Montessori (3-6) Pre-Primary Diploma AND National Diploma in ECD, Level 5 (SAQA I.D.

23118)

Study Guide: Module 5 Math

Unit 1: How Numeracy is Developed
Facilitated & Assessed & Unit 2: Plan
Prepare and Use a Numeracy Programme Activities & Resources

About this study guide:

The following Unit Standards are covered in this study guide:
- Core US: 13853 Mediate Active Learning in ECD Programmes
- Fundamental US: 14582 Develop & Apply Academic Literacy Skills
- Compulsory Elective US: 10289 Facilitate a Programme of Learning
- Elective US: 244256 Facilitate a Numeracy Learning Programme in the Reception Year

For many adults the subject of mathematics brings back many uncomfortable memories of fear and rote
learning, struggling to understand a concept, being embarrassed in class for not knowing the answer, being
labelled as “stupid.” You may be apprehensive about this module, but you can be certain that once you learn
the Montessori approach to Maths and once you explore and practice with the Montessori Maths Materials,
these feelings will be a thing of the past.

In this study guide, you will learn how to facilitate a numeracy learning programme with young children using
the Montessori way. This is a very exciting approach to teaching math to a 2-7-year-old child. Montessori’s
Numeracy programme is probably the best in the world. It presents very abstract concepts (ideas) in a
concrete form that makes it possible for children as young as 3 (or even 2) to grasp! Activities begin with the
use of concrete didactic materials and by the end of the programme, the child is doing sums on paper.
When working through the manual please keep the following in mind:
● This is one of many approaches to the teaching of mathematics
● This manual is based on the Montessori curriculum for the 2-7-year-old
● It is a 3-year programme with the 2½ to 3-year-old child
● The older child (7 years old) may complete the programme in a shorter time
● Children should not be pressurized into doing the numeracy activities
● The lessons for each group of activities e.g. numbers 1-10 are well scaffolded and hence the order
should be followed
● With this approach, the child works from the concrete to the abstract
● The activities and didactic materials can be used quite successfully with older learners who are
struggling with basic math concepts. Hence it can be used as a remedial programme where the need
arises.
This study guide helps you to:
● Understand the rationale and scope of a numeracy programme for the young child
● Plan a developmentally appropriate numeracy learning programme
● Prepare appropriate learning activities and materials
● Implement a planned numeracy learning programme
● Observe and assess children’s progress in the numeracy learning programme
● Evaluate the effectiveness of the numeracy programme

“Children display a universal love of mathematics, which is par excellence

the science of precision, order and excellence”
(Montessori, M.)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNIT 1: HOW NUMERACY IS DEVELOPED, FACILITATED & ASSESSED 3
The history of mathematics 3
The importance of early maths learning 4
Maths concept strands 4
Introduction to Montessori’s numeracy programme 5
The mathematical mind 5
Spontaneous abstractions 6
The Montessori math materials 6
Procedure for introducing mathematical concepts 6

UNIT 2: PREPARE & USE A NUMERACY PROGRAMME ACTIVITIES & RESOURCES 8

Preparation for working with the Montessori math materials 8
Mathematical language 9
Montessori maths as part of an integrated system 9
Practical life as a preparation for maths 9
Sensorial as a preparation for maths 10
Language as a preparation for maths 11
Culture as a preparation for maths 11
Understanding Montessori’s numeracy programme 12
The goals of the Montessori math programme 12
Group one: Learning numbers 0-10 12
Group two: The decimal system 12
Group three: Counting and numbers 12
Group four: The four operations 12
Group five: Abstraction 12

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 UNIT 1: HOW NUMERACY IS DEVELOPED, FACILITATED & ASSESSED

Unit Std: 14582 SO1 AC 1,4; SO3 AC 1; SO5 AC 1,3,4,5

Unit Std: 13853 SO1 AC 1,2,3,4,5; SO2 AC 3,4
Unit Std: 244256 SO1 AC 1,2,3,4,5; SO2 AC 1,2,3,4,5; SO4 AC 1,2,3,4,5,6; SO5 AC 1,2,3,4
CCFOS: Communicating, Science, Demonstrating, Identifying, Working, Organising & Collecting
References: Duffy, M. (2008). Math Works. Parent Child Press: USA
Gettman, D. (1987). Basic Montessori: Learning Activities for Under-Fives. Christopher Helm: London
Montessori, M. (1967). The Discovery of the Child. Random House Publishing Group: New York
Fleer, M. AND Raban, B. (2016) Early Childhood Literacy and Numeracy: Building Good Practice. [Online]
Available at:
https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/05_2015/ed13-0077_ec_literacy_and_numeracy_b
uilding_good_practice_resources_booklet_acc.pdf. Accessed on: 6 February 2019.
Ginsburg, H. Lin, C. Ness, D. & Seo, K. (2003) Young American and Chinese children’s everyday mathematical
activity. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 5(4), 235–258.
Society for Research in Child Development (2016). Children's early math knowledge related to later
achievement: not all skills related equally. [Online]. Available at:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161206110307.htm. Accessed on: 6 February 2019.

The History of Mathematics

Fingers, Pebbles, and Wiggly Marks
(The story of how counting began and where our numerals and the way of counting came from)

The invention of an efficient number system came through a series of gradual changes. In Prehistoric times
people did not need to count. As time went on, they started taming animals and keeping herds. Fingers were
the first symbol to stand for numbers. This is a possible reason why our number system today is based on
ten rather than on some other number.
Pebbles were also used for counting. People also made grooves in the sand and used pebbles to represent
10’s and units. Early Civilizations like the Egyptians used pictures to represent different numbers. For example,
Roman numbers were expressed in letters and are still commonly used. Note down the example given:

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Our present number system is a product of the ingenuity of the Arabs and the Hindus. It is a far more
efficient way of dealing with large quantities.

The Importance of Early Maths Learning

“Historically, the purpose and importance of mathematics learning in the early years have not been properly
understood or valued in South Africa. This is in part because there is not a general understanding of how
mathematical ideas and skills are developed between birth and five years, nor of how best to approach the
teaching and learning of key concepts and competencies during this period.” – Kühne, O’Carroll, Comrie and
Hickman (2013)
Research shows that maths, reading, and attention skills in pre-school are linked to better academic
performance later and that skills such as counting, number knowledge, estimation, and measurement are all
predictors of later academic achievement (Kühne et al., 2013). Other studies have also shown that activities
that help children to find, extend and discuss predictable sequences in objects and compare quantities
(without counting) contribute significantly to later maths achievement (Society for Research in Child
Development, 2016). Also, high-quality pre-schools, which offer early number concepts, have a significant
impact on maths attainment at ages six and ten.

Maths Concept Strands

In early childhood settings, the children have experiences that develop abstract concepts that help to
transform their everyday experiences (Fleer and Raban, 2016). For example, by exposing a child to maths
concepts, they can divide food amongst their friends, recognize patterns around them, and organize or sort
items into meaningful categories. Therefore, knowledge of maths concepts helps children to become more
independent. Some of the concepts that children learn through their work with the Montessori materials,
through pre-maths games, through play, talking, listening, through reading books, participating in action
songs and rhymes, include those listed in the diagram below. As a Directress, you would consider these
dimensions below when observing children and when designing your activities or engaging in conversations
with children.

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Introduction to Montessori’s Numeracy Programme
The dictionary definition of Mathematics is “the systematic treatment of magnitude, relationships between
figures and forms, and relations between quantities expressed symbolically”. Mathematics is the study of
topics such as quantity (numbers), structure, space, and change. There is a range of views among
mathematicians and philosophers as to the exact scope and definition of mathematics. Maria Montessori
had a simple approach.

She believed that no human being is educated by another – one must do it by oneself. A truly educated
individual continues to learn long after the hours and years one spends in the classroom. One is motivated
from within by a natural curiosity and love for knowledge. Hence the goal of early childhood education
should not be to fill the child with facts from a pre-selected course of studies, but rather to cultivate the
desire to learn.

“Dr. Montessori designed concrete materials to represent all types of quantities; after she observed that the
child who becomes interested in counting likes to touch or move the items as he enumerates them. In a
Montessori environment, a child not only sees the symbol for 1, 1000, or ½, he can also hold each of the
corresponding quantities in his hand. Later, by combining this equipment, separating it, sharing it, counting it,
and comparing it, he can demonstrate to himself the basic operations of arithmetic. The activity gives him
the satisfaction of learning by discovery rather than by being told. Eventually, he develops an early
enthusiasm for the world of numbers” (Wolf, 2009, p.38).

The Mathematical Mind

Research by Ginsburg has shown that children bring more mathematical knowledge and experience to a
school than previously believed. In one study, preschool children were observed frequently engaging in a
range of mathematics, including pattern and shape, magnitude, enumeration, spatial relations, classification,
and dynamic change (Ginsburg et al., 2003, p. 236).

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Montessori believed that each child was born with a Mathematical Mind. That is, the natural ability to
calculate, reason, extract, investigate, explore, create, and order. She saw Math as very much part of nature
and a natural part of one’s being – Humans are mathematical beings born with mathematical minds.

“All those early acquisitions which have brought order into the child’s mind, would be wasted were they
not firmly established by means of written language and figures. Thus established these experiences open
up an unlimited field for future education”
Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori observed all these tendencies in young children. She developed concrete materials to allow
children to manipulate these abstract concepts in a Sensorial way. She believed that it was the responsibility
of the adult to create a prepared environment in which children could work with the materials repeatedly
and whenever they needed. Dr. Montessori speaks of the development of the “Mathematical Mind” as a mind
that has changed. The change takes place as the child problem-solves, explores, manipulates the materials,
talks, listens and questions, and repeats. Through this activity, the child learns to solve problems in his head
without the materials. Thus, the math materials take the child from the concrete (hands-on experience) to
the abstract.

Spontaneous Abstractions
Montessori often commented in her lectures “I present the child with Materialized abstractions”. By this, she
meant that the concept is presented in a material or concrete form and always combined with an activity. As
the child works many times with the material, gradually there comes from the material the very essence of
the operation. This sinks quietly into his mind and becomes a part of him. It is the same with any
mathematical operation. The child works in the concrete first until the very essence of the “rule” becomes
clear to him.

The Montessori Math Materials

Through Maria Montessori’s observations of the children, she noted that children move naturally using all
their senses and body to explore their environment. She found that man is a mathematical person - he
counts, makes sets, groups, and makes one-to-one correspondence. Based on her observations, she

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designed most of the pre-primary mathematics materials and like all materials in the Montessori classroom,
the design of the math materials considers beauty, order, and sequence. The Golden Bead Material attracts
the child’s interest and holds the child’s attention. The mathematics material is fun for the children to handle.
The child can learn at his rate to go from concrete quantities to abstraction and repeat the exercises as
many times as necessary. The Montessori didactic materials allow the child to discover and understand
mathematical concepts through repeated use. The materials are simple and attractive to the child. They give
children the Sensorial experience of working from the concrete to the abstract and allow them to absorb
these concepts. The materials themselves are graded and become progressively less concrete to assist the
child in developing concepts and working in the abstract. Dr. Montessori realized that children are fascinated
with large numbers and hence designed the golden bead material, which allows the child to pile up 10,000 or
more. The progression towards abstraction can be seen with the decimal system. The children begin with the
golden bead material, working physically with large quantities of beads. This is followed by the less concrete
stamps, and one stamp represents 10 or 100 or 1000. From here the child progresses to the bead frame, dot
game, and finally working entirely on paper. By this time the child has such a good understanding of the
decimal system and requires no materials.

Procedure for Introducing Mathematical Concepts

1. Presentation of Quantity (e.g. number rods)
2. Presentation of Symbol (e.g. sandpaper numbers)
3. Association of Quantity and Symbol (e.g. number rods and numeral cards)

In the math materials, the math concepts isolate first the quantity, then the symbol, then the quantity and
symbol are brought together. As the children manipulate the materials and repetition are provided through
the materials, the materials allow the child to explore until eventually, the child moves from concrete to
abstract.

As in other areas of Montessori, the three-period lesson is an effective way to teach new concepts. There is
first the presentation (naming) stage (e.g. This is “one”). This stage introduces the name. The next stage, the
recognition stage, tests the child’s ability to recognize based on a verbal clue (e.g. Show me “one”). The
second stage is the longest stage of the three-period lesson. The stage is usually prolonged and varied by
playing a game with the child (e.g. Put ‘one’ on my lap, put ‘two’ in my hand; put ‘one’ on the mat, etc). It is
recommended that during this stage the child move the object around to assist with making the association
between name and object. The final stage of the 3-period lesson is known as the test/recall stage. During
this stage, the Directress tests the child’s ability to recall the name.

UNIT 2: PREPARE & USE A NUMERACY PROGRAMME ACTIVITIES &

RESOURCES
Unit Std: 14582 SO1 AC 1; SO2 AC 2,4
Unit Std: 10289 SO5 AC 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
Unit Std: 244256 SO1 AC 1,2; SO2 AC 1,4; SO3 AC 1,2,3,4,5; SO4 AC 1,2,3,4,5,6; SO6 AC 1,2,3
CCFOS: Communicating, Science, Demonstrating, Identifying, Working, Organising & Collecting
References: Duffy, M. (2008). Math Works. Parent Child Press: USA
Gettman, D. (1987). Basic Montessori: Learning Activities for Under-Fives. Christopher Helm: London
Montessori, M. (1967). The Discovery of the Child. Random House Publishing Group: New York

Preparation for working with the Montessori math materials

Preparation for working with Maths activities and materials begins at birth. Young children use early math
skills in a variety of areas throughout their daily routines and activities. In a typical day, a child will experience
problem-solving, reasoning, measurements, patterns, number names, spatial awareness, and geometry –
just to name a few. Children develop an understanding of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division

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through everyday interactions (e.g. We have 4 biscuits and need to divide it between the two of you; You
have 3 grapes. You give one to me, how many do you have left? etc). They become aware of ordinal
numbers (e.g. It is Miriam’s second birthday; I had it first! etc) and cardinal numbers (e.g. counting the steps
as you go down, singing nursery rhymes, etc).

Informal pre-numeracy activities are aimed at all children but specifically at the littlest ones who can’t
recognize numbers and have only limited counting skills. These activities should look at the different
numeracy skills, namely numbers, patterns, shape and space, measurement, and data collection. Pre-math
activities can be those that increase the richness of the young child’s learning experience by engaging them
in a dialogue or conversation about the world around them. The dialogue or conversation can be through
songs, games, dances, or exploring together. Pre-math activities can also be those that the child performs
alone that would engage and fascinate them, including building, matching shapes, making patterns,
collecting and sorting things.
Some examples of maths pre-literacy activities, include:
• Numbers
• Song: one, two, buckle my shoe or two little dickie birds (let older children lead)
• Counting: objects, parts of the body, fingers
• Birthdays or races (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
• Setting a table or buttons (one-to-one correspondence)
• Patterns
• Clap hands, touch knees, clap hands, touch knees, clap, clap, clap
• Miss Mary Mack clapping sequence (see internet for examples)
• Poems with repetition
• Bead stringing
• Shape and space
• Look at books together and talk about different objects and shapes
• Talk about shapes in the environment
• Perform dances with actions (run, run, run to the left…Jump, jump, jump to the front…, waddle,
waddle, waddle down low…stretch, stretch, stretch up high…)
• Measurement
• Read the story of Goldilocks and the three bears (smallest bowl, biggest bowl, hot, cool…)
• Game: who can stand on one foot for longer?
• Estimation: open and close your hand and ask child to guess how much they saw, then check
by counting
• Data collection
• Poems about things that are the same or different
• Tidying up to music (ask the children questions about where they think things should go)

Mathematical Language
Children become aware of “Mathematical Language” (e.g. names of shapes and sizes – big, small, long, tall,
triangle, circle, square, etc); learn how to grade and identify differences and similarities. They are introduced
to the concepts of the four operations in everyday life:
Addition: You have 3 grapes. I will give you two more. How many do you have altogether?
Subtraction: You had 5 grapes and you ate 3. How many do you have left?
Multiplication: Three children can have 2 apples each. How many do we need?
Division: Here are 12 biscuits. Share them between four children. How many does each one get?

The Directress, Assistant, and the child’s parents can use mathematical language in all their various
engagements with the child across the day. Some examples of language to use in the classroom include:
Estimating: ‘about’, nearly’, ‘many’, ‘same’, ‘a few’
Order: ‘first’ and ‘last’

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Measurement: ‘High’, ‘Low’, ‘empty’, ‘full’, ‘heavy’, ‘light’, ‘long’, ‘short’
Time: ‘yesterday’, ‘tomorrow’
Shape and space: ‘under’, ‘before’, ‘between’
Verification: ‘check’, ‘answer’, ‘correct’
Prediction: ‘possible’, ‘may happen’

Montessori maths as part of an integrated system

Your role as the Directress is to understand the link between the various areas of the classroom and to
understand how they work together to develop the child holistically. Therefore, it is your job to observe how
the child is using the materials and to ensure that the child is constantly linked back to the developmental
purpose of the activity so that they can grow holistically. The Montessori materials work as an integrated
whole and so work in Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, and Culture (if done correctly) will prepare the child
positively for Maths.

In Montessori education, Mathematics finds its roots in the Practical Life and Sensorial areas. Many of the
skills and concepts necessary for Mathematics are introduced in these two areas as well as through informal
games and songs during circle and storytime. Thus, before a child does any formal Math activities, he has
already gained some Math skills. The order that was established in Practical Life and enhanced in the
Sensorial area leads to the order needed in mathematics - an intellectual order. Practical Life and the
Sensorial area have also been leading the child to discovery, moving, and awakening the senses. In
Mathematics the child has reached a new level of learning - a more intellectual level. As a child works in all
areas of the Montessori environment, his level in each area moves ahead.

Thus, Practical Life and Sensorial are the foundations upon which the child can build as he enters
mathematics. Practical Life gives the child order, concentration, coordination, and independence. The
Sensorial apparatus in addition to the above serves an important function of ordering the mental data and
facts, which the child has already achieved.

“True knowledge consists, not in the awareness of isolated facts, but in ordered systems or related facts”
(E.M. Standing)

Practical life as a preparation for maths

Practical Life is the foundation of all learning in the Montessori environment. Here the child acquires order,
concentration, coordination, and independence.

Order
The sequence of steps a child learns in Practical Life activities helps him learn to order a task and to follow
through and complete it successfully. In math, each activity has a beginning- set up the problem, a middle-
work through the problem, and an end to solve the problem. The early successes in problem-solving
techniques in Practical Life are a critical builder of the child’s self-confidence in his problem-solving skills. As
the child completes a task from beginning to end in Practical Life, he learns to follow an orderly process from
beginning to end to complete the problem he faces.

Concentration
The Practical Life activities are designed to attract the child’s attention and hold it for varying lengths of time.
As the child’s skills develop and he tackles more difficult activities so does his concentration increase. This
lengthening of the child’s concentration span in Practical Life is necessary so that a child can focus on the
mathematical material long enough to grasp the concept being taught.

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Coordination
Practical Life activities develop the child’s large and small muscle coordination, which he will need for
manipulating the math materials. The hand-eye coordination necessary to count the beads and move
fingers together down and across the chart to obtain an answer is also learned in Practical Life. In addition,
the left -to right and top to bottom eye movements needed to read large numeral cards and mathematical
problems are encouraged in the Practical Life activities.

Independence
The feeling of independence is achieved in Practical Life, by successful completion of a task,
selecting what to work with, working on one's own, and repeating the activity as many times as one
likes. This independence should carry over to the other materials. A child should be confident
enough to try the math materials and pursue his growth.

Practical Life also develops several other pre-math concepts. The sorting activities increase the
child’s perception of similarities and differences. This skill will be very helpful in number recognition
and equality and inequality problems. Serving a certain number of pieces of food to others, the
button and snap frame and the nut and bolt activities help develop the child’s perception of
one-to-one correspondence. Other food preparation activities of combining ingredients to make a
new product help a child to see that numbers in math can be combined to form a new number.
There are also excellent demonstrations of the principles of conservation (Piaget) as the children
pursue activities such as wet or dry pouring from one container to another, or multiple containers.

Sensorial as a preparation for maths

“The senses being explorers of the world open the way to knowledge”
(Maria Montessori)
Through the Sensorial area, the child acquires or refines numerous skills he will need in the math area. In the
Sensorial area, the child trains his senses to note fine details and characteristics of an object. Thus, he can
refine his perception of similarities and differences that was begun in Practical Life. The Sensorial area is an
important preparation step before Mathematics.

Since many of the Sensorial materials contain ten pieces, the child must make ten trips to get the material to
his mat and ten trips to return the materials. Thus, the physical moving of one piece at a time ingrains the
concept of “tens” in the child’s muscle memory. It emphasizes and refines the concept of 10, which will aid the
child in the association of quantity with the symbol in the math activities.

There is a concrete preparation for geometry through working with various shapes and sizes with the
materials like the geometric cabinet, geometric solids, etc. Children do not only experience these abstract
mathematical shapes in a concrete form, they are also introduced to the correct terminology. The child
explores arithmetic formulas in a concrete form through the binomial and trinomial cubes. The child can
explore how certain shapes can be mixed to form new shapes, learning the correct terminology for these
shapes as well. The materials have precise measurements, allowing the child to grade and differentiate
between various forms, sizes, and shapes. The child explores some mathematical concepts like weight,
length, height, size, etc in a very concrete form, creating comparisons, and finding differences and
similarities. The child develops an acute sense of observation which is important for the refining of the
mathematical mind. These experiences, together with the mathematical language, develop and refine the
child’s mathematical mind.

In the Sensorial area, by constantly working and handling materials that involve weight, dimension,
sequence, gradation, numerical and geometric progression, the child also learns about the forms of material,

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keeping them in a series and grading them following a certain pattern. Thus, the child is aware of what
belongs together and how they compare – which is heavier, lighter, darker, larger, rougher, smoother, etc.
The child can then relate larger and smaller to the math materials and learn to compare things in math by
“greater than” and “less than.”

The Sensorial materials give the child the exactness he will need in working with the math materials. He must
build the Pink Tower exactly or it will topple, so too must he count the beads in the math activities exactly.

“The Montessori approach to mathematics is based on Sensorial material which represents the
materialization of abstract ideas” (Petrutis). The child explores with materials and by repeating the activity,
develops skills in reasoning and memorization, reaches higher levels of abstraction, and internalizes basic
mathematical concepts.

Language as a preparation for maths

Many of the activities in Language also develop Mathematical skills. For example, spatial awareness activities
help children develop an understanding of the position. This is particularly important when working with the
Decimal System – as a number not in the correct position will change the category and value of the number
(E.g. the value of the number 3 in each of these numbers is different because of its position – 1437; 1347; 23 &
3109). Activities that involve matching, sorting, and classifying help the child to develop an understanding of
sets, identifying differences and similarities. Talking about mathematical concepts in books, reading poems
with repeating patterns, and performing action songs all develop language and math skills simultaneously.

Culture as a preparation for maths

In Culture, objects in nature, puzzles, and drawing activities prepare the children to understand space and
shape. Birthday activities help the child with counting and understanding the relationship between numbers
and the order of numbers. The organization of different groups of objects in culture, like groups of buildings
or groups of shells, helps children with sorting and classifying information. Patterns that occur in nature; like
lifecycles, patterns of molecules, or patterns on the surface of shells all prepare the child for a better
understanding of mathematical patterns. Science experiments in culture also prepare the child for maths, for
example through engaging in the early measurement of light versus heavy.

By the time the child is ready for the language of mathematics, a series of preparations have been made.
First, the child has established internal order. Second, the child has developed precise movement. Third, the
child has established a work habit. Fourth, the child can follow and complete a work cycle. Fifth, the child can
concentrate. Sixth, the child has learned to follow a process. Seventh, the child has used symbols. All this
previous development has brought the child to maturity of mind and a readiness for work. The concrete
materials for arithmetic are materialized abstractions.

Understanding Montessori’s Numeracy Programme:

The Goals of the Montessori Math Programme
Two goals are set for the child in the Montessori Math programme:
1. The general goal is to help the child sharpen and refine the mathematical mind, and in having this ability
the child builds confidence.
2. The specific goal is to help the child acquire skills necessary for mathematical work like the four
operations and the memorization of arithmetical facts.

To achieve these goals the child must work with the Montessori didactic materials in the math area. There are
five main groups in the mathematical materials: one to ten materials; decimal system; teens, tens & counting
materials; the four operations, equation materials & abstraction. The Exercises in arithmetic are grouped.
There is some sequential work and some parallel work.

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When presenting mathematical materials there is a pattern, which is usually followed. We start with
presenting the quantity, then we present the symbol representing the quantity, and lastly, the child is shown
how to associate the quantity and symbol.

Group One: Numeration

The activities in this group introduce the child to quantities and symbols of numbers one to ten. They begin
to see that there is no numeral greater than 9 (after 9 only the category changes). This work is a necessary
preparation for working with the Decimal system. The activities in this group introduce to children tally
counting of fixed quantities, tally counting of loose quantities, written symbols, the concept of zero, the
concept of odd and even numbers, and the fundamental components of arithmetic. The experiences in this
group are sequential. When the child has a full understanding of numbers through ten, the second group,
The Decimal System, can be introduced.

Group Two: The Decimal System

After the child has had enough experience with the one to ten materials, he or she is introduced to the
decimal system – that is, a numerical system based on ten. The activities in this group give the child a
concrete experience with units, tens, hundreds, and thousands as represented by beads, and show how these
are combined in arithmetic operations. Learning the numbers 1 – 9 as well as the concept of zero is the only
difficult part for the child. The child now learns to go beyond 10. The focus here is on the hierarchy of the
decimal system and how the system functions. It also starts the child with the exercises of simple
computations, which are the operations of arithmetic. The third group will be started when the decimal
system is well underway.

Group Three: Counting and Numbers

The activities in this group are done concurrently with the activities of group two. It gives the child experience
with the decimal system as applied to counting by units, by linear intervals, and by geometric progression
and includes the teens, the tens, and linear and skip counting.

Group Four: The Four Operations

Using the addition strip board, the golden beads, and the stamps the child is given material demonstrations
of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Results of these operations are recorded in tables to help
the child remember them. This memorization of the arithmetic tables can begin while the later work of the
decimal system and the counting beyond ten exercises are continued. The child who knows the process and
tables for addition can begin to do the addition for this group. He may still be working on learning the tables
for the other operations and these will not be taken up until he has the readiness.

Group Five: Abstraction

Group Five is the passage to abstraction. The Exercises in this group require the child to understand the
process of each form of arithmetic and to know the tables of each operation. There is again an overlap as
the child is helped to internalize the functions of arithmetic and gradually disregard the physical
manipulations of materials. The exercises in the group for passing to abstraction, allow the child to drop the
use of the material as he is ready. He can then begin to work more and more with the symbols on paper,
without using the material to find the answers.

Page 12 of 12 Module 5 (Maths): UNIT 1 & 2: STUDY GUIDE - Revised 2024 © Montessori ELF