Category: Learning Strategies

Learning strategies look differently within the Montessori method of education. It is based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play. In Montessori classrooms children make creative choices in their learning. At the same time, Montessori Guides offer age-appropriate activities to assist the process.

Unschooling Movement Montessori Method Blog Grumble Services Blog elementary Montessori materials and learning resources
March 8, 2021

Unschooling Movement

Unschooling Movement is an informal learning approach encouraging learner-chosen activities over adult-chosen ones. It was inspired by John Holt, widely regarded as the ‘father of unschooling.’ He served in the military during WWII. As a civilian, he served as a dissatisfied elementary school teacher.

Coining this term in the 1970s, Holt came to the conclusion reforming the American school system was an impossibility. He began recommending to parents to keep their children at home; to let them decide what to learn and when.
Montessori Blog - Brainstorming Graphic Organizer Elementary Montessori Creative Writing Worksheet Grumble Services Learning Resource
January 30, 2021

Writing Strategies

Writing Strategies: Two Strategies to Help Young (and old) Writers. In my teaching experience, writing is one of the most difficult things to teach effectively. Teaching effective and meaningful writing in a virtual setting becomes that much harder. In the classroom, it has taken me many years to develop what I believe to be effective strategies to teach writing. Two strategies I encourage to help struggling writers in the classroom or at home: Writing Circles and Writing Graphic Organizers.
Montessori Blog - Writing Wounded Part One: 
How to Encourage Young (and old too!) Writers Grumble Services Learning Resources Blog Post
January 24, 2021

“Writing Wounded” Part One

Writing wounded. What exactly does this concept mean? Many educators, as do I, look at writing as the inverse of reading. If you follow the Montessori method, you discover the fundamentals of writing are taught even before many fundamentals of reading. Writing also happens to be one of the subjects I was given the least guidance in during my teacher training. In my experience, writing is one of the most difficult things to teach effectively. At least, I feel that way at the upper elementary ages.

Just 20 minutes of reading Comprehensive Reading Strategies Montessori Method Blog Grumble Services Blog elementary Montessori materials and learning resources
January 16, 2021

Comprehension Thinking Strategies

Written language is a code and children need to be taught how to decode it. Early reading skills include phonics, word recognition, vocabulary, decoding and fluency. But as young readers advance, the development of comprehension skills work differently. Skilled reading is an active process; the reader’s mind is constantly processing information extracted from the text.

There are multiple comprehension thinking strategies available to a struggling reader. Often, many or all of these strategies are working together to assist in comprehension. Here is a breakdown of the seven to which have been found most effective..
Montessori Blog - Skilled Reading Part 1: How do we help older students become better readers? Grumble Services Learning Resources blog
January 9, 2021

Skilled Reading Part 1

Skilled Reading: How do we help struggling readers? As readers advance, the development of comprehension skills work differently. Research shows older readers possess specific strategies to construct meaning before, during, and after reading a text. I now know this type of reading to be called “skilled reading.”

The key to skilled reading is being capable of recognizing words without relying on context at all. This is one of the most well replicated findings in all current reading research.