The Parallel Approaches of Montessori and Structured Linguistic Literacy
A Talk by Cornelia Lockitch (Founder - Literacy Interventionist, Literacy Mosaic)
About this Talk
For well over 100 years, authentic Montessori practices have produced strong readers and confident writers. Children as young as five decode multi-letter spellings, utilize them in word building, and draw meaning from them in reading. What made this possible, and what can we learn from it? The Montessori movement has a vibrant grassroots history in the United States and across the globe. Thousands of Montessori preschools and elementary schools, whether private or public, produce impressive outcomes in basic education, yet rarely are connections made between them and mainstream teaching. Now, the science of reading and, in particular, structured linguistic literacy (SLL) can illuminate the work of Dr. Montessori and explain why her tremendously successful, developmentally appropriate method results in both fluency and text comprehension. Moreover, SLL practitioners can discover new insights and draw inspiration from Montessori’s work.