Montessori Nomenclature Cards: How to Create and Use Nomenclature Materials

Young children learn language by learning the names of things. They are constantly asking "What is that?", wanting to assign a name, and thus meaning, to the objects in their world.

Montessori Nomenclature cards (from the Latin nomenclatura – "assigning of names") are often used for building vocabulary and concepts in all subject areas. Also known as 3-part cards, this material is made up of pictures and labels. The simplicity of the material is in the picture of an object and its name. They can be used with non-readers as the Montessori children are able to match up the letters on the labels and figure out which label goes with which picture. Nomenclature cards use control cards as a built in control of error (Prepared Montessori Environment: Control of Error). This way, children are able to self-correct without interference from the Montessori teacher.

Learn how to create nomenclature cards as effective materials for your Montessori classroom.