Montessori literacy instruction aligns with the Simple View of Reading, which is based in the Science of Reading.

This matters: with an understanding of what reading is, teachers are better prepared to be consistent and coherent in their reading instruction. Many Montessori schools take a grab-bag approach to reading instruction to compensate for incomplete elements in Montessori’s curriculum design for literacy (because it was developed in Italian and because of differences in our training). This leaves gaps in our children’s preparation.

What is your school’s approach to literacy instruction? Do all teachers have a working understanding of what it takes to get children to learn to read? For many schools, the answers are complicated, but they don’t have to be. Any approach to schoolwide literacy instruction should be comprehensive, cumulative, and coherent, as well as implemented consistently at the whole-school level. 

Watch our video below about Montessori Literacy to learn more.

This is a presentation about literacy in the Montessori classroom created by Elizabeth Slade, Allison Jones, Divina Cruz, and Teresa Chan of Public Montessori in Action International.

Know:

  • How the Montessori method prepares children to read in alignment with the Simple View of Reading

  • What are the two components of learning to read according to the Simple View of Reading

Do:

  • Evaluate your approach to teaching children to Decode and Comprehend

  • Learn about a free resource to help students on both paths

Montessori/Dwyer Approach to Early Learning

“In spite of its importance in the world of reading research, many practicing educators do not know about the Simple View of Reading. It is a formula demonstrating the widely accepted view that reading has two basic components: word recognition (decoding) and language comprehension.

The Simple View formula has been supported and validated by a number of research studies. Understanding the formula will help educators with assessing reading weaknesses and providing appropriate instruction.”

— Farrell, Linda, et al. “The Simple View of Reading.”