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    Group Work in The Montessori Elementary

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    Group work in Montessori elementary classrooms should be flexible based on individual student needs and skills. Students are grouped based on ability, interests, friendships, and other social factors rather than age. Groups are changed frequently as students' progress at different rates. During presentations, the teacher may split a large group into smaller sub-groups working at different paces or levels, providing individual attention as needed before regrouping students again. When planning groups, the teacher considers each student's records, work, needs, and requests to determine the best matching of students.

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    Group Work in The Montessori Elementary

    Uploaded by

    ana
    67 views4 pages
    Group work in Montessori elementary classrooms should be flexible based on individual student needs and skills. Students are grouped based on ability, interests, friendships, and other social factors rather than age. Groups are changed frequently as students' progress at different rates. During presentations, the teacher may split a large group into smaller sub-groups working at different paces or levels, providing individual attention as needed before regrouping students again. When planning groups, the teacher considers each student's records, work, needs, and requests to determine the best matching of students.

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    Group Work in the Montessori Elementary

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    Group work in Montessori elementary classrooms should be flexible based on individual student needs and skills. Students are grouped based on ability, interests, friendships, and other social factors rather than age. Groups are changed frequently as students' progress at different rates. During presentations, the teacher may split a large group into smaller sub-groups working at different paces or levels, providing individual attention as needed before regrouping students again. When planning groups, the teacher considers each student's records, work, needs, and requests to determine the best matching of students.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    67 views4 pages

    Group Work in The Montessori Elementary

    Uploaded by

    ana
    Group work in Montessori elementary classrooms should be flexible based on individual student needs and skills. Students are grouped based on ability, interests, friendships, and other social factors rather than age. Groups are changed frequently as students' progress at different rates. During presentations, the teacher may split a large group into smaller sub-groups working at different paces or levels, providing individual attention as needed before regrouping students again. When planning groups, the teacher considers each student's records, work, needs, and requests to determine the best matching of students.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    Group Work in the Montessori Elementary: Why, When, and How?

    by Greg MacDonald

    ·      
    I spoke about group work at last year's AMI Refresher
    Course, and always spend some time with my students
    covering this critical topic.  Here are some general
    thoughts which may help you in the classroom:

    Why Group Children?


    You can group children for many purposes.  These
    include:
     Ability Grouping (Particularly for Numeracy &
    Literacy)
     Friendship Grouping
     Hero Grouping
     Random Grouping (for many presentations outside
    Numeracy/Literacy)
     Interest Grouping
     Targeted Grouping (Social/Emotional etc. purpose,
    such as helping specific children to find a friend)

    Two Fundamental Laws for Working with Groups


    1. Children are NEVER grouped according to age or
    grade level.  Their individual needs are all that is
    considered.  Sometimes they will be the same age or
    in the same "grade", but other group members will be
    older/younger and/or in different "grades".  
    2. Groups are changed and the individual children within
    them are "regrouped" as often as is needed.

    Regrouping During a Presentation


     You start with five children and during the initial
    presentation find that two have already and
    independently reached the conclusion that you're
    headed for, so you quickly work out a problem/activity
    with material for them that confirms this for you, and
    then get them started.
     The other three are a little uncertain, so work with
    them a little longer.  
     Two of them soon are ready to move into follow-up
    work.  You get them started. 
     Then you check in with the first group of two briefly,
    for whom (if they're finished with the initial piece of
    work) you provide a new challenge or you start into
    the next presentation, leaving them for a moment with
    some piece of this presentation to carry out. 
     Then you turn to the fifth child and go into the original
    presentation again, from a different angle.
     You have three sub-groups now, and you work with
    each as is needed.  They may need to wait for a few
    moments for your attention, but you work to split your
    time and attention across all three.  
     Ultimately, you leave all three subgroups at work on
    challenges that suit them, and you go onto the next
    presentation with the next group.

    ... This is a typical pattern in the classroom, and it has as


    many variations as the children have needs and you have
    creativity.
    When planning groups, every day and every
    presentation can conceivably involve new groups.
    The above scenario, for example, means that the next
    time you work with these five children, you'll have three
    new groups!  To each of these you may add new children
    whose needs match the needs of children already in the
    group.

    Factors to Consider
    To determine groups, look at:
     The needs of the children
     Their skills/knowledge
     Their interests
     Their requests for presentation
     Your records
     The children's records (Learning Journals)
     The children's work
    ...Groups fall out from this approach.

    Final Thoughts
     Children you believe to be close in skills/knowledge
    can be grouped together as you see fit, because
    some will have moved forward independently, some
    will have regressed a little, and some will be where
    you are.
     The initial orientation conversation and orientation as
    you begin a presentation (first level of "test") and the
    presentation itself will guide you in the formation of
    any sub-groups that arise (as above).

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