Grammar Symbols: Introduction to the Noun

The elementary child is gripped by imagination and the reasoning mind. Grammar, presented through story, symbol, and material exploration, becomes one of the great romances of the second plane. The black triangle — like a great black pyramid — tells the child the noun is the oldest and heaviest of words. The child tests: can this word be seen, touched, or named? If not, it is not a noun.

• Framework: Montessori
• Unit: Language
• Learning area: Grammar
• Level: Ages 6-7

Objectives

• Identify nouns in spoken and written language
• Associate the black triangle symbol with the concept of naming
• Enter the study of grammar as a concrete and imaginative exploration
• Prepare for function of words and later grammar boxes

Materials

• Large black equilateral triangle cut from cardboard or wood
• A basket of miniature objects and labels
• Chart showing the story of the noun (the oldest word, the pyramid)

Instructions

1. Gather a small group. 2. Tell the story: 'Long ago, when people first began to speak, they needed words to name things — stone, river, tree, fire. These were the first words, heavy and solid, like great black pyramids. We call them nouns.' 3. Place the black triangle on a table. 4. Invite a child to choose an object from the basket and name it. 5. Write the name on a slip of paper and place the triangle above it. 6. Say: 'Lion is a noun.' 7. Continue with each child contributing a noun. 8. Over days, hunt for nouns in printed sentences, marking each with a small black triangle. 9. Extend to naming abstract nouns (idea, love, history) and discuss.

Educator tip

Keep the story alive in each lesson. The symbol, the story, and the search for examples are all part of one whole — the child who loves the story loves grammar.

Assessment

Note whether the child identifies nouns spontaneously in daily reading and speaking, including abstract nouns.

More from Language

• Function of Words: The Verb
• Sentence Analysis: The Simple Sentence
• Classified Cards — Animals of the Farm
• Grammar Symbols: The Adjective
• Function of Words: The Preposition
• Function of Words: The Pronoun
• Function of Words: The Adverb
• Function of Words: The Conjunction