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The Great Lessons
The Great Lessons are used for elementary school children to entice their imagination, critical thinking skills, and motivation. Montessori believed that you should teach and introduce as much information before the years of puberty. She used the great lessons to encourage learning at this academic stage. People are sometimes in awe that she thought a child could do advanced algebra, geometry, learn Latin and Greek, between ages 6 and 12. In a sense, the grade school years are a sensitive period for you to introduce information for higher learning. The foundation for later abstract academic learning is laid during this age span. In contrast, traditional schools have made the work easier at the grade school level because children in secondary school have had such difficulty with basic subjects. Montessori believed that if you introduced advanced math, grammar, writing, reading, science, geography, etc. for these grade school children, they would be able to survive the ups and downs of puberty. The hardest years according to Montessori were what we would call the middle school years. She believed that these kids should be nurtured like a small child. She did not believe these children should be stressed out with strenuous academics or sports. After the age of 14 or 15, a young person begins a more peaceful learning period. So during the high school years, a young adult can grow and develop academically physically again. (Periods of Development, Child-1970)
Links for The Great Lessons:
Miss Barbara's http://www.missbarbara.net/greatlessons.html Miss Barbar's first Great Lesson Material- http://www.missbarbara.net/thebeginning.html#prep
Moteaco Albums for the Great Lessons (many are in several languages, French, English, German) http://www.moteaco.com/albums.html
(God who has no hands) http://www.moteaco.com/albums/story1.html
The Coming of Life timeline http://www.moteaco.com/albums/story2.html
The Coming of Human Beings http://www.moteaco.com/albums/story3.html
The Story of Writing http://www.moteaco.com/albums/story4.html
The Story of Numerals http://www.moteaco.com/albums/story5.html
These 2 articles from the NNM give a great overview of the Great Lessons and the whole language approach of Montessori for the grade school level. Science is presented in the first Great Lesson. The process of science is encouraged, a continual work in progress. It's not an absolute. This article is very insightful. http://www.nnms.org/pages/PARENTSf/mar04.htm
Montessori believed a child should see the big picture, that this will help a child determine his or her role in society. The past stories give children an idea of the journey of humanity and what direction we need to pursue. Montessori students are allowed to seek the truth and path ahead. We bascially all have a calling and purpose in life. Here is some more information from NNM monthly newsletters- http://www.nnms.org/pages/PARENTSf/nov03.htm
This link is very interesting, Mario Montessori used nature to present the Great Lesson-"Set the Children Free"- http://www.ilu.uu.se/ilu/montessori/MSettech.htm
Here is an excerpt about Mario Montessori's idea presenting the Great Lesson from the above link- "In 1979, I interviewed both Mario Montessori and Lena Wikramaratne. Mario emphasized the outdoors as the basis for the cosmic education experience: "If you take all the charts and timelines and call it cosmic education, that is ridiculous. It goes much further than that. … We tried then to work with the child in nature—we would try to help the imagination of the child with real experiences" (cited in Kahn, 1979b, p. 55).
Those experiences included a garden, terrariums where small animals were held captive, and walks in the woods where the interdependency of plants and animals was pointed out—especially the role of water. Most lessons were outdoors and addressed the water cycle, erosion, sedimentary formations, etc. (Kahn, 1979b, pp. 56-57).
Lena Wikramaratne also commented on the activities:
During the first two years with children, we had made so much material for geography, for botany, for biology, exploring scientific nomenclature. We planted the beds according to the natural order of plants, out in the garden. For the geography, Mr. Montessori built whole structures with rock, clay and wood to show the formation of mountains and what happens to clay soil and sandy soil in the sun. (cited in Kahn, 1979a, p. 50)
Although the information is very sparse about Mario's lessons in the woods, I have conveyed to teachers in NAMTA workshops several approaches to relating Great Lessons and Key Lessons in the outdoors. Why not physicalize the dust particles in attraction to one another, the great bang when they all collide, the cosmic dance of hot and cold air molecules, the erosion and sedimentation of the rock?
The effect of telling "The Story of the Universe" outdoors is that the outdoor components come into play. The children can look at the trees, the water, the sun, the sky. They can imagine a geological period when ferns were as high as trees. They can dance the cosmic dance. They can imagine the cracks and fissures of early eroded land filling up with torrential rainwater. They can experience the conquest of land by the plants while sitting at the side of a marsh where algae, lichen, and moss each find their place on land, and beyond the edge of the pond emerge the grasses, small bushes, then the trees (trees do not like to get their feet wet). Story upon story told around specific terrain is so much more vivid than the same story told in front of a few line drawings on a timeline.
Storytelling in the outdoors is only one small part of how land could be used in the context of cosmic education."...
The first Great Lesson is called "God Who Has No Hands" It is bascially an introduction to the creation story. This link at Monteaco- http://www.moteaco.com/albums/story1.html has the basic story and ideas for visual aides.
Another visual you can use to study our Universe is astronomy. Your backyard is a great window to study the planets, stars and moon. Children have great eye sight so they are especially good at spotting celestial bodies in the dark.
I would recommend using a good pair of binoculars or a low powered telescope. The higher power telescopes are difficult to calibrate and it's difficult to find anything in the sky-Their field of view is very narrow.
It's great to compare and constrast other planets to earth. Our sister planet is Venus because it is almost the same size and is made of rocky material. Mars is smaller than earth, but may have polar ice caps like earth. Mercury is closest to the sun. Venus is the hottest planet. Earth is the only planet with life because of its oxygen atmosphere and liquid water. Jupiter is a gaseous planet, there may only be a small amount of rock in the center. Pluto is the farthest away from the sun and is the smallest planet.
Also, you can show stars at night (they twinkle) and compare them to our sun, which is a star. Newer stars are called blue giants, the older ones are called red dwarfs. Our sun is a yellow dwarf, which means our sun is still "alive"-still producing energy.
I guess what hits me about the Great Lessons is that there is so much material to introduce. When the Great Lessons were first conceived, the world was less complex compared to modern day. The lessons could be overwhelming, so I would keep the introduction simple. You can use photo dramas of creation-includes Biblical interpretation story by Bible Students of Central Ohio- http://www.biblestudents.org/absco/photodrama/pd0000a.htm
or a simple drama- http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:QTAlhoHVlP4J:www.faithfirst.com/html/catechist/downloads/downloads/g01Ch02dl.pdf+creation+drama&hl=en
I would keep in mind your Church's teachings or your own beliefs when presenting the first lesson-"God Who Has No Hands." Also, I would present it in a dramatic way, leaving more for the imagination.
