Montessori Metal Insets Lesson Activity

AGE

4.5 to 5 years

MATERIALS

Two sloping boards, each containing 5 metal frames and insets.
Square, rectangle, trapezium, triangle, pentagon.
Circle, oval, ellipse, quatrefoil, curvilinear triangle.
White squared paper the same size as the outer frame.
A selection of coloured pencils and their holders.
A smooth mat or tile for “pressing on.”

DIRECT AIM

To help the child’s proficiency in the use of a pencil.

INDIRECT AIM

To cultivate lightness of touch, control of line, familiarity with the curves and lines found in letters.
To work in an anti-clockwise direction in preparation for writing.
Fine motor control, precision and concentration.
To develop the chromatic sense and encourage creativity.

PRESENTATION 1

1. Invite the child to get a work mat or work board.
2. Name the material and show where it is kept.
3. Invite the child to take the tile, 2 pieces of paper, 3 coloured pencils, a frame (rectangle) and its inset, to the table.
4. Show the child how to hold the pencil in his dominant hand in a pincer grip, and how to hold the frame steady with his other hand. He places his left hand on the left-hand side of the frame.
5. The child needs to sit in a comfortable position with his back upright in the chair and both feet on the ground.
6. Place the outer frame on the paper, ensuring that the paper coincides exactly with the edges of the paper.
7. Select a coloured pencil. Hold the frame steady and trace carefully around the interior edge of the frame in one continuous, anti-clockwise movement.
8. Remove the frame and place it on the table on the mat.
9. Select a different coloured pencil.
10. From the left-hand edge of the drawn frame, draw continuous, tight lines from left to right.
11. Fill the figure entirely with the tight, parallel lines.
12. Observe the result with the child. Invite the child to use the other piece of paper to repeat the process.
13. Show the child how to store his finished work in his work folder.
14. It is advisable to place a date stamp on the back of the child’s work and his name if he is unable to write it himself.

PRESENTATION 2

1. The child does the activity as in the exercise above.
2. Show the child how to trace the frame and then how to turn the frame and trace around that too.
3. The 2 shapes are then superimposed upon one another to form 2 shapes.
4. Select different coloured pencils.
5. From the left-hand edge of the drawn frame, draw continuous, tight lines from left to right. The Montessori Directress can also show the child how to draw zigzags from left to right, top to bottom.
6. Fill the figures entirely with the tight, lines

PRESENTATION 3

1. The child does the activity as in the exercise above.
2. Show the child how to trace the frame and its matching inset.
3. The 2 shapes are then superimposed upon one another to form a shape with two similar lines, the one line just slightly smaller than the other.
4. Again, from the left-hand edge of the drawn frame, draw continuous, tight lines from left to right. The Montessori Directress can also show the child how to draw zigzags from left to right, top to bottom.
5. Fill the figure entirely with the tight lines.

PRESENTATION 4

1. The child does the activity as in the exercise above.
2. Show the child how to trace the frame and another shaped frame. (Rectangular frame and the oval frame for example.)
3. The 2 shapes are then superimposed upon one another to form an interesting shape with two different lines.
4. Again, from the left-hand edge of the drawn frame, draw continuous, tight lines from left to right. The Montessori Directress can also show the child how to draw zigzags from left to right, top to bottom.
5. Fill the figures entirely with the tight, continuous lines.

PRESENTATION 5

1. The child does the activity as in the exercise above.
2. Show the child how to trace any two shaped insets.
3. The Montessori Directress shows the child how to fill in the whole piece of inset paper.
4. Again, from the left-hand edge of the drawn frame, draw continuous, tight lines from left to right.
5. The Montessori Directress can also show the child how to draw zigzags from left to right, top to bottom as well as from top of the paper to the bottom of the piece of paper, working from left to right.
6. Fill the figures entirely with the tight lines

PRESENTATION 6

1. The child does the activity as in the exercise above but this time the child may want to use a slightly bigger piece of paper ( half A4 size perhaps).
2. Show the child how to trace any two shaped insets.
3. The Montessori Directress shows the child how to fill in the whole piece of paper.
4. Again, from the left-hand edge of the drawn frame, draw continuous, tight lines from left to right. The Montessori Directress can also show the child how to draw zigzags from left to right, top to bottom as well as from top to bottom, working from left to right.
5. Fill the figures entirely with the tight, lines

PRESENTATION 7

1. The child does the activity as in the exercise above but this time the child may want to use a slightly bigger piece of paper (half A4 size or A4 size, perhaps).
2. Show the child how to trace any shaped insets and how to create a border design to decorate his work.
3. Again, from the child may want to fill in the spaces with various zigzags.

PRESENTATION 8

1. The child does the activity as in the exercise above but this time the child may want to use a slightly bigger piece of paper (half A4 size or A4 size, perhaps).
2. Show the child how to trace any shaped insets and then how to draw lines that have been graded either from darkest to lightest or the opposite direction, with different shades of the same coloured pencil crayon.
3. Again, from the child may want to fill in the spaces with various zigzags.
4. The child can name the different shades.