Cultural Studies in the elementary classroom have their source in what are known as the Five Great Lessons presented at this level. These are: The Story of Creation of the Universe; The Coming of Life; The Coming of Humans; The Story of Writing; and The Story of Numbers. These lessons are broadly engaging, imaginative tales formed around grand universal and human themes. They are linked with impressionistic charts and materials which serve as a springboard for the student's studies of the universe, evolution of life on earth, and our human past. These serve as the foundation for the vivid connections between science, culture and all living beings. Beginning in the Lower Elementary classroom, these integrated studies continue to be developed with greater depth and detail for Upper Elementary studies. This awareness of the interrelatedness of all living things is what Montessori called “Cosmic Education.” For example, if not for the first living plants , oxygen-producing algae in earth’s oceans untold millions of years ago, we would not be here today.
Subjects interwoven in these presentations include History, Geography, Scientific Inquiry and the Physical Sciences, Botany, and Zoology, incorporating math and language development. The processes of evolution, the unfolding of the living world, are coupled with the great scope of human achievements. In the Upper Elementary students do in depth studies on a variety of ancient civilizations, examining all of the major components of life in those times and places.
A pioneer in ecology education, Montessori guides elementary children to a natural understanding of themselves as part of a whole. They become aware of their relationships with other living and inanimate parts of the world, leading to an appreciation for all that came before and an understanding of the responsibility they have to others. |
