How to Demonstrate Wide and Narrow Comparisons Using the Montessori Broad Stair Lesson

Young children are fascinated by the world around them, which makes the early years of your child's life ideal for teaching him about many things that will help him later when he enters school. One thing that you can do with children as young as two is encourage the child to draw visual comparisons between objects. This will help him later in life because it will give him an inherent understanding of dimension and prepare him to look at mathematical problems and solve them logically and analytically. Montessori learning has a vast array of learning tools to help children achieve this mindset naturally. One such lesson is the broad stair lesson, also called the prisms lesson or the brown stair lesson. This aspect of the lesson should only be introduced after the child is comfortable building the broad stair on his own.

Things You'll Need

  • Montessori broad stair lesson
  • Floor mat

Instructions

    • 1

      Have the child bring the pieces of the broad stair to the mat and lay them out on the left side of the mat. They do not need to be in any particular order, as you will not be using them in their usual formation.

    • 2

      Select two pieces of the broad stair. Start out with pieces that are obviously very different, such as the broadest piece and the narrowest piece, which can also be used for "thick" and "thin."

    • 3

      Place the thick piece in front of the child. As you do so, say, "This is wide...wide...wide." Pause in between each time you say the word "wide" and enunciate clearly without distorting the word.

    • 4

      Place the thin piece in front of the child. As you do so, say, "This is narrow...narrow...narrow." The child may start to say the vocabulary word with you, which is fine, but she does not have to do so.

    • 5

      Ask the child to point to the piece that you request. Both pieces should be in easy reach at this point. Ask for "wide," then "narrow." If the child gets these right, then you can repeat the exercise a few more times with just the two blocks to make sure that the lesson is clear. You can also try the lesson with different blocks if you wish, although you should make sure that the distinction between the two is still obvious. You will work with closer comparisons, such as wide and wider, in another lesson.

    • 6

      Place three blocks that are all wide

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