SINGULAR AND PLURAL IN ENGLISH
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE:--While the formation of the English plural does not
present the complications of gender that appear in Italian, the phonetic
adaptations required by the plural ending -s along with certain
orthographical caprices and historical survivals of the language, result
in a situation somewhat more complex than treated by Signora Montessori.
In fact, her analysis of the Italian plural requires eight word-lists,
while English requires at least fourteen, not including the question of
foreign nouns. The special stress on the article is hardly necessary in
English. An analogous treatment for English would be somewhat as
follows:
SERIES I
(Simple plurals in _-s_)
_Singular_ _Plural_
book books
bed beds
desk desks
street streets
tree trees
card cards
prism prisms
lamp lamps
cow cows
cat cats
train trains
ticket tickets
car cars
floor floors
chairs chairs
pin pins
shoe shoes
wagon wagons
bean beans
counter counters
SERIES II
(Plurals in _-es_, including _-s_ pronounced like _-es_)
LIST A
_Singular_ _Plural_
house houses
horse horses
prize prizes
judge judges
cage cages
case cases
sausage sausages
wedge wedges
edge edges
ledge ledges
LIST B
_Singular_ _Plural_
bush bushes
church churches
box boxes
fox foxes
glass glasses
watch watches
topaz topazes
class classes
wretch wretches
SERIES III
(Plurals of Nouns in _-o_)
LIST A
_Singular_ _Plural_
potato potatoes
negro negroes
volcano volcanoes
tomato tomatoes
SERIES III
(Plurals of Nouns in _-o_)
LIST A
hero heroes
mosquito mosquitoes
motto mottoes
domino dominoes
LIST B
_Singular_ _Plural_
piano pianos
soprano sopranos
zero zeros
banjo banjos
halo halos
dynamo dynamos
canto cantos
solo solos
memento mementos
chromo chromos
SERIES IV
(Nouns in _-f_ or _-fe_)
LIST A
_Singular_ _Plural_
calf calves
elf elves
half halves
loaf loaves
wolf wolves
shelf shelves
thief thieves
leaf loaves
self selves
LIST B
_Singular_ _Plural_
knife knives
wife wives
life lives
LIST C
_Singular_ _Plural_
staff staffs
wharf wharfs
puff puffs
cliff cliffs
scarf scarfs
chief chiefs
fife fifes
SERIES V
(Nouns in _-y_)
LIST A
_Singular_ _Plural_
body bodies
sky skies
gipsy gipsies
berry berries
penny pennies
soliloquy soliloquies
sty sties
Mary Maries
ferry ferries
country countries
LIST B
_Singular_ _Plural_
boy boys
valley valleys
day days
derby derbys
SERIES VI
(Plurals in _-en_)
_Singular_ _Plural_
child children
ox oxen
brother brethren (brothers)
SERIES VII
(Plurals with internal change (umlaut))
_Singular_ _Plural_
foot feet
tooth teeth
goose geese
louse lice
mouse mice
man men
woman women
SERIES VIII
(Singular and Plural identical)
_Singular_ _Plural_
sheep sheep
fish fish
deer deer
swine swine
SERIES IX
(Compound words)
LIST A
_Singular_ _Plural_
black-bird black-birds
steamboat steamboats
redcoat redcoats
redbreast redbreasts
forget-me-not forget-me-nots
spoonful spoonfuls
mouthful mouthfuls
LIST B
_Singular_ _Plural_
brother-in-law brothers-in-law
mother-in-law mothers-in-law
court-martial courts-martial
attorney-general attorneys-generals
general-in-chief generals-in-chief
Knight-Templar Knights-Templar
All these groups of words in their order are reproduced in special
booklets which the children may take home and read. In actual practise
such books have proved both convenient and necessary. The children
generally spend much time on them and delight in reading the words over
and over in the order in which they themselves have discovered them in
the card exercise. This recalls and fixes their own ideas, inducing a
sort of inner maturation which is often followed by the spontaneous
discovery of grammatical laws on the relations of nouns, or by a lively
interest which throws the children into exclamations or laughter as they
observe what great differences of meaning are sometimes caused by a very
slight change in the word. At the same time these simple exercises, so
fruitful in results, may be used for work at home and well meet the
demands for something to do with which children are continually
assailing their parents. For homework we have prepared alphabets where
the letters are printed in type-writing order. With them the child can
compose words, or later, sentences, at the same time becoming familiar
with the alphabet arrangement of standard typewriters.
IV
LESSONS--COMMANDS
The first lessons in grammar which I gave to children go back fully
sixteen years. I first attempted the education of defectives in the
"Scuola Magistrale Ortofrenica" in Rome in the year 1899 following a
course of lectures I had given to teachers in the normal school of our
capital. In this experiment I went far enough with primary work to
prepare some of the defective children for successful examinations in
the public schools. A very brief and incomplete summary of my
pedagogical studies delivered in the teacher's courses is given in the
appendix to this volume.
The teaching of grammar was not at that time so complete as it has since
been made in my work with normal children; even so it was a marked
success. Grammar was actually _lived_ by the children, who became deeply
interested in it. Even those wretched children who came, like rubbish
thrown out of the public schools, directly off the street or from the
insane asylums, passed delightful half hours of joyous laughter over
their exercises in grammar. Here are some excerpts from the old pamphlet
of 1900 giving an idea of the didactic material which was then used and
some notion of a lesson on nouns. "As each word is read or written for
every object-lesson, for every action, printed cards are being assembled
which will later be used to make clauses and sentences with words that
may be moved about just as the individual letters were moved about in
making the words themselves. The simple clauses or sentences should
refer to actions performed by the children. The first step should be to
bring two or more words together: e.g., _red-wool_, _sweet-candy_,
_four-footed dog_, etc. Then we may go on to the sentence itself: _The
wool is red_; _the soup is hot_; _the dog has four feet_; _Mary eats the
candy_, etc. The children first compose the sentences with their cards;
then they copy them in their writing books. To facilitate the choice of
the cards, they may be arranged in special boxes: for instance, one box
may be labeled _noun_; or the boxes may be distinguished thus: _food_,
_clothing_, _animals_, _people_, etc. There should be a box for
_adjectives_ with compartments for colors, shapes, qualities, etc. There
should be another for _particles_, with compartments for articles,
conjunctions, prepositions, etc. A box should be reserved for _actions_,
with the label _verbs_ above it, containing compartments for the
infinitive, present, past and future. The children gradually learn by
practise to take their cards from the boxes and put them back in their
proper places. They soon learn to know their "word boxes" and they
readily find the cards they want among the _colors_, _shapes_,
_qualities_, etc., or among _animals_, _foods_, etc. Ultimately the
teacher will find occasion to explain the meaning of the big words
written at the top of the drawers, _noun_, _adjective_, _verb_, etc.,
and this will be the first step into the subject of _grammar_.
NOUNS
We may call persons and objects by their _name_, their _noun_. People
answer if we call them, so do animals. Inanimate objects, however,
never answer, because they cannot; but if they could they would. For
example, if I say _Mary_, Mary answers; if I say _peas_, the peas do not
answer, because they cannot. You children _do_ understand when I call an
object and you _bring_ it to me. I say, for example, _book_, _beans_,
_peas_. If I don't tell you the name of the object, you don't understand
what I am talking about; because every object has a different name. This
_name_ is the word that stands for the object. This name is a _noun_.
Whenever I mention a noun to you, you understand immediately the object
which the noun represents: tree, chair, pen, book, lamb, etc. If I do
not give this noun, you don't know what I am talking about; for, if I
say simply _bring me ... at once, I want it_, you do not know what I
want, unless I tell you the name of the object. Unless I give you the
_noun_, you do not understand. Thus every object is represented by a
word which is its _name_; and this name is a _noun_. To understand
whether a word is a noun or not, you simply ask: _Is it a thing? Would
it answer if I spoke to it?_ or _Could I carry it to the teacher?_ For
instance, _bread_: yes, bread is an object; _table_: yes, it is an
object; _conductor_: yes, the conductor would answer, if I were to speak
to him.
Let us look through our cards now. I take several cards from different
boxes and shuffle them. Here is the word _sweet_. Bring me _sweet_! Is
there anything to answer when I call _sweet_? But you are bringing me a
piece of candy! I didn't say _candy_: I said _sweet_. And now you have
given me _sugar_! I said _sweet_! _Sweet_, you see, is not an object You
cannot guess what I have in mind when I say _sweet_. If I say _candy_,
_sugar_, then you understand what I want, what object I am thinking
about, because the words _candy_, _sugar_, stand for objects. Those
words are _nouns_."[2]
This summary, however, fails to give a real idea of the success of these
lessons. When I said with a tone of decision, as if I could not think of
the necessary word, "Bring me--bring me--bring me--," the children would
gather round me, looking fixedly at my lips, like so many little dogs,
waiting for me to throw something for them to fetch. They were in fact
ready to run and get what I wanted. But the word refused to come. "Bring
me--, bring me--." Finally in great impatience I cried, "But bring it to
me quick--I want it." Then their faces lit up and they would laughingly
cry, "But bring you what? What is it you want? What shall we bring you?"
This was the real lesson on the noun, and when, after great difficulty,
the word "_sweet_" came out, the children would run and bring me every
possible object that was sweet. I would refuse each one in turn. "No, I
didn't ask for candy! No, I didn't ask for sugar!" The children would
look at the object they had in their hands, half laughing, half puzzled
and beginning to realize that _sweet_ was not a _name_, that it was not
a _noun_. These first lessons, which seemed something like commands that
needed the help of the children to express themselves, brought the
children to understand some part of speech, while evoking, at the same
time, vivid and interesting scenes. They furnished the original impulse
to the development we have reached to-day in our lessons on grammar. For
such lessons we have adopted the term "commands." But with normal
children these "commands" were gradually multiplied and evolved. They
are no longer entrusted to the teacher's ingenuity; nor are they
dependent solely upon her dramatic sense--something essential if she is
to stimulate the weak nervous reactions of little defectives and so gain
and hold their attention. The "commands" to-day are written and may be
read. They are combined with the card-exercises where the cards are read
in silence and interpreted through actions--a method which grew
spontaneously and with such great success from the work in the
"Children's House." That is why, to-day, we speak in the elementary
courses of "reading commands" or even of "writing commands."
The study of grammar has finally been arranged in a methodical series of
exercises and the material has been prepared after careful and rigid
experiment. Those who read this method will get a clear idea of the
teacher's task. She has a material ready for use. She need not bother to
compose a single sentence nor to consult a single program. The objects
at her disposal contain all that is necessary. She need know simply what
they are and how they are to be used. The lessons which she must give
are so simple, and require so few words, that they become lessons rather
of gesture and action than of words. It must be borne in mind, further,
that the work is not as uninteresting as would appear from this arid
summary. The actual school is a real intellectual laboratory, where the
children work all the time and by themselves. After the material has
been presented to them, they _recognize_ it and like to hunt for it.
They know how to find for themselves the precious objects which they
want to use. They often exchange materials and even lessons with other
children. The few lessons the teacher gives connect, as it were, a
system of live wires, which set in motion activities quite
disproportionate to the energy expended in the simple act she performs.
She pushes, so to speak, a button and here a bell rings, there a light
goes on, there a machine begins to buzz. Very often the teacher sees a
whole week go by without any need of intervention on her part.
And yet what delicacy and tact are necessary properly to "offer" this
material, to give in an interesting way a lesson calculated to exert a
direct action upon the child's spiritual activity! How skilful we must
be to leave all the child's spontaneous impulses free to develop
themselves, to keep careful watch over so many different individual
impulses! This we must do if we are to "keep the lamp burning"! When,
for example, on passing a table where the child has analyzed a sentence
with the colored cards, the teacher shifts about, as if in play, one of
the little slips, not only must she be possessed of the psychological
insight necessary for intervening in this child's work at the proper
time, but she must also have in mind the grammatical rule of which she
wishes to give the child his first intuition. It follows that every
single act of the teacher, however insignificant apparently, is, like
the acts of the priest in the service, of the greatest importance, and
should come from a consciousness thoroughly awake, and full of
potentiality. Instead of giving out what she has in herself, the teacher
must bring out the full possibilities of the children.
The teacher's extrinsic preparation is a matter of thorough acquaintance
with the material. It should be so much a part of her that she knows at
once what is needed for each individual case as soon as it arises.
Actual practise soon develops this skill.
The exercises are performed with these little packages of specially
prepared cards. The most important problem (for Italian grammar) is in
the _agreements_; the agreement of article and noun, as we have already
shown, the agreement of noun and adjective, and later on of pronoun and
verb, and pronoun and noun. There are two kinds of exercises, which we
have termed respectively "analyses" and "commands."
The _commands_ involve both work done by the teacher and exercises
performed by the children. The purpose here is to clarify the meanings
of words and often to suggest a _practical_ interpretation of them. This
_explanation_ is followed by an exercise of the children themselves, who
in turn practically interpret the meaning of one or more sentences
written on a card which they read just as they did in the first
exercises of reading in the "Children's House." On this card are the
words which the teacher has just explained. In our experiments we gave
these lessons immediately after "silence" just as we did for reading in
the "Children's House." All the children, however, do not necessarily
take part in these executions--oftenest it is only a group of children,
sometimes one child alone, again, at other times, almost all of them. If
possible the commands are given in another room, while the other
children continue their work in the large hall. If this is not possible
it takes place in the same room. These commands might be called "an
introduction to dramatic art," for right there little dramatic scenes
full of vivacity and interest are "acted out." The children are
singularly delighted in working for the one exact "interpretation" which
a given word requires.
The _analyses_, on the other hand, are of quite different character.
"Analysis" is done at the table. It is work which requires quiet and
concentration. While the command gives the _intuition_, the analysis
provides for the _maturation_ of the idea. The grammar boxes are used
in these exercises. In a larger compartment which each box contains,
are placed several slips bearing a printed sentence; for example, _Throw
down your handkerchief_. The child draws a slip and places it to one
side on the table. Then he takes from the different boxes the colored
slips corresponding to the different words in the sentence and places
them side by side one after the other. In this way he composes the
entire sentence: _Throw down your handkerchief_. The child is actually
doing here a very simple thing: he is merely translating into colored
cards the sentence which is printed on his slip. He composes this
sentence in the same way in which he has already composed words with the
moveable alphabet. But here the exercise is even more simple because the
child need not remember the sentence, for it is there right before his
eyes. His attention must be concentrated on other facts, so that all
intellectual effort in the composition of the sentence itself is
eliminated. The child has to note the colors and the position of the
cards in the different boxes, since he must take the cards now from the
noun box, now from the adverb box, now from that of the preposition,
etc.; and the colors together with the position (each section has a
title, as we have already seen) strengthen his consciousness of a
_classification_ of words according to _grammar_.
But what really makes this exercise in analysis so interesting is the
teacher's repeated permutation of the different cards. As she goes by a
table she changes, as though in fun, the position of a card, and in this
way provokes the intuition of grammatical rules and definitions. Indeed,
when she takes out the card, which refers to some new part of the
exercise, the remaining sentence with its changed meaning emphasizes the
function of the part of speech which has been moved. The effect shows a
distant analogy to the light that pathology and vivisection throw on
physiology. An organ which fails in its function illustrates exactly
that function, for never does one realize the precise use of an organ
more clearly than when it has lost its power of functioning. Furthermore
the removal of the words demonstrates that the meaning of the sentence
is not given by the word alone but by the _order_ of the word in the
sentence, and this makes a great impression on the child. He sees the
same cards first in a chaotic mass and then in an orderly arrangement.
What was first a collection of meaningless words has suddenly become the
expression of a _thought_.
From now on the child begins to experience a keen interest in the
_order_ of words. The meaning, the only thing the child is after, is no
longer hidden in confusion. He begins to enjoy subtle permutations,
changes which, without destroying the expression of a thought, obscure
its clarity, complicate it, or make it "sound wrong." It is here that
the teacher must have at her fingertips the rules governing the position
of the various parts of speech. This will give her the necessary
"lightness of touch," perhaps even the opportunity of making some
brilliant little explanation, some casual observation, which may
suddenly develop in the child a profound "grammatical insight." When the
child has understood this he will become a deep "strategist" in
mobilizing, disposing and moving about these cards which express
_thought_; and if he really succeeds in mastering this secret, he will
not be easily satiated with so fascinating an exercise. No one but a
child would ever have the patience to study grammar so profoundly and at
such length. This subtle work is, after all, not so easy for the
teacher. That is why the material must be such as to suggest each step
in detail. The teacher should be relieved as much as possible of the
labor of preparation and research: for her delicate work of
_intervention_ is a task hard enough in itself. In preparing this
material we have worked for her: we have acted as the workmen who
produce the various objects necessary to life; she has but to "live" and
"make live." This will show still more clearly how far from truth is the
modern conception of pedagogy which attempts to realize its desire for
freedom in the school by saying to the teacher, "Try to respond to the
needs of the pupils without being conscious of your authority over
them." When we ask a teacher to respond to the needs of the inner life
of man, we are asking a great deal of her. She will never be able to
accomplish it, unless we have first done something for her by giving her
all that is necessary to that end. Here is our material:--
COMMANDS ON NOUNS
"CALLING"
Call loudly:
Mary! Lucy! Ethel!
Later call again:
Blonde! Beautiful! Good!
Call:
Peter! bring a chair.
George! bring a cube.
Louis! get a frame.
Charles! Charles! quick! bring me the ... bring it to me,
quick, quick.
Call slowly this way:
Come! Come! give me a kiss--please, come!
Then say:
Mary! come! give me a kiss!
These commands lend themselves to a little dramatic scene. It is really
a sort of play, which the children recite.
The tendency to recitation and to imitation is very strong and often
well developed at the age of five years. Little children experience a
singular fascination in pronouncing the words with sentiment and in
accompanying them with gestures. One can hardly imagine the simplicity
of the little dramatic acts which interest the five year old child.
Nothing but actual experiment could possibly have revealed it to us. One
day, in fact, our little children were invited to be present at a
dramatic entertainment given by the older children of the Public
Schools. They followed it with really surprising interest. However, they
remembered only three words of the play they had heard; but with these
three words they made up a little dramatic action of their own, which
they repeated over and over again the following day.
The commands of these "call" cards are, accordingly, real plays for our
little ones. The child calls, pronouncing the name with a sort of
sustained drawl; the child who is called comes forward; then the same
thing is done with the other names, and each child obeys as he is
called. Then the incomplete calls begin: _blonde!_ _blonde!_
_beautiful!_ And no one moves! This makes a great impression on the
children. Imperative commands, like requests, lend themselves to active
dramatic action. Peter has been called and has brought his chair; George
has brought the cube; Louis has taken out a frame; but Charles sits
there intent, expectant, while the child calls out,--_But bring it to
me, bring it to me quickly!_ And how expressive we found the vain
request,--_Come, come! please give me a kiss,--come, come!_ At last the
cry,--_Mary! come!_ brings the resulting action and Mary runs to give
the kiss which has been so long invoked!
These little "plays" require a real study of the parts, and the children
rehearse their different rôles over and over again.
FOOTNOTE:
[2] See pp. 446-448.
V
ADJECTIVES
ANALYSES
MATERIAL: _Grammar box._
_Various objects already familiar to the children._
_New objects._
The material for word analysis consists of small cards for articles
(tan), nouns (black) and adjectives (brown). There is one box with three
compartments, each section marked with a card bearing the respective
title: _article_, _noun_, _adjective_. At the front of the box is a
space for other cards containing printed sentences to be analyzed.
DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES
The child is to read the sentences, find the objects described in them,
and finally build the sentences with his cards as follows: suppose the
card reads:
il colore verde the green color
il colore turchino the blue color
il colore rosso the red color
The child finds the three colored tablets used in the familiar exercise
of the "Children's House" for the education of the sense of color. He
places these tablets on his table. Then he builds the phrases out of his
word cards:
+----+ +--------+ +-------+ +-----+ +-------+ +-------+
| il | | colore | | verde | | the | | green | | color |
+----+ +--------+ +-------+ +-----+ +-------+ +-------+
Beside the completed expression he places the green color-tablet.
Passing to the next phrase, he does not disturb the words _the_ and
_color_. He removes only the word _green_ and substitutes for it the
adjective _blue_, at the same time removing the green tablet and
substituting for it the blue. Similarly, for the third phrase, he
changes the adjective, putting the red tablet at the end. Thus the
_three different objects_ were distinguished _only_ by the adjective:
{ verde { green}
_il colore_ { turchino _the_ { blue } _color_
{ rosso { red }
All the phrases and sentences refer to objects used in the previous
educational material. Occasionally the teacher will have to prepare
something herself (e.g., hot, cold, warm, or iced water; clear water;
colored water). For this exercise on _water_, the box contains six slips
with the six printed phrases. In the box-sections, the child finds the
corresponding word-cards which are exactly in the number needed for the
exercise (not corresponding, that is, to the number of words in the
phrases, since the articles and nouns are not repeated). There are five
groups of such exercises, dealing with various kinds of sensation.
A. SENSO CROMATICO SENSE OF COLOR
il colore rosa the pink color
il colore rosa scuro the dark pink color
il colore rosa chiaro the light pink color
il prisma azzurro the blue prism
il prisma marrone the brown prism
il colore verde the green color
il colore turchino the blue color
il colore rosso the red color
i lapis neri the black pencils
i lapis colorati the colored pencils
l'acqua colorata the colored water
l'acqua incolora the clear water
il colore giallo the yellow color
il colore arancione the orange color
B. SENSO VISIVO: DIMENSIONI SENSE OF SIGHT: SIZE
l'asta lunga the long staff
l'asta corta the short staff
il cubo grande the large cube
il cubo piccolo the small cube
il cilindro alto the tall cylinder
il cilindro basso the short cylinder
il prisma marrone grosso the thick brown prism
il prisma marrone fino the thin brown prism
il rettangolo largo the broad rectangle
il rettangolo stretto the narrow rectangle
l'incastro solido the solid inset
l'incastro piano the plane inset
C. SENSO VISIVO: FORMA SENSE OF SIGHT: SHAPE
il triangolo equilatero the equilateral triangle
il triangolo isocele the isoceles triangle
il triangolo scaleno the scalene triangle
il triangolo acutangolo the acute-angled triangle
il triangolo ottusangolo the obtuse-angled triangle
il triangolo rettangolo the right-angled triangle
l'incastro circolare the circular inset
l'incastro quadrato the square inset
l'incastro rettangolare the rectangular inset
la piramide quadrangolare the quadrangular pyramid
la piramide triangolare the triangular pyramid
il prisma azzurro rettangolare the blue rectangular prism
il prisma azzurro quadrangolare the blue quadrangular prism
la scatola cilindrica the cylindrical box
la scatola prismatica the prismatic box
D. SENSO TATTILE: MUSCOLARE SENSE OF TOUCH: MUSCULAR SENSE
la superfice piana the flat surface
la superfice curva the curved surface
la stoffa ruvida the rough cloth
la stoffa liscia the smooth cloth
l'acqua calda the hot water
l'acqua fredda the cold water
l'acqua tiepida the warm water
l'acqua fredda the cold water
l'acqua ghiacciata the iced water
la tavoletta pesante the heavy black-board
la tavoletta leggera the light black-board
la stoffa morbida the soft cloth
la stoffa dura the hard cloth
E. SENSO UDITIVO; SENSES OF HEARING;
OLFATTIVO; GUSTATIVO SMELL; TASTE
il rumore forte the loud noise
il rumore leggero the faint noise
il suono acuto the sharp sound
il suono basso the deep sound
l'acqua odorosa the fragrant water
l'acqua inodora the odorless water
l'odore buono the good smell
l'odore cattivo the bad smell
il sapore amaro the bitter taste
il sapore dolce the sweet taste
il sapore acido the sour taste
il sapore salso the salty taste
The teacher who is observing notices whether the child has taken the
right objects; if so, she proceeds to the permutations.
PERMUTATIONS
At this point, the teacher should recall (in dealing with Italian) the
grammatical rules for the position of adjectives, some of which (the
fundamental ones) will certainly be very useful to her in executing
these first permutations:--
I. In general, the adjective follows the noun. If placed before the
noun, it is less conspicuous; if placed after, it assumes more
importance and has a different force.
II. When the adjective is used to signify the exclusive superlative of a
quality, it is not only placed after the noun, but is preceded by the
article. (_Umberto il buono_, "Humbert the Good.")
Example:--The child has composed the following phrase with his cards:
_il triangolo rettangolo_ "the right-angled triangle." The teacher can
interchange the words thus: _il rettangolo triangolo_, "the triangle
right-angled." Similarly also, for other phrases:--
il prisma rettangolare azzurro the rectangular blue prism
il rettangolare azzurro prisma the prism, rectangular, blue
i lapis neri the black pencils
i neri lapis the pencils black
il colore rosso the red color
il rosso colore the color red
Both the meaning and the child's habits show him the normal position of
the adjective. In some phrases, such as,
il rumore leggero the faint sound
il sapore dolce the sweet taste
the placing of the adjective before the noun renders the meaning vague,
figurative, emotional, or generic, whereas it would be clearly
descriptive and precise were the adjective in its normal position:
il dolce sapore the taste sweet
il leggero rumore the noise faint
(In English the normal position of the adjective is before the noun. The
permutation develops a strong rhetorical flavor, of which the child will
become conscious later in his studies on poetic inversions.--Tr.)
After the teacher has made these changes, if they have interested the
child, she may say for example: "The adjective comes after its noun"
(for Italian); "The adjective comes before its noun" (for English). In
this way she will have given a lesson in _theoretical_ grammar.
INFLECTION OF ADJECTIVES
(Exclusively for the Italian language)
Another exercise to be done at the table deals with the formation of the
singular and plural of adjectives in the two genders. This exercise
brings the child in contact with a great many adjectives of quality. Two
series, one of twenty masculine, the other of twenty feminine adjectives
(in the two numbers) and two other series, twenty singulars and twenty
plurals (in the two genders), form four groups of cards, one-half of
which (tied separately) serves to direct the placing of the other half.
Here are the words in their groups:
_Singolare_ _Plurale_
acuto acuti sharp
allegro allegri joyous
attenta attente careful, attentive
basso bassi low
buona buone good
caldo caldi hot
cattiva cattive bad
dolce dolci sweet
duro duri hard
educata educate educated, well mannered
felice felici happy
fredda fredde cold
grande grandi large
grazioso graziosi graceful, pretty
gioiosa gioiose merry
gentile gentili kind
italiano italiani Italian
rabbioso rabbiosi angry
largo larghi broad
lento lenti slow
malata malate ill
odorosa odorose fragrant
arioso ariose airy
prezioso preziosi precious
piena piene full
pesante pesanti heavy
pulito puliti clean
rozza rozze rough, uncouth
rosso rossi red
robusta robuste robust
sincero sinceri sincere
studioso studiosi studious
stretto stretti narrow
stupida stupide stupid
vecchia vecchie old
morbido morbide soft
leggiera leggiere light (weight)
lunga lunghe long
grosso grossi thick
colorita colorite colored
_Maschile_ _Femminile_
alti alte tall
bello bella beautiful
brevi brevi short, brief
biondo bionda blonde
chiaro chiara clear, light (of color)
corto corta short
coraggiosi coraggiose courageous
disordinato disordinata disorderly
dolce dolce sweet
debole debole feeble
esatto esatta accurate
freddo fredda cold
grazioso graziosa graceful
grande grande large
garbati garbate polite
gentili gentili kind
italiani italiane Italian
inglese inglese English
lento lenta slow
svelto svelta lithe
ottimo ottima best, excellent
ordinato ordinata orderly
pigri pigre lazy
pallido pallida pale
piccolo piccola small
ruvidi ruvide rough
serio seria serious, honest
suo sua his, her, your
sgarbato sgarbata rude
tuo tua thy
timido timida timid
ultimo ultima last
vostro vostra yours
zoppi zoppe lame
zitto zitta silent
carino carina dear
liscio liscia smooth
obbediente obbediente obedient
contenti contente content, happy
allegro allegra joyous
Here, just as with the four noun forms (masculine, feminine, singular
and plural), class games may be found useful. The plural forms may be
dealt out to the class, while one child reads aloud the singulars, one
after the other. The child, who, in a given case, has the proper plural,
reads his card in answer. Similarly, for masculine and feminine.
LOGICAL AND GRAMMATICAL AGREEMENT OF NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES
(For Italian Exclusively)
Another table exercise consists in arranging two groups of fifty cards,
of which twenty-five are nouns (constituting the directing group), while
the other twenty-five are adjectives. The nouns are put in a row and the
child looks among the adjectives (which have been thoroughly shuffled)
for those which are best suited to the different nouns. As he finds them
he places them by the nouns with which they belong. Sometimes the nouns
and adjectives placed together cause a great deal of merriment by the
amusing contrasts that arise. The children try to put as many adjectives
as possible with the same noun and develop in this way the most
interesting combinations. Here are two groups which come prepared with
the material:
_Nome_ _Aggettivo_ _Adjective_ _Noun_
contadina allegra happy peasant-girl
casa bella beautiful house
zia brava good aunt
mamma cara dear mother
professore alto tall professor
meastra magra thin (lean) teacher
lavandaia pulita neat washerwoman
marinaio robusto strong sailor
carrettiere abbronzato sunburnt wagon-driver
bambino buono good child
lavagnetta rettangolare square slate
foglio bianco white paper (sheet of)
panchetto basso low bench
prisma grosso thick prism
vaso largo broad vase
foglia verde green leaf
circolo perfetto perfect circle
pizzicagnolo grosso fat butcher
testa unta oily (dirty) head
gomma densa hard, dense rubber
fanciullo stizzito cross, angry child
figlio obbediente obedient son
pietra nera black rock, stone
latte bianco white milk
formaggio tenero soft, tender cheese
carne fresca fresh meat
vino rosso red wine
disegno grazioso pretty drawing
perla lucente shining pearl
vetro trasparente transparent glass
ragazzina impertinente impertinent lass
asino paziente patient donkey
gallina grassa fat hen
topo agile quick, nimble mouse
acqua limpida clear water
saponetta odorosa perfumed, fragrant soap
medico bravo good doctor
giardiniere bizzarro surly gardener
cane arrabbiato mad dog
manicotto morbido soft muff
gatto arruffato ruffled cat
colombo viaggiatore travelling (carrier) pigeon
uomo brontolone grumbling man
ragno pericoloso dangerous spider
serpente velenoso poisonous snake
medicina amara bitter medicine
nonna indulgente indulgent, kind grandmother
babbo severo strict father
vespa maligna cruel wasp
cassetto ordinato orderly box
For a class game with these lists, the nouns may be placed on one table
and the adjectives on another. Moving as during the "silence" lesson,
each child selects first a noun, and then an adjective. When the
selections have all been made, the pairs are read one after the other
amid general enthusiasm.
DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES
COMMANDS (_Individual Lessons_)
The study of the adjective may furnish occasion for giving the child a
knowledge of physical properties (of substances) so far unknown to him.
For example, the teacher may present a piece of transparent glass; a
piece of black glass (or any opaque screen); a sheet of white paper with
an oil stain. The child will see that through the _transparent_ glass
objects may be seen distinctly; that through the oil stain only the
light is visible; that nothing at all can be seen through the _opaque_
screen. Or she may take a small glass funnel and put into it a piece of
filter paper, then a sponge, then a piece of waterproof cloth. The child
observes that the water passes through the filter paper, that the sponge
absorbs water, and that the water clings to the surface of the
waterproof. Or take two glass graduators and fill them with water to
different heights. In the case of the graduator filled to the very top,
the surface of the water is _convex_; in the other, it is _concave_.
The commands are printed on little slips of paper which are folded and
all held together by an elastic band with a series of brown cards
containing the adjectives used in the commands. Here is the material
prepared:
--Fill one graduator with water to the point of
over-flowing, and another not so full. Notice the form
assumed by the surface of the water in each case and
apply the proper adjective: _convex_, _concave_.
--Take various objects such as filter paper, cloth, a
sponge, and see whether water can pass through them,
applying the adjectives: _permeable_, _impermeable_,
_porous_.
--Take a piece of clear glass, a sheet of black paper,
a sheet of oiled paper; look at the light through
them, applying the adjectives: _transparent_,
_opaque_, _translucent_.
Object lessens demonstrating comparative weights may also be given by
putting successively into a glass of water, oil, alcohol colored with
aniline, a piece of cork, a little leaden ball (to be dropped). Then the
command would be:
--Compare the weights of water and of colored alcohol;
water and oil; water and cork; and water and lead.
Then tell which is _heavier_ and which is _lighter_
than the other.
As an answer the child should give a little written exercise something
like the following: _Water is heavier than oil_, etc. The children
actually perform these little experiments, learning to handle
graduators, funnels, filters, etc., and to pour the last drops of water
very carefully so as to obtain the concave and convex surfaces. They
acquire a very delicate touch in pouring the colored alcohol and oil on
the water. Thus they take the first step into the field of practical
science.
To continue the study of adjectives of quality, there is a series of
commands relating to the comparative and superlative. An example of the
comparative crept into these experiments on weight. Here are additional
commands where the little slip and the brown cards are kept together.
--Take the blue stairs or any other objects and put
with each object the proper adjectives from the
following list: _thick_, _thin_, _thickest_ (Ital.
grossissimo), _thinnest_ (Ital. finissimo).
--Take the eight tablets of the color you like best,
arrange them according to shades and apply the proper
adjectives of quality from the following: _light_,
_lightest_, _dark_, _darkest_.
--Take the series of circles in the plane insets, and
pick out the circles which correspond to these
adjectives: _large_, _small_, _intermediate_.
--Take the cloths or other objects adapted to these
adjectives: _smooth_, _smoothest_, _rough_,
_roughest_, _soft_, _softest_.
--Take the cubes of the pink tower or any other
objects adapted to these adjectives: _large_,
_largest_, _small_, _smallest_.
--Grade a number of objects according to weight so as
to fit these adjectives to them: _heavy_, _heaviest_,
_light_, _lightest_.
ADJECTIVES OF QUANTITY
COMMANDS (_Individual Lessons_)
Just as above, the slip is tied with the series of brown cards by an
elastic band. Thus a group is formed. In our material the following
three groups are available:
--Take the counters and make little piles which
correspond in quantity to these adjectives: _one_,
_two_, _three_, _four_, _five_, _six_, etc.
--Take the beads and make little piles of them to fit
these adjectives: _few_, _none_, _many_, _some_.
--Decide first of all on some definite number of beads
(two) and then make other little piles to fit these
adjectives: _double_, _triple_, _quadruple_,
_quintuple_, _sextuple_, _tenfold_, _half_, _equal_.
ORDINALS
(_Individual Commands_)
--Build the blue stair and on each step place the
proper adjective from the following: _first_,
_second_, _third_, _fourth_, _fifth_, _sixth_,
_seventh_, _eighth_, _ninth_, _tenth_.
--Place the following adjectives on the different
drawers of the cabinet, beginning with the top drawer:
_first_, _second_, _third_, _fourth_, _fifth_.
--Differentiate between the drawers of the cabinet by
the following adjectives, beginning with the lowest:
_first_, _second_, _third_, _fourth_, _fifth_.
DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES
(_Class Lessons_)
As occasion may offer, the teacher may assemble a group of children and
give them a few simple explanations on the meaning of certain words:
_questo_, "this" (near us); _cotesto_, "that" (near you); _quello_,
"that" (over there away from both of us). (Note: English lacks the
demonstrative of the second person.)
Then she can distribute these commands which require collective actions
of the class:--
--Gather in _that_ (codesto) corner of the room near
you; then all of you come over to _this_ (questo)
corner near me; then all of you run over to that
(_quello_) corner over there.
--Choose one of your school-mates and tell him to put
a box on _this_ (questo) table; a small plate on
_that_ (quello) table over there.
--Tell one of your companions, pointing at the place,
to put a green bead in _this_ (questo) vase; a blue
one in _that_ (codesto) vase; a white one in _that_
(quello) vase over there.
Arrange the children in groups in three different places in the room,
and then give this command:
--Let _that_ (quello) group over there take the place of _this_ (questo)
group. Let _that_ (codesto) group break up, the children going back to
their tables.
POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
(_Class Lessons_)
In like manner the teacher explains the meaning of the words _my_,
_your_, _his_, _her_, etc. She may do this with a simple gesture. Here
are the commands:
--Point out various objects saying: This is _my_
slate; that is _your_ slate; that (over there) is
_her_ slate.
--Point at the different seats, saying: That (over
there) is _his_ place, that is _your_ place, and this
is _my_ place.
--Pass around the little baskets, saying: This is _my_
basket. Whose is that other basket? Is it _your_
basket? And this one? Ah, this one is _his_ basket.
--Let us take a turn around the room and then return
to _our_ seats. _You_ go to _your_ seat and _they_
will go to _their_ seats. Then we will divide up our
things. Let us put _our_ things here and _their_
things there. We will go to _your_ seats and you go to
_their_ seats. Meanwhile they will get up and then
come over here to take _our_ places.
[Signora Montessori does not differentiate between the possessive
_adjective_ and the possessive _pronoun_; perhaps because there is in
Italian no characteristic pronominal form. Strictly speaking the Italian
predicate form _mio_ (e.g., _Questo libra è mio_) is adjectival, while
the form _il mio_ (i.e., with the definite article) is pronominal (e.g.,
_Questo è il mio_). English has, however, the pronominal possessives:
_mine_, _yours_ (thine), _his_, _hers_, _ours_, _yours_, _theirs_, used
also as predicate adjectives. The above exercise should therefore he
repeated later under the subject of pronouns in a slightly different
form.--TR.]
VI
VERBS
When I gave the first grammar lessons to defective children I put
special emphasis on nouns and verbs. The noun (= object), and the verb
(= action) were distinguished with the greatest clearness, much as we
distinguish matter from energy, chemistry from physics. _Condition_ and
_motion_, as potential and kinetic energy, are both expressed by verbs.
Whereas formerly the child took the objects in his hands and studied
their name and attributes, here he must _perform_ actions. In the
execution of actions he must necessarily receive some help, for he is
not always capable of interpreting the word with the precise action
which corresponds to it. On the contrary, the study of the verb is
necessary to initiate him into a series of "object lessons" upon the
different actions he must perform. The teacher therefore must give
individual lessons teaching the child to interpret the verb.
ANALYSES
In the usual manner we present a box which has four compartments, for
the article, the noun, the adjective, and the verb. The sections are
designated by the usual title cards: tan, black, brown, and red. In the
compartment at the back of the box there are six slips for each
exercise, and for every written word there is a card, except for such
words as are repeated in successive sentences. For example: if the
following sentences are written on the cards:
Close the door!
Lock the door!
on the corresponding cards will be found the words:
Lock }
Close } the door.
And so the child after he has composed his first sentence needs to
change only one card (_lock_ for _close_) for the second sentence. This
brings out the force of the verb, showing that one sentence may be
changed into another by indicating an entirely different action. The
child performs the action and then on his table he builds the sentences
with the cards. In the series we have prepared, the verbs are either
synonyms or antonyms. Here is the material:
SERIES A
--Close the door
Lock the door
--Tie a knot
Untie a knot
--Spread your beads
Collect your beads
--Fold the paper
Unfold the paper
--Open the book
Shut the book
--Speak a word
Whisper a word
SERIES B
--Raise your hands
Lower your hands
--Toss the ball
Throw the ball
--Show your right hand
Hide your right hand
--Touch the velvet
Feel the velvet
--Write a short word
Erase a short word
--Draw a circle
Fill a circle
SERIES C
--Bring a chair
Drag a chair
--Lace a frame
Unlace a frame
--Raise your head
Bow your head
--Fill a glass
Empty a glass
--Arrange the brown cards
Mix the brown cards
--Roll the white handkerchief
Twist the white handkerchief
SERIES D
--Embrace your nearest schoolmate
Kiss your nearest schoolmate
--Gather your prisms
Separate your prisms
--Borrow a black pencil
Lend a black pencil
--Cover your face
Uncover your face
--Lift the red counter
Drop the red counter
--Smooth the white paper
Crumple the white paper
SERIES E
--Clench your two hands
Open your two hands
--Spread the large carpet
Fold the large carpet
--Bend your left arm
Straighten your left arm
--Rub the table
Scratch the table
--Pour the water
Spill the water
--Comb your hair
Part your hair
PERMUTATIONS
The teacher should have in mind the grammatical rules for the position
of the verb in the sentence, to give the child a clear idea of its
normal location before the direct object: "first the verb, then the
object upon which it acts."
Example:
Smooth the white paper.
The verb should, for the first permutation, be transferred to the end:
the white paper smooth.
Or, if you wish,
Arrange the brown cards.
the brown cards arrange.
When the verb is taken away entirely the action vanishes:
Lift } the red counter.
Drop }
the red counter.
Making all possible permutations, the child sees that only one order of
words is capable of bringing a meaning out of the confusion:
Roll the white handkerchief.
the white handkerchief roll.
white the handkerchief roll.
white roll handkerchief the.
LESSONS AND COMMANDS ON THE VERB
The children take considerable delight in our verb lessons which develop
through interpretations of actions. We use packs of red cards, tied with
an elastic, each pack containing ten cards. The child executes the
actions indicated on each card, one after the other. He may afterward
copy the cards--an exercise specially attractive to very young children.
Examples:
--walk, sing, jump, dance, bow, sit, sleep, wake,
pray, sigh.
--write, erase, weep, laugh, hide, draw, read, speak,
listen, run.
--arrange, clean, dust, sweep, button, lace, tie,
hook, greet, brush.
--comb, wash, wipe, embrace, kiss, smile, yawn, scowl,
stare, breathe.
These are fairly common words, representing actions more or less
familiar to the pupils. But this exercise is only an introduction to the
real verb-lessons. For these the teacher selects, as subject for a
lesson, a series of synonymous verbs. Their shades of meaning are
taught to the children by translating them into action, the teacher
executing the action herself. She then distributes around the class
commands making use of the verbs in question. There may be several
copies of a given command if the pupils are very numerous. The child
reads by himself the card he has received, executing the action from
memory of what he has seen the teacher do. We have tested experimentally
the Italian material (_i.e._, the verbs in parentheses), as follows:
Subject:
lay, throw, toss, hurl (posare, gettare, lanciare,
scagliare).
Commands:--
--Take a counter and _lay_ it on the floor. Pick it up
again and _throw_ it on the floor.
--Roll your handkerchief into a ball. _Toss_ it into
the air. Pick it up again and _hurl_ it against the
wall.
--_Lay_ your handkerchief carefully, very carefully,
on the floor. Pick it up again and _throw_ it on the
floor. Make a ball of it and _hurl_ it across the
room. Pick it up and _toss_ it into the air.
Subject:
lie, crouch, sit, rise (sollevare, alzare, levare).
Commands:--
--Go to the sofa and _lie_ with your face to the wall.
Now _rise_, go to your table and _sit_ with head
erect.
--_Rise_ from your chair and _crouch_ behind the
table, as though you were playing hide-and-seek.
_Rise_ and go back to the sofa.
Subject:
open, close, lock, unlock (aprire, spalancare,
chiudere, socchiudere, serrare, disserrare).
Commands:--
--Go to a window and _open_ it a little; wait a moment
and then _close_ it again. _Open_ the window as wide
as you can and _close_ it immediately.
--Go to the door and _open_ it wide. Then _close_ the
door gently. If the key is in the key-hole _lock_ the
door; but before you go away, _unlock_ it again, so
that everything is left just as you found it.
Subject:
breathe, inhale, exhale (respirare, sospirare,
inspirare, espirare).
Commands:--
--Go to the window, open it, and _inhale_ and _exhale_
the fresh air five times. Then after a moment _inhale_
once and hold your breath as long as you can. When you
can hold your breath no longer, _exhale_ as slowly as
you can.
--Take a hand mirror and _breathe_ upon the glass.
What happens?
Subject:
hang, attach (appendere, affiggere, sospendere).
Commands:--
--_Hang_ one of your best drawings on a hook in the
room.
--_Attach_ the drawing you like best with two pins to
the wall near the door.
Subject:
cover, wrap, tie, undo (avvolgere, involgere,
svolgere).
Commands:--
--Take a book, a string and a large piece of cloth.
Lay the book on your table and _cover_ it with the
cloth.
--Take the cloth and _wrap_ it around the book so that
the book cannot be seen.
--_Tie_ a string around the cloth so that the book
will not fall out.
--_Undo_ the bundle, and return each object to the
place where you found it.
Subject:
turn, invert, revolve, whirl, reverse (volgere,
capovolgere, rovesciare).
Commands:--
--_Turn_ a picture toward one of your school-mates so
that he can see it clearly.
--_Invert_ the picture, so that it will be upside
down.
--_Reverse_ the picture so that the back only can be
seen by your school-mate.
--_Revolve_ the seat of the piano-stool as rapidly as
you can.
--Stand with your back to the window and _turn_ slowly
on your heel till you face the window. _Whirl_ on your
heel completely around till you again face the window.
Subject:
breathe, blow, puff, pant (sbuffare, soffiare,
alitare).
Commands:--
--Tear a large piece of paper into tiny bits on your
table. _Blow_ steadily upon the table till the pieces
of paper are all on the floor.
--Pick up the pieces of paper and place them on the
table. _Puff_ three times upon them and see if they
all fall to the floor. Gather up the pieces and throw
them into the waste-basket.
--_Breathe_ softly upon the back of your hand. What do
you feel?
--_Blow_ upon the back of your hand. What do you feel?
--_Puff_ upon the back of your band. What do you feel?
--_Pant_ noisily as though you had been running a long
way.
Subject:
murmur, mutter, whisper, speak, grumble (mormorare,
sussurrare, brontolare).
Commands:--
--Ask one of your school-mates to listen carefully to
what you say; then _murmur_ a short sentence as though
you were speaking to yourself.
--_Mutter_ the same words in a louder voice and see
whether he understands.
--_Whisper_ the same words in the ear of one of two
children. Then ask the other whether he has heard.
--_Grumble_ the same words and watch how the two
children look at you.
--_Speak_ the same words aloud and as distinctly as
you can. Do the children understand?
Subject:
touch, rub, graze (toccare, tastare, palpare,
sfiorare).
Commands:--
--Go to your table and with your eyes shut _touch_ it
as though to recognize it.
--_Rub_ the table with the tips of your fingers,
bearing down as hard as you can. What do you feel?
--_Graze_ the table with the tips of your fingers,
trying not to touch it.
Subject:
spread, sprinkle, collect, scatter (spargere,
spruzzare, aspergere).
Commands:--
--Take a box full of beads and _spread_ them evenly
around the center of your table. Then _collect_ them
in a pile in the center of the table.
--Take a handful of the beads and _scatter_ them over
the table. Return all the beads to the box.
--Take a glass of water and _sprinkle_ two or three
handfuls on a plant in the room.
Subject:
walk, stagger, march (barcollare, dondolare,
erigersi).
Commands:--
--_Walk_ naturally to the end of the room farthest
from your table.
--_March_ back to your seat as though you were keeping
time to music.
--_Stagger_ across the room as though you were very
dizzy.
Subject:
take, seize, catch (acchiappare, acciuffare,
afferrare).
Commands:--
--Walk to the cabinet and _take_ a box of counters in
your hands.
--Run to the sofa, _seize_ the sofa-pillow, and run
around the room with it, holding it in your arms.
--Roll your handkerchief into a ball, toss it into the
air and try to _catch_ it before it falls to the
floor.
LESSONS WITH EXPERIMENTS
The function of the verb can be still more interestingly emphasized by
suggesting actions designed to increase the child's knowledge in the
direction of elementary science. Here the teacher, instead of executing
simple movements, performs experiments, which on the same day or on
succeeding days the child can imitate guided by the directions in the
commands.
Subject:
stir, mix, beat, flavor (mescolare, emulsionare,
stemperare).
Commands:--
--Take a bowl half full of water and drop into it a
half cup of flour; _stir_ with a spoon until the
mixture is thick.
--Place a table-spoonful of vinegar and a
table-spoonful of olive-oil in a clean bowl; _beat_
them together until an emulsion is formed.
--Place a tea-spoonful of chocolate and a tea-spoonful
of sugar in a cup and _mix_ them thoroughly. What
color was the chocolate? What color was the sugar?
What color is the mixture?
--Take a little milk in a cup and taste of it; add a
drop of vanilla extract. Then taste of the milk again.
Do you taste the vanilla? In the same way _flavor_ a
glass of water with the vanilla. _Flavor_ another
glass of water with vinegar.
Subject:
dissolve, saturate, be in suspension (sciogliere, fare
la sospensiona, saturare).
Commands:--
--Place a spoonful of sugar in a glass of warm water
and _dissolve_ the sugar by stirring with a spoon. Is
the water still clear?
--_Saturate_ the water with sugar by continuing to add
sugar and stirring till you can see the sugar at the
bottom of the glass. Allow the water to rest a moment.
Is the water still clear?
--Mix a spoonful of starch in the water. The water
becomes white, since the starch does not _dissolve_
but remains _in suspension_ in the water.
Subject:
strain, filter (decantare, filtrare).
Commands:--
--Take the glass containing the water saturated with
sugar and the one with the starch in suspension, and
allow the starch and sugar to settle for some time,
until the water is clear. Taste the water in each
glass, and then _strain_ each glass of water
separately.
--_Filter_ the water saturated with sugar and the
water with the suspended starch. Then taste of each.
By the time all these commands have been executed, the child will have
developed a keen desire to go on, becoming so interested in the meaning
of verbs as not to require further commands to stimulate his study of
these words. The most frequent question now is "How many verbs are there
in the language?" "Are there more in other languages?" etc. To satisfy
this new curiosity of the children we have dictionaries of synonyms and
antonyms, and word-charts. But meantime they have been building their
own dictionaries. One by one they begin to own copy books (rubrics) with
illuminated letters of the alphabet. Under the proper letter the child
copies his words as fast as he learns them. We are still experimenting
on the question of the exact amount of information that may successfully
be offered to elementary school children of various ages and stages of
development, with the word material required for the notions of natural
history, physics and chemistry they may be expected to acquire. We can
say, at this moment, simply that each experiment involves the use of a
certain number of new words (nouns, adjectives and verbs), which are
copied into the word-books (rubrics) as fast as they occur.
VII
PREPOSITIONS
ANALYSES
Here also the first exercise is to compose sentences analyzed with the
colored cards. This grammar box has five compartments, each with a small
title card of the color corresponding to the different parts of speech,
red for the verb, black for the noun, brown for the adjective, tan for
the article and _violet_ for the _preposition_. In the compartment at
the rear of the box are six cards with printed sentences. The colored
cards do not correspond exactly to the number of words used in the
sentences because the words of one sentence which are repeated in the
next are not duplicated in the cards. In this case it is the change in
preposition only which alters the meaning of the sentence. Here are the
series of sentences, some of which the teacher may have used already in
previous lessons (commands).
SERIES A
(Prepositions of space relations)
--Take the box _with_ the colored beads. (con, senza,
insieme con). Take the box _without_ the colored
beads. Take the box _together_ with the colored beads.
--Place the prism _under_ the cylinder. (sotto a,
sopra a). Place the prism _upon_ the cylinder.
--Lay the pen _in front of_ the ink-well. (avanti a,
dietro a, a lato di). Lay the pen _behind_ the
ink-well. Lay the pen _beside_ the ink-well.
--Put the green bead _into_ the box. (in, dentro). Put
the green bead _inside_ the box.
--Arrange a few beads _between_ the red counters. (in
mezzo a, tra). Arrange a few beads _among_ the red
counters.
--Set one chair _opposite_ another chair. (dirimpetto
a, accanto a). Set one chair _next_ to another chair.
[Illustration: Grammar Boxes, showing respectively four and five parts
of speech. (Note: The cards forming the sentence, "Place the blue cone
against the pink cube," should have been arranged in one continuous
line, not in two lines.)]
SERIES B
(Space relations continued)
--Lay the counter _inside_ the box. (dentro, fuori,
di). Lay the counter _outside_ the box.
--Place a chair _on this side of_ the door. (di là da,
di qua da, oltre). Place a chair _on that side of_ the
door. Place a chair _beyond_ the door.
--Stand _in front of_ the blackboard. (di fronte a, di
fianco a). Stand _to one side of_ the blackboard.
Stand _to the other side of_ the blackboard.
--Arrange the chairs _along_ the wall. (lungo,
contro). Arrange the chairs _against_ the wall.
--Place the blue cone _near_ the pink cube. (vicino a,
accosto a). Place the blue cone _against_ the pink
cube.
SERIES C
(Possession, material, use, purpose)
[NOTE:--Such relationships are expressed in English preferably by
adjectives: _cloth of cotton_ = _cotton cloth_; or by the possessive
inflection with _-s_: _the drawing of George = George's drawing_. In
Italian they are expressed by the prepositions _di_, _per_, _da_, etc.:
_stoffa di cotone_ "cotton cloth," _piattino di vetro_ "glass saucer."
For Signora Montessori's simple exercise we suggest for English the
following definitions (TR.)].
[Illustration: Grammar Boxes, containing respectively six and seven
parts of speech. (Note: In the sentence on the right, the cards should
be in one line, not two.)]
--Cotton cloth is cloth _of_ cotton. Woollen cloth is
cloth _of_ wool. Silk cloth is cloth _of_ silk.
--The iron triangle is a triangle _of_ iron. The
wooden triangle is a triangle _of_ wood.
--The glass saucer is a saucer _of_ glass. The china
saucer is a saucer _of_ china.
--A shoe-brush is a brush _for_ shoes. A clothes-brush
is a brush _for_ clothes.
--George's hat is the hat _of_ George; George's hat
belongs _to_ George. Mary's hat is the hat _of_ Mary;
Mary's hat belongs _to_ Mary.
--A drinking-cup is a cup _for_ drinking. A copy-book
is a book _for_ copying.
SERIES D
(Direction and source of motion)
--Turn _from_ the right _to_ the left. (da ... a, a ... da)
Turn _from_ the left _to_ the right.
--Draw a line _from_ the bottom of the paper _to_ the top.
Draw a line _from_ the top of the paper _to_ the bottom.
--Go _from_ your seat _to_ the cabinet.
Go _from_ the cabinet _to_ your seat.
--Change the pen _from_ your right hand _to_ your left hand.
Change the pen _from_ your left hand _to_ your right hand.
PERMUTATIONS
The child has built the first sentences on each of the slips with his
cards, and he has reproduced the others by changing simply the
preposition cards. In this way he has seen how the position of objects
relative to each other is determined wholly and only by the use of the
preposition. The preposition, therefore, determines the _relation of
words_, the relation of a _noun_ to some other word, here to another
_noun_ or to a _verb_. In the phrase,
Set one chair opposite another chair,
if we take away the preposition, leaving,
Set one chair another chair,
the relation that formerly existed between the words _chair_ and
_another chair_ is lost. The teacher must not forget the rules for the
position of the preposition. The preposition must always precede its
object and no other word can come between it and the word or words it
controls.
Here are some examples of sentences in the above exercises from which
the preposition has been taken away by the teacher:
Go from your seat the cabinet.
Place a chair the door.
Lay the counter the box.
Place the prism the cylinder.
The china saucer is made china.
To give the child an idea of the normal position of prepositions a
series of permutations may be made leaving the preposition and its
object in their normal positions. In this case some meaning is still
left to the sentence:
Stretch a string from the door to the window.
From the door to the window stretch a string.
Stretch from the door a string to the window.
From the door to the window a string stretch.
From the door stretch to the window a string.
But the child will recognize that the right sentence is the simplest and
the clearest:
Stretch a string from the door to the window.
On the other hand if we separate the preposition from its object or
invert their normal position, the meaning is entirely lost:
Stretch a string the door from the window to.
Stretch a string from the door window to the.
String from the stretch door to the a window.
And likewise with these other sentences:
Run from the wash-stand to the table.
Run wash-stand table (_definition of motion lacking_).
Run wash-stand from the table to the.
From the run wash-stand to the table.
Wash-stand from the to the run table.
LESSONS AND COMMANDS ON PREPOSITIONS
The teacher may also take groups of children and give them short lessons
on the preposition to explain the meaning, selecting if possible two or
three synonyms or antonyms each time. The lessons should always he
practical and full of action. The child should come to understand in
this case the relationship established by this or that preposition
between the object (noun) and the action (verb) to be performed. As soon
as this has been made clear by the teacher the commands are distributed
to the children who put them into execution. Here is the material that
we use:
Subject:
Of (di).
Command:--
--Go and get a boxful _of_ counters. Go and get a glass _of_ water.
Bring me a piece _of_ cloth.
Subject:
near (to), next (to), beside, far away from (vicino, accosto, lontano).
Command:--
--One of you boys stand in the middle of the room. Now you others go and
stand _near_ him. One of you stand _next_ to him on the right, another
_beside_ him on the left. Now all go _far away from_ him.
Subject:
in, into, inside, out of (in, dentro, fuori).
Command:--
--Rise from your chairs and go _into_ the next room. Stay _in_ that room
a moment and then come back _into_ this one. Go back on tip-toe and lock
yourselves _inside_ the next room. Come _out of_ the next room _into_
this one.
Subject:
On this side of, on that side of, beyond (di là da, di qua da, oltre).
Command:--
--Leave your places and form a circle _on that side of_ the door; form a
circle then _on this side of_ the door. All of you go and stand
somewhere _beyond_ the door.
Subject:
except, save (tranne, eccetto).
Command:--
--All the children, _except_ George and Mary, walk on tip-toe around the
room.
--All the children, _save_ George and Mary, walk on tip-toe around the
room.
Subject:
side by side with, opposite, in front of, along (di fianco, di fronte,
avanti).
Command:--
--Form a line _side by side_ with each other.
--Form a line _along_ the wall _opposite_ the door.
--Form two lines _in front of_ the piano.
Subject:
before, behind (dirimpetto, dietro).
Command:--
--Two of you come and stand _before_ me.
--The rest of you go and stand _behind_ me.
Subject:
on, about, along (su, secondo, lungo).
Command:--
--Each of you place one counter on the table. Now arrange the same
counters _along_ the far edge of the table. Now scatter the same
counters _about_ the center of the table.
Subject:
between, among (fra, in mezzo a).
Command:--
--One of you go and stand _between_ the door and the piano.
--Place ten white counters on the table. Now go and scatter two or three
red counters _among_ the white ones.
Subject:
from, to, as far as (da, a, fino a).
Command:--
--Rise and walk _from_ your places _to_ the piano; wait a moment and
then continue _as far as_ the door of the next room.
Subject:
around, about (attorno, intorno).
Command:--
--Walk in couples, arm in arm, _around_ the room twice; when you reach
the piano on the second round, form a circle _about_ the piano.
Subject:
toward, against (verso, contro).
Command:--
--Take your chairs and move them three steps _toward_ the wall in front
of you. Next, arrange your chairs in a row with their backs _against_
the wall behind you.
Subject:
across, through (attraverso, per).
Command:--
--Roll your handkerchiefs into balls and throw them _across_ the room.
--Pick them up as they lie and try to throw them _through_ the door into
the hall.
Subject:
With, without (con, senza).
Command:--
--Walk around the room _with_ your chairs in your hands.
--Walk around the room _without_ your chairs.
Subject:
to, in order to, so as to (per).
Command:--
--Wash your hands _in order_ not _to_ soil the cloth. Then close your
eyes and feel this cloth _so as to_ recognize it.
VIII
ADVERBS
ANALYSES
Again the exercise consists of sentences analyzed by means of colored
cards and commands. The grammar box contains six compartments having,
like the others, the names of the different parts of speech on title
cards of proper color. The card for the adverb is pink. In the rear
compartment are six slips for each exercise, and in the sections the
usual number of corresponding colored cards for the necessary words.
GROUP A
(Adverbs of Manner)
--Walk _slowly_ to the window.
Walk _rapidly_ to the window.
--Rise _silently_ from your seat.
Rise _noisily_ from your seat.
--Speak _softly_ into the ear of your nearest comrade.
Speak _loudly_ into the ear of your nearest comrade.
--Take five steps toward the door; turn _abruptly_ to the left.
Take five steps toward the door; turn _gradually_ to the left.
--Take your nearest comrade _lightly_ by the arm.
Take your nearest comrade _roughly_ by the arm.
--Look _smilingly_ into the mirror.
Look _scowlingly_ into the mirror.
GROUP B
(Adverbs of place and time)
--Place your pencil _there_.
Place your pencil _here_.
--Lay your book _somewhere_ on the table.
Lay your book _elsewhere_ on the table.
--Walk to the window _constantly_ clapping your hands.
Walk to the window _occasionally_ clapping your hands.
--Drink the water in the glass _now_.
Drink the water in the glass _by and by_.
--Carry the pink tower _upstairs_.
Carry the pink tower _downstairs_.
--Write a word on the blackboard _immediately_.
Write a word on the blackboard _soon_.
GROUP C
(Adverbs of quantity, comparison)
--Walk along the hall swinging your arms _somewhat_.
Walk along the hall swinging your arms _a great deal_.
--Bend your head a _little_.
Bend your head _much_.
--Walk _slowly_ to the window.
Walk _less slowly_ to the window.
Walk _more slowly_ to the window.
--Place on the table your _most_ beautiful drawing.
--Place on the table your beautiful drawing.
--Make a broad mark on the blackboard.
Make a _very_ broad mark on the blackboard.
GROUP D
(Adverbs of comparison, correlative adverbs)
--Look for a piece of cloth softer _than_ velvet.
--Look for a piece of cloth _as_ soft as velvet.
--Find among your colors a shade _as_ black _as_ the blackboard.
--Find a piece of cloth _not so_ shiny _as_ satin.
--Find among the plane insets a rectangle _as_ broad _as_ half
the square.
--Bring a rod longer _than_ your copy-book.
--Bring a rod _as_ long _as_ your copy-book.
--Bring a rod _not so_ long _as_ your copy-book.
--Find a piece of cloth _less_ rough _than_ the canvas.
PERMUTATIONS
The sentences to be analyzed are reproduced as usual by building the
first sentence on each slip; and then, by changing the adverb, the child
gets the second or third sentence. One of the first permutations is to
remove the adverb from those sentences where it performs the function of
an _adjective to the verb_, thereby causing one action to be changed
into another. For example take the two sentences:
Walk slowly to the window.
Walk rapidly to the window.
Taking away the adverb we have:
Walk to the window.
The child can perform the action which, now, is a simple one. The
adverb, however, changes, _modifies_, the action. If the teacher in play
puts the two adverbs together in the same sentence the child has the
problem of interpreting two contrary movements. That is, he is to go to
the window _slowly_ and _rapidly_ at the same time. Taking away the
adverb cards the sentence left is _Go to the window_. This action the
child can perform. But how shall he perform it, in what way? With the
help of adverbs! Similarly in the following sentences:
Bend your head _a little_.
Bend your head _much_.
Written without the adverb they indicate one action. What slight changes
in the position of the head can be brought about by these adverbs! It is
the _adverb_ which really shows fine differentiations in movement!
In other sentences also where the adverb is, so to speak, an _adjective_
to an _adjective_ and therefore really affects the object (noun),
similar permutations may be made.
Make a broad mark on the blackboard.
Make a _very_ broad mark on the blackboard.
Here by the use of an adverb two different _objects_ (nouns) are
distinguished which, though they have the same quality (breadth) differ
in degree (broad, very broad). Take, for instance, two objects belonging
to the same series:
Place on your table the prism which is most thick.
Place on your table the prism which is least thick.
If the adverbs are taken away the factor determining the degree of
quality (thickness) disappears and we have sentences which are far less
precise in their meaning:
Place on your table the prism which is thick.
As the teacher proceeds to make permutations in the different sentences
she should remember (for Italian) that the normal position of the adverb
is after the verb (in the compound tenses it comes between the auxiliary
and the participle).
(Note: In English the position of the adverb is much freer than in
Italian; it often stands at the end of the sentence and even between
subject and verb,--something quite foreign to normal Italian usage. We
retain the text entire.)
In the sentences analyzed by the child it is sufficient to recall that
the adverb modifies the verb and follows the verb it modifies. Take the
sentence:
Bend your head a little as you write.