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Module 3: Sensorial Exercises Assignment

By Maryam Tariq

Roll# D14263

Maryam Tariq | D14263 2

Question 1: Write a comprehensive note on the importance of Sensorial exercises.

Children learn about the world around them through their five senses. Sensorial

exercises are therefore those exercises that sharpen the ability to utilize these senses

through external stimulus (from the environment). They are designed to isolate and

materialize the properties of physical matter. Each activity appeals to a corresponding

sense organ. Each set must be complete and in proportion.

Importance of Sensorial Exercises:

Sensorial activities are used in Montessori learning to help children in discrimination and

order. They also help broaden and refine a child’s senses during the Sensitive Period.

When a child combines Montessori designed materials with sensorial work, it helps

them become more logical, perceptive, and aware. In Montessori philosophy, the child is

considered the “sensorial explorer” and learns to perceive qualities through sensorial

experiences.

Many Montessori materials are designed to assist in visual distinction by allowing a child

to recognize differences in dimension, length, width, and size. Montessori activities such

as the Brown Stair, Red Rods, Knobbed Cylinders, and Colour Tablets can also

enhance the visual sense; whereby they learn how to visually discriminate between

similar as well as differing objects.


The auditory sense is also developed in sensory materials like Sound Cylinders and

Bells, where they learn to differentiate between different sounds and become more

attuned and sensitive to sounds in their environment. Similarly, the tactical sense, i.e the

sense of touch and its feel is sharpened through the use of Touch Tablets and Fabric

Feel. A child differentiates tastes by strengthening their gustatory sense through

activities such as food preparation and food tasting. Using Montessori materials such as

Scent Bottles can help a child differentiate smells with their olfactory sense.

Children can obtain limitless amounts of knowledge during their formative years. It is

especially important to develop a child’s senses between birth and age 6. This is why it

is important to emphasize helping children understand the world around them by using

sensory materials in the classrooms. These sensorial activities help to develop

important lifelong skills such as logic, awareness, and perception.

Sense perception develops at a relatively early stage, and so the child must learn to

distinguish people from objects, one face from another, identify different voices etc. and

consequently learn about their social environment. The sensorial activities aim to help

the child lovingly and scientifically to order these early experiences and drive them to

rediscover the world by looking for the details, similarities, and differences to refine their

senses during the Sensitive Period.


Question 2: What is Stereognostic Sense and How Can we Develop it?

The stereognostic sense refers to the ability to identify objects and discriminate between different sizes, shape, texture and weight based on touch alone, without seeing them. It familiarises them with various materials and objects and allows them to have a mental picture of them and their movement.

By doing different kinds of stereognostic exercises, a child can recognise things by touching/feeling them in his hands. Different materials are used to develop this sense such as Geometric Solids, Mystery Bags, Sorting Trays, Puzzle Maps, and Sandpaper Globe. Below are a few exercises with these objects that can help with this. The stereognostic activities are first done with the eyes open and then by using a blindfold.

Geometric Solids: Arrange a basket large enough to contain ten geometric wooden solids in blue:

• A triangular prism

• A rectangular prism

• A cube

• A cylinder

• A cone

• A triangular pyramid

• A square pyramid

• A sphere

• An ellipsoid

• An ovoid

Have the child choose 3 to 4 solids. Place these in a separate basket and cover with a cloth. Reach your hand under the scarf, feel one of the solids underneath, and say out loud what solid you believe you have in your hands. Take out the solid from under the


scarf to reveal the solid you have. Allow the child to do as you have shown. This allows the names of the solids to be reinforced for the child. Work in this manner until the child can place a scarf over all of the solids and still feel and guess correctly.

Mystery Bags: Arrange a bag with a drawstring to hide the contents inside. Fill the bag with a variety of exciting things like pebbles, feathers, colorful ribbings, miniature cars, marbles, and key chains, etc. Allow the child to observe and feel these items as you introduce them one by one. Follow by asking the child to close their eyes or loosely blindfold them, again repeating the exercise of feeling the objects in their hand and attempting to identify what it is. Finally, allow them to open their eyes/remove the blindfold and see if they guessed right.

Sorting Trays: Arrange two trays; one with four or more saucers, each containing different types of grains, beans, peas, rice, lentils, and seeds etc respectively, and let the other tray have the same quantity of EMPTY saucers.

Let the child feel all the contents by way of touching, and then place each item in the second tray’s saucer separately as you introduce names of each item. Follow by asking the child to close their eyes or loosely blindfold them, again repeating the exercise of feeling the objects in their hands and attempting to identify what it is and then place into the second tray. Allow them to open their eyes to see how well they have done. Alternatively, this exercise can be modified to add an extra challenge by mixing all the items in a single bowl and letting the child attempt to separate them into different saucers.

Puzzle Maps: Get a puzzle map of Pakistan and a globe. Disassemble the puzzle map such that it is divided into provinces. Show the child a globe and the complete map of Pakistan. Show the child where Pakistan is located on the globe. Then put the globe aside and focus on the puzzle. Let the child point out the outline and name of each province. Slowly and carefully put all pieces of puzzles one by one back into the puzzle.

Sandpaper Globe: You will require a world globe for this exercise where the land areas are covered with sandpaper while the water areas are painted blue. Let the child hold the globe and call its name. Allow him to identify and clearly name the different areas on the globe as being either land or water areas.


Question 3: Write a note on Three Period-Lesson and Memory Games.

Three Period-Lesson:

The purpose of Three Period Lessons is to teach new words to the Montessori children. The directress's aim should be to not only teach kids the names of the materials but also their qualities; positive, comparative and superlative. The three period lessons are as follows;

Naming Period - First Period: The directress will arrange three objects with clearly distinctive features and place them out on a mat. She will then proceed to touch and feel the objects, encouraging the kids to do the same to get a sense of familiarity, followed by putting them back in their place. She then subsequently places her fingertip on each object and clearly identifies it by its name, repeating the name-calling exercise once more to reinforce.

Recognition and Association Period - Second Period: After the exercise of naming the objects, the directress now effectively tests the students by asking them to identify the objects by their name by calling out the names of each object and requesting them to point at the relevant object.

Pronouncing Period - Third Period: When the directress is sure that the child has learned and is capable of identifying the object, she proceeds to challenge the child to name the object itself on their own. She may do this, for example, by pointing at the object and asking the child what its name is.

Three-period lessons consist of three grading lessons, basically aimed at introducing adjectives, qualities or degrees of modification to a child, namely Positives, Comparatives and Superlatives as mentioned earlier. Examples of the three grading lessons across the three lessons are as follows:

Naming Period (First Period) - Positive: This is a big cube.

Naming Period (First Period) - Comparative: This cube is bigger than this.

Naming Period (First Period) - Superlative: This cube is the biggest.


Recognition and Association Period (Second Period) - Positive: Show me the big cube.

Recognition and Association Period (Second Period) - Comparative: Show me the cube which is slightly bigger than this book.

Recognition and Association Period (Second Period) - Superlative: Show me the biggest cube.

Pronouncing Period (Third Period) - Positive: What is this?

Pronouncing Period (Third Period) - Comparative: Which cube is bigger?

Pronouncing Period (Third Period) - Superlative: Which cube is the biggest?

Memory Games:

Memory games are aimed at reigniting waning interest in familiar materials as well as revising what has already been taught and learned by the child in a refreshing way. These games also help to motivate students to discover variations in materials. Examples of these games are illustrated below:

Matching at a distance: The directress places two different tables or mats at a distance. She then puts a pair of similar materials on each of the tables/mats. The directress then selects one of the pairs, allowing the child to hold and feel it. Finally, she asks the child to fetch the matching pair from the other table/mat and repeats this exercise until all the items have been matched against each other.

Grading from a distance:

(a) From an extreme: The directress places two different tables or mats at a distance and places the grading materials at random on one of the tables/mats. She then picks up one of the extremes (for example the largest cube in the Pink Tower), and places it


on the other mat/table. She follows by asking the child to bring a size smaller to the mat/table and place it next to the bigger one already placed. Continue until the exercise has been completed down to the smallest sized item.

(b) From a midpoint (only possible after the child has already completed the Three Period Lessons): The directress places two different tables or mats at a distance and places the grading materials at random on one of the tables/mats. She pick up one of the pieces near the middle (for example one of the middle sized cubes in the Pink Tower), and place it on the other mat/table. She then asks the child to bring to the other mat the next size up OR down.

Stereognostic: This is a group game where the directress makes the students sit around a map in a circular formation, as she hands out the material (for example one cube of the Pink Tower to each child). The children hold the cube behind their backs and feel them. The directress then asks for the largest cube to be placed onto the mat. By feeling their cube, the children are being asked to feel for the recognition of the sizes of the cubes. The directress then continues asking for certain cubes working the biggest cube to the smallest cube, until all the cubes have been placed on the mat.

Material to the environment: The directress rolls out a mat and places the colour tablets onto it randomly. She then points towards any one of the colours and asks the child to identify something in the environment of the same colour or similar shade, repeating the exercise for all of the colours.

Environment to the Material: This is a similar game to the game above, but this time, the child will be asked to find the piece of material that is closest to something specific in the environment instead of the other way around as done in the previous game. After the directress rolls out a mat and places the colour tablets at random onto the mat, she will then point at something in the environment, for example a curtain and ask the child to find a colour tablet closest to the colour/shade of the curtain.


Question 4: Explain all exercises briefly in chapter 4.1 Exploring Dimension . Make illustrations/diagrams and mention vocabulary also.

Question 4: Explain all exercises briefly in chapter 4.1 Exploring Dimension. Make illustrations/diagrams and mention vocabulary also.

"Exploring Dimensions" comes under visual exercises, which are an important part of sensorial development. In this group, the child learns how to discriminate between objects that have similar shapes and colours but vary in length, width, height or thickness.

Exercises:

(1) The Cylinder Blocks:

(a) Materials: Four lightly varnished wooden blocks each containing ten cylinders. The cylinders vary in size in a regular way. Each cylinder has a wooden knob to hold it by.

Here’s how the blocks differ:

Block 1: The diameter increases from 1cm to 5.5cm

The height remains constant at 5.5cm

Block 2: The diameter increases from 1c, to 5.5cm

The height increases from 1cm to 5.5cm

Block 3: The diameter increases from 1cm to 5.5cm

The height decreases from 1cm to 5.5cm

Block 4: The diameter remains the same.

The height increases from 1cm to 5.5cm


(b) Exercise: The directress starts by removing the knob of the first cylinder gently and quietly putting it on the table, repeating this until all knobs are removed. She then selects the largest knob and places it back into its respective hole quietly. After she is done, she will ask the children to repeat the same exercise, moving on Block 2, 3 and 4 as they progress.

(c) Vocabulary:

Block 1 and 2:

Large, small

Large, larger, largest

Small, smaller, smallest

Block 3:

Thick, thin

Thick, thicker, thickest

Thin, thinner, thinnest

Block 4:

Tall, short

Tall, taller, tallest

Short, shorter, shortest

Deep, shallow

Deep, deeper, deepest

Shallow, shallower, shallowest

(2) The Pink Tower:


(a) Materials: Ten solid wooden cubes varying in size from 1 cubic centimetre to 1 cubic decimetre and pale pink in colour.

(b) Exercise: The directress spreads out a mat on the floor. She picks up the largest cube and brings it closer to the rest of the cubes and analyses the relative sizes of the cubes. She then puts the biggest one on the mat and looks for the cube a size smaller than it to place it next to it. She repeats the same down to the smallest cube. She then motions her hands from the biggest to the smallest to reinforce the idea of the tower gradually becoming narrower.

(c) Vocabulary:

Cube

Large, small



(3) The Broad Stairs:

(a) Materials: Ten brown wooden prisms, all of the same length but varying height and width from 1 centimetre to 10 centimetres (or 1 decimetre squared). The end faces represent the squares of the numbers one through ten.

(b) Exercise: The directress spreads out a mat on the floor and mixes the prisms on it such that they do not touch each other. She picks up the largest prism and holds it against the others to compare and ensure that she is indeed holding the largest and thickest one. She then places it towards the far left side of the mat such that the squared side faces towards her. She follows by looking for the second largest and thickest prism, brings it closer to the largest and places it next to it such that there is no space between the two. She continues by repeating the exercise until all the prisms are arranged in the same way according to their size.


(c) Vocabulary:

Prism

Broad, narrow

Broad, broader, broadest

Narrow, narrower, narrowest

(4) The Long Rods:

(a) Materials: Ten red wooden rods of constant height and width. The length increase by ten centimetres from the shortest rod which is one decimetre, to the longest one, which is one metre.

(b) Exercise: The directress places a large mat on the floor and arranges the rods randomly on the mat, without he shortest near the longest for visual contrast. She looks for the shortest rod and places it in the lower left corner and double checks for reinforcement that she does indeed have the shortest rod. She continues to do this, going from the shortest rod to the longest until the stair has been completed.

(c) Vocabulary:

Long, short

Long, longer, longest


(5) The Knobless Cylinders:

(a) Materials: Four sets of 10 cylinders, each set of a different colour. Yellow cylinders vary in height and diameter (the widest cylinder is also the tallest), green cylinders vary in height and diameter (however, opposite to yellow so that the widest cylinder is also the shortest), red cylinders vary in diameter and blue cylinders vary in height.


(b) Exercise: The directress arranges a table or mat. She teaches the child how to open the lid of the cylinder boxes and places all the cylinders on the table randomly. She picks up the largest cylinder, compares it with others and puts it on the centre of the table/mat. She then takes the cylinder that is one size shorter from the previous and carefully places it on top of the former, aligning it properly so it rests perfectly on top of it. She continues this exercises until she has placed all the cylinders on top of each other and the tower has been built.

(c) Vocabulary:

Set 1 and 2:

Large, small



Set 3:

Thick, thin

Thick, thicker, thickest

Thin, thinner, thinnest

Set 4:

Tall, short

Tall, taller, tallest



Deep, shallow

Deep, deeper, deepest,

Shallow, shallower, shallowest

Question 5: How does the Montessori program help develop Tactile Sense?

Tactile Sense refers to the child's ability to perceive the world through touch and form a sense of understanding about it. It is therefore important to help refine this sense by encouraging them to actively but safely explore objects around them through touch and attribute qualities to them by using descriptive words/adjectives, for example, are the items rough or smooth etc.

Tactile Exercises are classified into four divisions as seen below alongside examples of exercises under those classifications.

Exploring Textures: Touch Board, Touch Tablets and Touch the Fabric

Exploring Weight: Baric Tablets

Exploring Temperatures: Thermic Bottles and Thermic Tablets

Exercises of Stereognostic Sense: Sorting Trays, Mystery Bags, Puzzle Maps and Sandpaper Globe

I will now explain one exercise from each classification above to illustrate how the Montessori program helps to develop Tactile Sense.

Exploring Textures - Touch Tablets: Arrange a blindfold and a box containing five pairs of wooden tablets with varying degrees of roughness. Take out two to three pairs with greater contrast and place them on the table before mixing them up. Follow by picking one tablet at a time as you feel it in your hand by gently stroking it and then put it aside.


Communicate to the child how you will attempt to find a tablet with a similar feel and then place the said tablet next to the previous one. Allow the child to feel for the similarity as well by touch. Repeat with all the tablets, first without a blindfold and then with one, allowing the child to do it independently as well.

This exercise helps a child develop the tactile sense of differentiating between rough and smooth surfaces. The addition of the blindfold additionally helps refine and sharpen individual senses. They also learn the names of the objects as well as that of their qualities/adjectives through the three period lessons, improving upon their vocabulary as well, including words like rough and roughest.

Exploring Weight - Baric Tablets: First arrange a blindfold and three boxes with six polished wooden tablets in each. Each set must be a different weight, colour and wood from the other, however their shape and size must be the same. Bring two boxes on table which contain the heaviest and lightest tablets. The directress then shows the child how to hold the tablet in the palm of their hand, making sure their hands are not stiff. She continues by feeling the heaviest tablet in her own hands and then lets the child repeat the act. When it is clear that the student is able to handle the tablet on their own, repeat the same exercise, but with a blindfold this time.

This exercise helps the child develop the tactile sense of differentiating between different weights as well as for complex skills they will need in the future for mathematics like measuring weight precisely etc. The modification of the exercise to include a blindfold will help the child to focus their attention upon one sense at a time, refining and sharpening their individual sense. They also learn the names of the objects as well as that of their qualities/adjectives through the three period lessons, improving upon their vocabulary as well, including words like heaviest and lightest.

Exploring Temperature - Thermic Bottles: The directress needs to arrange four pairs of metal containers, each pair containing water at various temperatures as follows:

Bottle Pair 1: 37°(room temperature)

Bottle Pair 2: 27°(tap water)

Bottle Pair 3: 17°(refrigerated water)


Bottle Pair 4: 47°(warm water)

The directress then takes out each pair of bottle at a time and feels it for herself as well as lets the child feel it, after which she communicated to the child how she will attempt to find a bottle with the same temperature. She then lines up the bottles and allows the student to feel for their temperature, repeating the same with each set. Finally, she mixes them all up and allows the child to do it independently, assisting as and when needed.

This exercise helps the child develop the tactile sense of differentiating between varying degrees of temperature based on touch and feel alone which can be useful for many instances in practical life as well. They also learn the names of the objects as well as that of their qualities/adjectives through the three-period lessons, improving upon their vocabulary as well, including words like cold, colder, coldest and hot, hotter, hottest.

Exercises of Stereognostic Sense - Mystery Bags: The directress will arrange a bag with a drawstring to hide the contents inside. She will fill the bag with a variety of exciting things like pebbles, feathers, colorful ribbings, miniature cars, marbles, and key chains, etc. She will allow the child to observe and feel these items as she introduces them one by one, followed by asking the child to close their eyes or loosely blindfold them, again repeating the exercise of feeling the objects in their hand and attempting to identify what it is. Finally, the child is allowed to open their eyes/remove the blindfold and see if they guessed right.

This exercise helps the child refine their tactile stereognostic sense of differentiating between different objects based on their shape and size etc. They also learn the names of the objects as well as that of their qualities/adjectives through the three-period lessons, improving upon their vocabulary as well.


Question 6: Prepare material of Smell Bottles and Mystery Bag and Send it along with your assignment papers.

Please see the representations on the material below:

Smell Bottles

Pricked bottles

Types of smells


Mystery Bag

Bag

Items

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