Montessori and the Science of Reading

Photo by Gustavo Fring, Pexels

The new Science of Reading movement that is occurring in schools in Canada and the United States is an evidence-based approach to reading instruction based on decades of research from education, neuroscience, cognitive science, linguistics, psychology, and sociology. Science of Reading emphasizes the importance of systematically teaching foundational skills like phonemic awareness (individual letter sounds), phonics (the relationship between sounds and letters), fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Although the Science of Reading is a new approach to reading, many of its principles have long been in use in the Montessori early childhood and Montessori lower elementary environments. And like the Science of Reading, the Montessori method emphasizes building foundational skills through a scientifically researched, structured, multi-sensory approach.

Comparing Montessori and the Science of Reading

• Phonemic Awareness and Phonics: In Montessori, phonemic awareness is developed first with oral language and then with writing activities. The activities use specifically designed materials, including the Sound Pouches, which build sound recognition; the Sandpaper Letters, a tactile material that helps the child associate letter sounds with their symbols; and the Movable Alphabet, which engages the child in a tactile exploration of writing. The Montessori approach guides the child through the process of recognizing that language is made up of sounds, that each sound is represented by letters, and by blending these sounds together form words, creating a phonics-based approach to writing and reading.


• Multi-Sensory Learning: A key element of Montessori education, which is also supported by the research behind the Science of Reading, is the use of multi-sensory materials. The materials engage multiple senses, which helps the child strengthen their understanding of sounds, symbols, and word formation. For instance, Sandpaper Letters involve tracing letters formed of sandpaper (tactile and muscular), seeing the symbol (visual), and hearing and saying the letter sound (auditory). Similarly, the Movable Alphabet allows the child to practice building words with their hands (tactile and muscular), as they see the letter symbols (visual) and say the letter sounds (auditory), reinforcing phonetic knowledge and word structure.


• Systematic and Sequential Instruction: Montessori language activities are structured sequentially, from the simplest to the more complex. The child’s knowledge is built gradually and incrementally. With each new lesson, they are building on what came previously. Children start with basic sounds and progress to encoding, decoding, and eventually to fluency, much like the systematic approach advocated by Science of Reading.


• Vocabulary: Children are introduced to vocabulary in every area of the curriculum. Children are presented with precise terms, synonyms for words they already know, and difficult words that many would think too advanced for a young child. The Montessori teacher understands that there is no limit to which words children can learn, as long as the vocabulary has meaning for them. The Montessori three-period lesson is an important technique in presenting vocabulary that helps children progressively identify, recall, and use new words and relationships while nomenclature cards allow for individual and independent practice.


• Fluency and Comprehension: The Montessori reading activities systematically move children from reading short-vowel consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) nouns, adjectives, and verbs, to learning sight words, to consonant blends, and key phonograms. At the same time, they are learning the rules of grammar through impressionistic lessons and by working with the Miniature Environment. As they progress from word-based learning to phrases and sentences, children are given opportunities to build fluency, demonstrate comprehension, and develop mastery.

Encoding Before Decoding

While the Science of Reading method focuses specifically on reading, the Montessori method presents all aspects of language skills and culminates in reading. Key to Montessori is introducing writing before reading. Dr. Montessori understood that writing is easier for the child than reading. Writing is encoding, or putting together sounds to build words. Reading is decoding, or taking words apart to identify their sounds and putting them back together to understand their meaning. “When a child writes a word with the Large Movable Alphabet, she is building her own code based on what she understands of language.” (North American Montessori Center, 2020) When a child reads, they are presented with a whole word and must take the word apart to identify its sounds and then put it back together to understand its meaning. The child must understand the code or rules that were used to form the words and then interpret the meaning of those words. Only when the child is confident with encoding does the Montessori method progress to decoding words.

Although it was developed over 100 years ago, the Montessori method is, like the Science of Reading, based on research, study, and experimentation. And despite being over a century old, the Montessori method embraces many of the same principles as the Science of Reading. Both methods follow a structured, phonics-based, multi-sensory, and sequential approach. A key difference is that Montessori understands the value in learning to write (encode) before beginning to read (decode).
Learn more about the Montessori approach to building language skills, writing and reading in NAMC’s Montessori Diploma Programs

NAMC’s Montessori Early Childhood Diploma Program 

NAMC’s Montessori Lower Elementary Diploma Program 

Michelle Zanavich — NAMC Tutor & Graduate