Thinking Maps

February 3, 2017/in Uncategorized /by access

One of the foundations of a Montessori education at FMS, is the fundamental skill of teaching students how to “organize” their work. It begins the first day in our primary classrooms and continues as a constant theme in every grade thereafter. A key writing tool for organizing thoughts and ideas is the use of the thinking map. A thinking map is a visual tool students are taught to help focus their ideas into a format that makes writing easier.

The entire FMS staff has had two full trainings by Ms. Erica, our Lead Middle School teacher, on the purpose and use of thinking maps. Ms. Erica is certified by the Innovative Learning Group to impart the specifics of using thinking maps. Her enthusiasm and proficiency for using thinking maps conveyed the big picture as to why thinking maps are vital as our “go to” writing tool.

Thinking maps corral scattered and random thoughts in a format that visually represents the desired final effect. It can be as simple as defining a concept, to comparing and contrasting, or sequencing and analyzing cause and effect. Early in this process, Kindergarteners are introduced to the concept of classifying information by using the simplest format, the circle map. They might use the word “colors” in the center and then list all the colors they know in the space around the center circle.

We also learned that drawing a picture of an event in detail helps open the minds of the new writers as they explore the process of defining and describing events in their lives. The more detailed their pictures, the easier it is for them to write sentences. Before they know it, one sentence turns into three as they answer questions such as “When did this happen?”, “Who was involved?”, or “How did you feel about the event?”

According to Innovative Learning Group, “thinking maps are a set of graphic organizer techniques used in primary and secondary education (“K-12”). There are eight diagram types that are intended to correspond with eight different fundamental thinking processes. The eight map types are:

Circle Map

used for defining in context

Bubble Map

used for describing with adjectives

Double Bubble Map

used for comparing and contrasting

Tree Map

used for classifying or grouping

Brace Map

used for identifying part/whole relationships

Flow Map

used for sequencing and ordering events

Multi-flow map

used for analyzing causes and effects

Bridge map

used for illustrating analogies”*

In Thinking with Maps, Elisabeth Camp (2007) investigates how individuals think and how thinking is related to language. Camp (2007) states that “…thinking in maps is substantively different from thinking in sentences” (p. 155). This concept supports Hyerle’s (2011) idea that Thinking Maps possess an artistic and kinesthetic component, where students can feel free to express their ideas in a “drawing,” or map, instead of using complete written sentences. Thinking Maps support learners who thrive with the artistic and kinesthetic multiple intelligences of learning.

Thinking maps are used throughout each of the grades in FMS. The level of detail and fact finding increases as the students move to the older grades, but the fundamental skills of framing their thoughts into a clear and reproducible pattern is taught in the early stages of learning to write.

Our middle school students weighed in on the usefulness of using thinking maps:

By: Sabrina

Of all of the ways we have learned to study, thinking maps have been by far the most helpful. Whenever there is a test coming up and I get ready to study, I always organize my notes into thinking maps. I feel like when I use thinking maps it helps me understand the information better. If there is a whole section on dates – which personally are the hardest things to study for me, I always bring out my thinking maps and use a flow map. It puts the information in order to help me memorize it. Sometimes, I am even able to add multiple maps together to make it MORE easier.

Another reason I love thinking maps is because when we take notes in class it gets stressful sometimes when you have to write down information about a gigantic battle. But, if you use the correct thinking maps you will soon realize that it isn’t stressful at all. What’s also amazing about thinking maps is that they help me in writing class. When we prewrite, I have ideas but it can sometimes be hard for me to organize all of my thoughts, and thinking maps really helps with that.

Thinking maps also are a great way to get me thinking critically. Thinking critically can be extremely hard for some people, but for me I like the challenge. And thinking maps give me the challenges that I need. Also, I have grown up with these maps. I have been going to this school since I was three and every time I would move up a grade we would have a thinking map lesson. This shows me how important and helpful they are. This is why I love thinking maps and can always rely on them.

By: Arianna

I personally like using flow maps and tree maps. A flow map is a map that puts events in chronological order. This map helps me memorize the order of any events for upcoming tests and quizzes. A tree map is a way of listing things in a more organized way than just bullets or sentences. It may seem like a long process at first, but when it comes up to that dreaded test or research paper you have to write, you have already memorized and put your information in a way that by adding a few words can become a great paper or way to study.

By: Caroline

Thinking maps could be used in many different ways, such as brainstorming, prewriting, organizing information, taking notes, and much more! When you have several ideas or thoughts in your head, just create a circle map and write all of them down! If you are about to write an important essay or report, you could use a thinking map to organize your information and prewrite. Thinking maps are also very convenient while taking your notes. They are more brief and easier to read than just listing long notes. Overall, I believe that thinking maps are great visual tools that can help you anywhere and anytime. So, the next time you are taking notes or trying to solve a problem, instead of writing continuously in paragraph form, use a thinking map!

By: Gabriela

I love thinking maps. They are a super fun yet organized way of writing notes, brainstorming, or even sorting things out. I’m so glad that thinking maps are a tool that I learned to use because they have been very helpful to me so far. I use them in many different ways. When I want to compare/contrast two different characters in English, I might use a double-bubble map. Or if I need to make a cause/effect timeline on a battle for history, I would use a multi-flow map. Thinking maps can be used in almost every subject in school. I can organize my thoughts onto a piece of paper, and therefore be more organized and efficient. These charts make my life so much easier, especially when taking notes. It is sometimes easier for me to understand something when it is written down before me. In conclusion, thinking maps are a useful tool that everyone should learn how to use!

By: Jaden

My personal favorite thinking map is the double bubble map because I think it is the most versatile. You can compare and contrast but you can also brainstorm with it. When I am studying the pages that are double bubble maps or any type of maps for that matter, I remember information more clearly when I am studying and when it comes time to the test I can almost perfectly visualize me holding the page whilst studying. That helps me with the pages that I didn’t have a thinking map on because it would spark a memory on the other pages. To be honest, I am not the best on thinking maps, but if I take the time to learn I believe that it will help me out later. For example my brother Brennan is in high school and he still uses thinking maps.

I believe it also helps when two or more people are thinking on what type of thinking map you use and what to put in it. For example, Ms. Erica in the past has had us work and make thinking maps about Upfront articles. Even now, months later, I can vividly remember the thinking maps we did and the article. Thinking Maps truly do wonders and I believe everyone should be educated about them in their life because they can also help not just in school, but life.

Language Part 2

June 10, 2015/in Blog, Uncategorized /by access

Today we’re on part two of our Language in the Montessori Classroom series.

One of the first language tools used in a more formal lesson with the preschool students, are the sandpaper letters. The sounds are grouped together, so that eventually when the sounds are learned, the student will be able to build a word using the specific letters, such as n,e,t leading the child eventually to saying “net” “The stimulation of the tactile senses through the use of the sandpaper letters and the naming of the letter at the same time will increase the child’s ability to remember both the sound and the shape of the letter.”**

As a child learns to recall specific letters, they then are introduced to the movable alphabet and begin to associate specific objects with its corresponding name and the student spells out the name of the object using the movable alphabet.

Eventually, as the student gains skills in using the alphabet, they will then be asked to write the words on a piece of paper. The progression in the Montessori classroom always starts with the most concrete representation of the sound (such as an object), and then to move to its more abstract representation (writing the name of the object on paper). Kindergarten students are immersed in reading and writing on a daily basis, and enter first grade knowing the basic parts of speech and reading books typically above grade level.

**Montessori Research and Development @2006

Join us on Friday as we continue our series on Language in the Montessori Classroom.

Volcanoes – Part 1

April 6, 2015/in Blog, Uncategorized /by access

For the last three months, “volcanology” has been on the minds of Upper Elementary students and their teachers. The foundation of their volcano studies began with an understanding of plate tectonics. On Earth, there are seven or eight major plates (depending on how they are defined)and many minor plates. Our students investigated 16 different plates. Where plates meet, their relative motion determines the type of boundary: convergent (move towards each other), divergent (move away from each other). Earthquakes and volcanic activity occur along these plate boundaries.

Three different kinds of volcanoes dominate the landscape. Stratovolcanoes are tall and explosive, think Mt. Fuji. Cinder cone volcanoes are not as tall as stratovolcanoes, but are still explosive, such as Mt. St. Helens. Finally, the third variation is call the shield volcano, which is flat and not explosive, but is always putting out steam and oozing magma, like Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Once the students had the big picture of why certain volcanoes form in different parts of the Earth, depending upon the plate tectonics, they began to investigate the parts of the volcano (introduced to Montessori primary age students) and started to see why the magma chamber in a stratovolcano looked so different from the magma chamber of a shield volcano. The pressure in a stratovolcano keeps building up, until there is too much force and it explodes violently.

Viscosity is another important feature of volcanic studies. It is the measurement of “the extent to which a fluid resists a tendency to flow.” Some volcanoes have high viscosity such as a shield volcano, where the magma can be observed (relatively safely) as it is oozing slowly out of the main crater of the volcano, cooling and building land as it hardens. In class, the students learned about the concept of viscosity by running a side experiment where they timed the movement of molasses, versus oil, to see which one took more time to reach the end of the board (molasses has higher viscosity).

*Join us on Wednesday as we conclude our two part series on volcanoes.

Summer Camp 2015

March 12, 2015/in Blog, Uncategorized /by access

Sensorial – Part 4

January 21, 2015/in Blog, Uncategorized /by access

Today we continue our exploration of the Sensorial area of the Montessori classroom, specifically discussing the following materials – the color blocks, the ten geometric three-dimensional shapes, touch boards, and the sound cylinders . Sensorial is an area of the Primary classroom that is uniquely “Montessori.” Many of the jobs hearken directly back to Dr. Montessori when she set up her original classroom for the benefit of the young, unattended children in the housing projects of Rome in the early 1900’s.

There are three color boxes. The first has the three primary colors (red, blue, and yellow). The second has 12 different colors. The third box has nine colors, but in different grades from light to dark.

Ten Geometric three-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

Touch boards groom the student’s sense of touch and enhances their ability to distinguish between the smooth and rough.

Sound cylinders are sensitizing the child to the gradations of sound from soft to loud and at the same time, teaching the child how to match the sounds from the red box with the exact same sound in the blue box.

Once the basic sensorial lessons are mastered, numerous extensions can be practiced with each of the materials. Often sensorial materials will engage the interest of the child for long periods of time because the materials are concrete and the “control of error” is so immediate. There are also many math and language applications using the sensorial materials, such as labeling the materials, or taking a moment to count the quantity of materials used in a particular job. Sensorial is part of the classroom that uses all five senses and draws directly from the wisdom of Dr. Montessori in a concrete, useful and vivid way.

Montessori material descriptions taken from Wikipedia “Montessori Sensorial Materials”

Sensorial – Part 3

January 19, 2015/in Blog, Uncategorized /by access

Today we continue our exploration of the Sensorial area of the Montessori classroom, specifically discussing the following materials – the binomial, trinomial cubes, and the constructive triangles . Sensorial is an area of the Primary classroom that is uniquely “Montessori.” Many of the jobs hearken directly back to Dr. Montessori when she set up her original classroom for the benefit of the young, unattended children in the housing projects of Rome in the early 1900’s.

The binomial and trinomial cubes are more advanced works that not only teach specific pattern matching prisms together, there is an underlying algebraic equation that can be explored Lower Elementary classes.

The constructive triangles are put together to form various shapes. Shapes made with the triangles include the parallelogram, hexagon, rhombus, and trapezoid.

Join us on Wednesday as wrap up our series on Sensorial.

Sensorial – Part 2

January 15, 2015/in Blog, Uncategorized /by access

Today we continue our exploration of the Sensorial area of the Montessori classroom, specifically discussing the following materials – the red rods, cylinder blocks, and the knobless cylinders . Sensorial is an area of the Primary classroom that is uniquely “Montessori.” Many of the jobs hearken directly back to Dr. Montessori when she set up her original classroom for the benefit of the young, unattended children in the housing projects of Rome in the early 1900’s.

Another set of ten pieces is the red rods. “The red rods are rods of equal diameter, varying 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 short and long.”

Here is an example of more advance extensions of using the brown stairs, the red rods and the knobless cylinders:

“The cylinder blocks are ten wooden cylinders of various dimensions that can be removed from a fitted container block using a knobbed handle. To remove the cylinders, the child is taught to use the same three-finger grip used to hold pencils. Several activities can be done with the cylinder blocks. The main activity involves removing the cylinders from the block and finding the right hole to replace the cylinder in. Small, tall and short, thick and thin, are the concepts being conveyed to the children as they handle the cylinder blocks.”

Also called the knobless cylinders, the colored cylinders are exactly the same 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 bloc

ks, stacking them on top of each other to form a tower, and arranging them in size or different patterns.

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

Below, a student has combined the knobless cylinders and the pink tower, ordering the materials in sequence from the biggest to the smallest.

Join us on Monday as we continue to study Sensorial.

Sensorial – Part 1

January 7, 2015/in Blog, Uncategorized /by access

Sensorial is an area of the Primary classroom that is uniquely “Montessori.” Many of the jobs hearken directly back to Dr. Montessori when she set up her original classroom for the benefit of the young, unattended children in the housing projects of Rome in the early 1900’s. Dr. Montessori could see the advantage of having children develop and refine their five senses. She also understood that if a child was presented with materials where they could check their work themselves, and know visually that the job was done correctly or incorrectly due to the precise way the materials were used, then their level of independence and self-confidence would increase. Dr. Montessori referred to this concept as the “control of error’’ and it has great significance throughout the classroom, and especially in the sensorial area.

As the child begins to explore the sensorial works, one of the first jobs introduced is called the pink tower. “The pink tower has ten pinkcubes of different sizes, from 1 centimeter up to 10 cm in increments of 1 cm. The work is designed to provide the child with a concept of small and big.” The child starts with the largest cube and puts the second-largest cube on top of it. This continues until all ten cubes are stacked on top of each other. The control of error is visual. The child sees the cubes are in the wrong order and the tower becomes unstable if a larger cube is placed on top of a smaller cube.

Many of the sensorial materials are made with 10 components so that the students get used to counting 1-10 quite naturally.

For instance, the brown stairs is made up of 10 sets of wooden prisms and introduces the concept of thin to thick. “Each stair is 20 cm in length and varies in thickness from 1 to 10 cm. When put together from thickest to thinnest, they make an even staircase.” After the initial pink tower and brown stair lessons are mastered, both materials can be used together forming interesting combinations.

Join us next week as we continue looking at the Sensorial part of a Montessori classroom.

Parent Education: Practical Life – Part 1

December 23, 2014/in Blog, Uncategorized /by access

Today we are looking back at a series that we posted back in the summer, Practical Life.

In a Montessori classroom, the Practical Life area is one of the first areas that a child explores. This section of the classroom provides the child with real-life materials that help to develop coordination, concentration, independence, and order.

Through the exercises of Practical Life, the child learns the skills that enable him to become an independent being. From birth, the child is striving for independence and concerned adults, parents, and teachers should help him on his path by showing him the skills he needs to achieve this end. Having been shown a skill, the child then needs freedom to practice and perfect.

In a Montessori classroom, preschool children learn basic motor skills in the Practical Life areas by teaching themselves and learning from other children rather than by specific adult instruction. As the child becomes absorbed in an interesting activity, he develops concentration. If the activity is appropriate and meets a need, it will be interesting for the child. The longer the child is absorbed by an activity the better for the development of concentration.

Through activity, the child learns to control his movements. The idea that the path to intellectual development occurs through the hands is a major theme in the Montessori Method. The exercises of Practical Life provide opportunities for the development of both gross motor and fine motor movements. In addition, the child learns to keep the environment in a clean and ordered way, putting everything away in its right place. He is taught to approach each new task in an ordered way, to carry it out carefully, to complete the activity, and finally, how to clean up and put the materials away. Engaging in this complete process encourages logical thinking.

Another great post on Practical Life can be found here as well.

The Two Pillars of Effective Classroom Management

November 4, 2014/in Blog, Uncategorized /by access

During a recent Friday at school, the students were at home and the teachers were in class. We were learning about “Bringing out the Best in Students and Teachers” from Grace Dearborn, a Mentor Teacher/Consultant. With over 15 years of teaching students ranging in age from kindergarten through high school aged children, Grace was a master storyteller, easily conveying tried and useful information to the FMS teaching staff.

Starting with some of the basics, like “The two pillars of effective classroom management are structure and safety.” The more clearly the structure of the classroom is laid out for the students the easier it is for them to follow the procedures in the classroom. For example, in the primary classrooms, we show students how to roll up a mat so that it is evenly rolled up and tightly done. In the course of the day, if a child haphazardly rolls up a mat and then puts it away, they have not internalized the structure of “how to roll up a mat.” Hopefully, a teacher will see this and gently ask the child to try again, thus giving them a pattern of rolling up a mat that is in compliance with the structure of the classroom.

In an elementary classroom, students might be shown how to do a word sort where they are handed a list of words and are asked to divide up the list according to the specific categories. If the student follows the procedure and separates the list according to the categories, then the child begins to learn the words effectively and this process reinforces their knowledge. On the other hand, if they don’t sort correctly, a teacher would see the opportunity to reteach the process and reinforce the structure of sorting according to an effective standard.

As each child is able to move and operate in the classroom, successfully navigating the rules and expectations within the room, the smoother the classroom runs. Children naturally test the boundaries laid out by teachers (and parents) and most of the time, they are just testing to see how trustworthy the teacher is. The first time they push a limit and a teacher is able to meet the child with “positive love and regard” while redirecting the student to making a better choice, the student’s sense of safety is reinforced. They begin to relax because they know that the teacher is directing the room from a position of strength and awareness.

Naturally teachers are motivated to convey content to their students; the “important information”, like facts and concepts. Yet, an equally important component of teaching is modeling appropriate behavior. In fact, as was reinforced in our training; children come into a classroom wanting to learn appropriate behavior. It is the teacher’s duty to clearly lay out the procedures for appropriate behavior, redirecting a child to better choices when they are testing the limits, and to implement clear consequences for the choices being offered. As children learn to conduct themselves within the framework of the classroom, they begin to develop the skills to effectively be in groups. Since most of our lives are spent working in groups, this is a fundamental skill that requires the attention it deserves.