The Montessori Three Period Lesson: How To Present, With An Example

One of the hardest things I had to learn as a Montessori teacher coming from a public school background was to resist asking students questions that led to guessing or children second-guessing themselves. This type of questioning leads to wrong answers and misinformation, which puts the teacher in a correcting mode, not a teaching mode. Montessori was very clear that we should teach, not correct. We need to tell the students exactly and simply what it is they need to know and allow them to practice the concepts until they reach mastery.

The three period lesson is the approach used in the Montessori classroom to present new material to students. It first introduces the concept, allows for practice, and finally, provides a demonstration of mastery. First the teacher names the object, second, asks the child to touch the object when the name is given, then third, asks the child to name the object to which the teacher is pointing. Most often associated with teaching vocabulary, the three period lesson is used throughout the curriculum to help students gain information and master concepts. For this purpose, I will use the concept of architecture and Greek Columns.