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Assignment Module 1
D – 8919 - SANA AFZAL
Write answers in your own words. Your answers
should be at least 2 typed pages or 3 handwritten
pages. Please don’t forget to write your name and
roll number on each page of the assignment.

1. Discuss the life and works of Dr. Maria Montessori and why is she referred to as a lady
much ahead of her time?

2. Which are the main requirements to be considered to start a house of Children?

How do you implement them?

3. What are the discoveries made by Dr. Maria Montessori by observing the child?

4. What does “PILES” stand for when we talk of human development? Discuss the
physical, lingual and intellectual development taking place during 3 to 6 years of age.

5. Write a comprehensive note on the role of teacher in a Montessori classroom.

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 Answer No. 1
 Discuss the life and works of Dr. Maria Montessori and why is she referred to as a
lady much ahead of her time?
 The life and works of Dr. Maria Montessori.
 Dr. Maria Montessori was an Italian physician and educator best known for
the philosophy of education that bears her name ,
and her writing on scientific pedagogy. Her
educational method is in use today in some public
and private schools throughout the world.
 Her father’s frequently transfer gave to her a
chance to have education in big cities throughout
Italy. In those days whole of Europeans was very
conservative in its attitude for women.
Montessori pursued medical and scientific education. Many years of opposition
from her father, Teachers, and male fellow students, she
graduated with highest honors from the Medical School of the
University of Rome.
 Her work with Special Children
 Due to her unwilling to enter education as a career as it was
one of the three traditional roles open to women at that time.
Working with Children, Homemaking or the convent. The
ironical her approach was more scientific, rather than the
familiar philosophical approach followed by many of the
educational innovators who came before and after her.
 In 1900, after her degree in medicine, Montessori was
appointed director of the new Orthophrenic School attached to
the University of Rome, formerly a municipal asylum for the
deficient and “insane” (Special) children of the city, most of
whom would be diagnosed in the twenty-first century as autistic* or mentally
disabled. Montessori took the idea of a scientific approach to education, based
on observation and experimentation. She belongs to the child study school of

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thought. She continued her work with the careful practice and objectivity like
that of a biologist studying the natural behavior of an animal in the forest.

 Montessori set out to teach as many as possible of the less-disturbed children to

care for themselves and their fellow inmates.
 Why is she referred to as a lady much ahead of her time?
 Maria Montessori was considered a lady ahead of her time because of his
significant work in the following aspects:
 Working with mentally disable children
 Public advocacy
 Working in the Orthophrenic School
 At that time as a lady it was almost impossible to work on such scale. As
mentioned earlier that she has faced a lot of problems during her studies when
she was in the medical university as she was the only girl in her class and was
strongly discouraged but she never lose her heart
and carry on and succeeded.

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 Answer No. 2
 Which are the main requirements to be considered to start a house of Children?
 How do you implement them?

 Which are the main requirements to be considered to start a house of children?

 The main requirements to be considered to start a House of Children are:
 In adult’s world (Home) child feel himself like an alien.
 Our Homes are designed according to adults. Children cannot access anything
freely and comfortably.
 Children used to listened word “No” many times in a day. “Prohibition is
prohibition, either sweet or bitter.”
  Adults try to teach children by their orders or by their words, they usually not
practice themselves.
 Adults are sometime so busy that they have no proper time for children.
 Providing over and extra help to children, ignoring that they want many of work
done by their own selves.
 Children are usually not allowed to “Let
me do it myself” strategy.

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 How do you implement them?

 Implementation
 In House of Children we will prefer to implement following thing:
 Respect for the Children:
 By helping her improve her critical thinking skills and empathy by
discussing other people's perspectives on the same issues. By respecting who
she is, and the integrity of her body. By starting with the child, and moving
forward from there. You don't show respect when you agree with everything
she says or by letting her make all her own choices or decisions. Look,
kids don't always know what's right for them. They're kids, after all.
 You show respect for your child when you:
 respect her feelings;
 respect her opinions;
 respect her privacy;
 respect her temperament; and
 respect her body and personal space.


 Everything should be children sized.

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 Absorbent Mind.
 Sensitive periods.
 Prepared Environment.
 Focus on the Individual Mind.
 Polite and Reasonable behavior of the Teacher.
 Parents and Teacher Meetings.

 Answer No. 3
 What are the discoveries made by Dr. Maria Montessori by observing the child?

Dr. Montessori to discover several aspects of the child and childhood some of the discoveries she had
made during work.

Inner need for Freedom and Constructive work

Ability to select Activities

Discoveries by Dr. Maria Montessori

Children love to work

The inner drive is satisfactory

When something that answers the inner needs meets the child’s eyes natural INTEREST in sparked.

Normality depends on all the human powers working in unity, in collaboration.

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Dr. Montessori method has been and is very popular around the world with early childhood
professionals and parents. The Montessori approach is designed to support the natural development of
children in a well-prepared environment. She was a keen observer of children. She studied them
scientifically. If she saw some unusual behavior in a child, she would say, “I won’t believe it now I shall, if
it happens again”. When she found that children acted in a certain manner under certain circumstances
without any interference from the adults, she could accept that it was the child’s true nature.

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 Answer No. 4
 What do PILES stand for when we talk of human development?
 In terms of human growth and development, PILES is an anagram for
 Physical
 Intellectual
 Lingual
 Emotional
 Social Development
 Physical Development taking place during 3 to 6 years of Age
 At this stage child is very active, energetic and imaginative. The value of physical
development and the role they play in a child's entire life is very important. A
young child's physical growth first begins as muscles gain strength with use and
children gradually develop coordination. The development of muscular control
is the first step in this process. Later he becomes more skilled at exploiting his
actions. He may go into a direction to be able to run quickly or exploit many of
his skills at a time. He uses smaller actions that he needs when he writes, draw or
join together a jigsaw puzzle. These actions develop his fine manipulative skills.
When his fine manipulative skills are well developed he:
 Washes and dries hand with assistance
 Is able to use spoon without spilling
 Can torn pages in a book one by one
 Holds crayon and may draw a face
 Jump from low steps
 Pedal and steer a tricycle
 Walk and run forward
 Walk on tiptoe
 Throw a large ball.
 Lingual Development taking place during 3 to 6 years of Age
 Language skills also continue to improve during early childhood. Language is an
outgrowth of a child's ability to use symbols. The more words a child uses in

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sentences, the more sophisticated the child's language development. Language
develops in sequential form, phrases with inflections, simple sentences, and
complex sentences. Children learn many new words all the time. Parents,
siblings, peers, teachers, and the media provide opportunities for children to
increase their vocabulary. Parents are children's very first teachers and when it
comes to language development, parents who actively engage their babies and
children in conversation can have a great impact on the child's ability to
communicate verbally. Talking to babies is a wonderful way for them to begin
understanding the rhythm of speech, laying the groundwork for later
verbalization. Reading to babies and children, as well as enjoying music with
them are other ways that young kids can internalize speech patterns, tone, and
inflection, paving the way for them to become expert speakers. As his vocabulary
grows and becomes more fluent he's ready for longer books with a simple story.
He's beginning to enjoy and repeat rhymes and songs. He
 Uses personal pronouns and plurals correctly and can give his own name and
sex, and age sometimes
 Carry on simple conversations and able to describe briefly present activities and
past experiences
 Talks to himself when playing
 Enjoy listening to and making music
 Counts up to ten or more by repetition
 Intellectual Development taking place during 3 to 6 years of Age
 Children change more quickly than elder’s. It seems that you can blink your
eyes and your child has grown and developed. At one moment they are throwing
balls in the box the next moment they are flipping the pages of a story book.
Then they start reading of their own choices story books. Different activities and
games can enhance their intellectual development. Cognitive or intellectual
development is about how children learn, think and develop ideas. This is one of
the areas of development that is strongly influenced by the experiences a child
has. Learning the names of animals is only possible if a child has been told them.
This applies to almost any knowledge or skill

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 May blow bubbles in drinks
 Know colors and different shapes
 Use children’s scissors
 Interested in playing with peers, understand rules and roles

 Answer No. 5
 Write a comprehensive note on the role of teacher in a Montessori classroom?
 The Montessori Method is based Dr. Maria Montessori's understanding of children's
natural learning tendencies. Children in Montessori classrooms are encouraged to work
at their own optimum levels. There is an emphasis on beauty and orderliness in the
Montessori environment. The Montessori Method provokes a spontaneous love of
learning since the child is given the freedom to make many of her own choices.
 Observer
 Montessori teachers are called upon to be passive observers. A Montessori
teacher must continually observe children to see what motivates each one
individually. He must examine each child in order to understand his learning
style. The Montessori teacher must also observe how each child interacts with
others, works in his environment and manipulates each activity. He must find
specific interests in each child so that he can cultivate those interests.
 Record Keeper
 A Montessori teacher keeps track of observations of children using a variety of
methods. He keeps records using objective narratives and anecdotes about
situations that occur in the classroom. He may also use a checklist or a flow
chart, which helps record a child's progress through the Montessori program. In
order to complete a truly comprehensive representation of the child's progress,
the Montessori teacher makes use of a combination of record keeping methods.
 Director
 Another role of the Montessori teacher is that of director or facilitator. He
guides the students toward experiences with practical learning materials and

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activities that foster sensory investigation. He must allow the child to learn from
his errors and to intervene only when the child asks for help. The Montessori
teacher is responsible for nurturing motivation, self-discipline and confidence in
students. The Montessori teacher facilitates communication among the children
and assists students in learning how to communicate with adults.

 Evaluator
 The Montessori teacher must evaluate patterns of growth, development and
behavior in his students. He evaluates a child's strengths and weaknesses in
order to establish how best to nurture the child. The Montessori teacher
evaluates the areas in which the child is proficient so that he can advance the
child to the next lesson and present activities based upon the child's
requirements. He also evaluates in order to provide necessary referrals and
suggestions to parents.

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