Learning in 3 Easy Steps: The Three Period Lesson Technique

The 3 Period Lesson

The “three period lesson” is used throughout the Montessori environment to help introduce a new lesson/concept and lead the children along a path to understanding and mastery. In the area of language this is used to increase, enrich, and broaden a child’s vocabulary.

It’s important to practice the method of presenting the Three Period Lesson several times until you are comfortable giving it with ease. There are no set movements or patterns that you must follow in each of the periods. As long as you understand the principle of the period, and keep it simple and focused, you can ask the child to do whatever is appropriate for the setting, object, or concept you are teaching.

Begin by presenting the child with three objects of contrast and isolate them on a table or mat. In this example, I will be using 3 landmarks from our Landmarks of the World collection: Big Ben, Taj Mahal and Pyramids of Giza.

1. First Period: Naming Period

This period is short as it simply involves giving the object a name (“THIS IS”).

a. Pick up the object and say “Big Ben” while showing it to your child.
b. Repeat it clearly and slowly several times. As you do this, show and let the child feel the object.
c. Continue on with the second and third objects. In this case, the Taj Mahal and Eiffel Tower.
d. Once you’ve named them, review them one more time by pointing or holding each of them individually.

2. Second Period: Recognition and Association

This period is longer as it involves recalling the objects repeatedly (“SHOW ME”).

a. Note the object that the child knows best. (Micah loves the Big Ben and it quickly became his favorite. He remembered it right away because he associated it with his uncle’s name which was Ben.)
b. Rearrange the objects and ask the child to show you a specific object.

“Can you please show me the Big Ben?”
“Put the Taj Mahal on your head.”
“Hand me the Eiffel Tower.”
“Put the _______ here/ there/etc.” You can point to a spot on the table/mat or in the child’s body.

c. Important reminder: this is not the time to test the child.

You can extend the handling and movement of the objects to encourage kinesthetic memory. This also allows the child to solidify his recognition of the object’s name. Make it fun and interactive. Be as creative as you want. The more engaged your child is the more he/she will want to continue. This period is the most critical therefore the longest. It’s all about REINFORCE AND REVIEW.

3. Third Period: The Test

This involves asking the child to verbally recall for the first time the name of the objects (“WHAT IS THIS?”).
a. Place the 3 objects back in front of the child.
b. Point to the first object and ask the child, “What is this?”
c. Repeat with the second and third object.

It is important to proceed to this period only if you feel the child will be successful. If the child is unable to recall the names of the objects, simply give them the names again or repeat the second period.

We have the hardest time remembering the times in the middle of the list. The items at the beginning and at the end are easier to recall. To help your child ease his/her way to recalling the names, here are some tricks you can use:

1. Make sure you place the new object at the beginning or the end.
2. Place the object that your child knows best in the middle to increase his comfort level.
3. The last object can be new or somewhat familiar to the child.

If you decide to continue after he/she has made a mistake or has forgotten the name, begin with the last object mentioned, kindly reinforcing it immediately. Even if you rotate the objects, always put the familiar one in the middle.

If the child is unable to recall the names of the objects, simply give them the names again, and casually end the lesson without making the child feel as though they’ve failed.

Remember to always make learning fun! Your child should find joy in discovering new things. He/she should not fear making mistakes because it’s all part of the learning process. 🙂 Hope you’ll enjoy doing the 3 Period Lesson with your little one!

*Micah really enjoyed learning about these landmarks and we have moved on to the second set. The landmarks in this collection include: Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Statue of Liberty, Arc of Triumph, Taj Mahal, Parthenon, Temple of Inscriptions and Pyramids of Giza. The pictures did not come with the collection. I just googled the images of the landmarks, printed them and laminated them so he can match the items with the pictures.

A Mat, A Mirror and A Coffee Table

Welcome to our Montessori Living Room

You can set up your own Montessori living room with just a mat, a mirror and a coffee table! I am a firm believer of the Montessori method so I decided to try and create an environment that encourages independence in our home. I believe that you can equip your child by creating a safe place for him and then giving him the freedom to explore on his own. It’s really simple! All you need is a mat or blankets, a mirror (the one I use the full length mirror from Target…the ones they put on sale for college kids!) and a coffee table or a low shelf where your child can reach for his own toys. I just used my the bottom half of  our coffee table and placed 4-5 of the toys he can choose from. You can also the cube boxes (again from Target) and lay them on their sides so your child can reach in to grab a toy. My friend lent me this awesome mat. Otherwise I would have used blankets and laid them out or a huge rug. (Ikea usually have good ones) 🙂

There’s the mirror, the mat and the bottom shelf of the coffee table with 4-5 toys to choose from.

items on the shelfI use the cube box to hold his books.

the mat, the mirror and the cube

I didn’t think Micah would quite understand the concept of taking a toy from the shelf and playing with it. But I wanted to give it a shot. My son was about 4 months old when I started showing him how to do it. I would hand him a toy from the shelf while he was looking at the shelf during tummy time. When he was around 5 months and rolling around, I noticed he would “roll” himself towards the shelf but when he would reach for a toy, he would get frustrated because he wouldn’t be able to get it off the shelf. I would usually tell him I would help him and hand him the toy. We would practice this every day during tummy time. When he learned how to crawl, everything changed! As his legs got stronger, his arm muscles did too! Whenever I would put him down on the mat, he would prop himself up and crawl towards the shelf. He would look through the items on the shelf and carefully make his selection! haha It took him a few tries but last week, he just reached over and grabbed a toy by himself! I was shocked! I couldn’t believe it! I made him do it a couple more times because it was really fascinating to me! He didn’t think it was very cool though because I would put the toy back and move him farther away and then have him work his way back and do everything again! I just wanted to catch it on video! It was pretty cool to watch him gravitate towards the shelf and even pause (like he is choosing which toy he wants) before reaching for it. By the way, it always ends up in his mouth! (I do a wipe down of the mat, the toys and the shelf after his activities because he is a drool machine!) He is trying to reach for the books now but I think it’s still a little challenging but I can’t wait to see what he will do next!

Micah crawls towards the wall and tries to reach the toy!

Micah independently gets his toy! Great job buddy!

Guess what! You don’t have to wait till he is bigger to set this up! I used the mirror and mat set up since Micah was a newborn. Tummy time and reading time would happen here! He would entertain himself by looking in the mirror. The mirror helps the baby focus, track images and explore what his/ her face can do! Not to mention that it promotes social and emotional development as he/ she interacts with you. You can introduce your baby to the different parts of his/ her face and by touching his nose, stroking his hair or kissing his cheeks. Even though he/she may not know what these words mean, it delights him/her to just interact with you. 🙂

Micah was only a few days old in this picture but he was already checking himself out!

Micah was around 3 months in this picture.

Hope you have fun setting up your living room for your little one!