Montessori RESOURCES, IDEAS, AND MORE

Montessori Sensorial Materials are materials used in the Montessori classroom that help the child develop his or her 5 senses. The materials are designed to help the child refine tactile, visual, auditory, olfactory, and gustatory senses. This is the next level of difficulty after those of practical life. This article is designed to explain several of the Montessori Sensorial materials used in the classroom environment.

Sensorial Materials, like many other materials in the Montessori classroom, have what is called a "control of error." This means that the child will work with the material, but will have a way for them to check their own work rather than seeking out the teacher. This is done to help promote independence on the part of the child.

The Cylinder Blocks

There are 4 cylinder blocks. The purpose of the cylinder blocks are to provide various size dimensions so the child can distinguish between large and small, tall and short, thick and thin, or a combination of the two.

The cylinder blocks are wooden blocks that contain 10 cylinders of various dimensions that can be removed by a knobbed handle. In order to remove the cylinders, the child tends to naturally use a 3 finger pincher grip used on pencils.

There are several activities that can be done with the cylinder blocks. The main activity involves removing the cylinders from the block and replacing them.

The control of error comes when the child is unable to replace a cylinder. The mistake is apparent and the child is unable to return it to the shelf uncompleted.

The Pink Tower

The pink tower work has 10 pink cubes. The smallest cube is 1 cubic centimeter and the largest cube is 10 cubic centimeters. The work is designed to provide the child with a concept of "big" and "small."

The child starts with the largest cube and puts the 2nd largest cube on top of it. The work continues until all 10 cubes are stacked on top of each other.

The control of error is visual. The child sees the cubes are in the wrong order. If the cubes are stacked on the corner, the smallest cube may be used to place on each level. The ledge of each level will be 1cm wide and the child will be able to see if the small cube fits on each ledge.

The Broad Stair

The broad stair is designed to teach the concepts of "thick" and "thin." The broad stairs are 10 sets of wooden prisms with a natural or brown stain finish. Each stair is 20 cm in length and varies in thickness from 1 square cm to 10 square cm.

When the broad stairs are put together from thickest to thinnest, the material makes stairs going down.

As an extension, the broad stairs are often used with the pink tower to allow the child to make many designs.

The Pink Tower and the Broad Stairs are shown here together in an extension activity. The child can make a variety of designs limited only by his or her imagination and the constraints of the material.

The Red Rods

The red rods are 10 red rods with equal diameter. They vary only in length. The smallest is 10 cm long and the largest is one meter long. Each rod is 1 square inch thick. By holding the ends of the rods with two hands, the material is designed to give the child a sense of long and short in a very concrete manner.

The Colored Cylinders

Also called the knobless cylinders, these are cylinders of the exact same size and dimensions as the cylinder blocks mentioned above.

There are 4 boxes of cylinders:

• Yellow cylinders that vary in height and width. The shortest cylinder is the thinnest and the tallest cylinder is the thickest.
• Red cylinders that are the same height, but vary in width.
• Blue cylinders that have the same width, but vary in height.
• Green cylinders that vary in height and width. The shortest cylinder is the thickest and the tallest cylinder is the thinnest.

The child can do a variety of exercises with these materials, including matching them with the cylinder blocks, stacking them on top of each other to form a tower, and arranging them in size or different patterns. When the yellow, red, and green cylinders are placed on top of each other, they all are the same height. ^[1]

Colored Cylinders laid out in a design.

The green, yellow, and red cylinders are stacked on top of each other.

Here, the knobless cylinders are used with the cylinders from the cylinder block.

The Binomial Cube

The binomial cube is a cube that has the following pieces: 1 red cube, 3 black and red prisms. 3 black and blue prisms, and 1 blue cube.

A box with 8 prisms represent the elements of (a + b)³ or: a³ + 3a²b + 3ab² + b³

The pieces are stored in a box with two hinged opening sides. The color pattern of the cube is painted all around the outside of the box (except the bottom).

The material is not designed as a math material until the elementary years of Montessori Education. In the Primary levels (ages 3-6), it is used as a sensorial material.

The Binomial Cube

The Trinomial Cube

The trinomial cube is similar to the binomial cube, but has the following pieces: The trinomial cube is a cube that has the following pieces: 1 red cube, 6 black and red prisms (varying in size) 1 blue cube and 6 black and blue prisms (varying in size) 1 yellow cube and 6 black and yellow prisms (varying in size)

This is used similar to the binomial cube, but is a physical representation of the math formula:

(a + b + c)³ = a³ + 3a²b + 3a²c + b³ + 3ab² + 3b²c + c³ + 3ac² + 3bc² + 6abc

Other materials

There are many Montessori materials that deal with the Sensorial area and more are being investigated and developed by teachers. Other popular Montessori Sensorial materials include:

• Monomial Cube: A cube similar to the binomial and trinomial cube. The child has a sensorial experience of the power of multiplying by 2 and developing that into a cube.

• Geometric Cabinet: Several different shapes are inset into wood and placed in drawers. The child distinguishes the different shapes, learns their names, and learns how to discriminate from the shapes.

• The Constructive Triangles: Different triangles are put together to form various shapes. Shapes made with the triangles include the parallelogram, hexagon, rhombus, and trapezoid.

• Color Tablets: Boxes with tablets inside. The sides are usually made of wood or plastic. The middle is painted wood or plastic. The only difference with these are the colors in the middle. There are 3 color boxes. The first has the 3 basic colors of red, blue, and yellow. The 2nd has 12 different colors. The third box has 9 colors, but in different grades from light to dark.

• The Geometric Solids: 10 Geometric 3-dimensional shapes made from wood and usually painted blue. The shapes are:
  • Sphere
  • Cone
  • Ovoid
  • Ellipsoid
  • Triangle Based Pyramid
  • Square Based Pyramid
  • Cube
  • Cylinder
  • Rectangular Prism
  • Triangular Prism

• The Mystery Bag contains various object that the child feels and sorts without looking into the bag. The object is removed after the child has decided how to sort it and a visual check is done. (Though this may also be done blindfolded to add to the experience).

• Rough And Smooth Boards: Sandpaper is glued onto a smooth wood board. Various grading of sandpaper are used later as an extension of this activity to help the child discriminate between them.

• Fabric Box: Different fabric materials are used that the child must feel and match. A blindfold is usually used so the child cannot see the materials.

• Thermic Bottles: Different temperature water is added to metal bottles. The child lines them up from "hottest" to "coldest."

• Baric Tablets: Wooden tablets of various weight to help the child discriminate between weight.

• The Sound Cylinders: 2 boxes, each containing 6 cylinders. One set has a red top and the other a blue top. When shaken, each cylinder of the same color gives off a different sound. The sound from the red cylinder is matched with the same exact sound from the blue cylinder.

• The Bells: 26 bells are used in the Montessori classroom to enable the child to develop a strong sense of musical tones.

The Color Tablets: Box 3

The Geometric Solids

The Montessori Bells