Montessori Sunday: Sandpaper Letters

I was trying to decide which material to highlight when it occurred to me that I hadn't yet showcased the sandpaper letters. I think it was my Montessori trainer who said that if she had to set up a Montessori classroom with only a few of the real materials it would be the sandpaper letters, the moveable alphabet and the golden beads. So obviously the sandpaper letters are of great importance.

The sandpaper letters are just what they sound like; letters (ideally cursive) cut out of sandpaper and mounted on wood. The consonants are mounted on pink and vowels in blue, which matches the scheme of the moveable alphabet that the children will learn to use next.

Using the sand tray to practice
forming ta cursive 'o'
(like in ostrich and on)

They are first presented to the child around 3 years old, when they begin to show interest in identifying the sounds of words. The directress will usually first introduce the letter that child's name begins with, as well as one or two other common sounds (like t, s, or b). The child is shown how to trace the letter with the pointer and middle finger. Near the end of the tracing the directress will say the sound of the letter, not the name. The child is invited to try and the sound is repeated. Together child and teacher think of some words which begin with the sound, and then move on to the next letter. Once the child has been introduced to all 3 letters a three period lesson is began, where the directress gives little commands to help reinforce the sounds that go with each symbol. Ex. "Trace 'c'", "Tap 's'", etc. At the end of the lesson the child is asked to trace each letter a final time and asked "What sound is this?"

Obviously is takes a long time to get through the entire alphabet of 26 letters, so it is important that the sandpaper letters are used often so ensure the child has a solid foundation to begin writing later. Because English is such a non-phonetic language there are also sandpaper letters for the more common phonograms in the language (ch, sh, th, etc.).

The reason the sound of the letter is introduced, rather than the name is to ease the child in to writing and reading easier. Knowing the sound 'b' instead of the name B, helps the child know what symbol make the 'b' sound in "ball", rather than having to go through the extra step of translating the sound 'b' into the name B and then trying to recognize the symbol.

Cursive is preferable for the same reason of making later writing easier. With cursive letters all the symbols are distinct, it's much harder to mix up b, d, p, and q when they are written in cursive script. The motion of forming cursive letters, with it's continues curves and loops, is also a more natural hand motion and so is easier to young children to follow. It also helps prevent letters being written backwards and upside down because there is a natural flow from the starting point.

All of this in one single material in the classroom. Those sandpaper letters are so important for later work...now I feel  like I should be working with them even more in the classroom!