The Presentation Tray — Grace in the Work Cycle

Every sensorial work arrives on a tray. Setting it out correctly — order, orientation, spacing — is an exercise in itself. A tray set up sloppily teaches nothing; a tray restored exactly teaches order. The tray's original configuration is the control.

• Framework: Montessori
• Unit: Sensorial
• Learning area: Visual Form
• Level: Ages 4-5

Objectives

• Set out a presentation tray in correct left-to-right order
• Restore the tray exactly as found
• Internalize the beginning-middle-end of a work cycle
• Model the cycle for younger children

Materials

• Any Montessori work tray from the sensorial shelf
• Work mat

Instructions

1. Choose a work tray from the shelf. 2. Observe the original arrangement. 3. Carry the tray to a mat or table with two hands. 4. Set out each item in its original order, left to right. 5. Work with the material. 6. When finished, restore each item to its original place on the tray. 7. Check against memory or against another tray on the shelf. 8. Carry the tray back to the shelf. 9. Place it on the shelf in exactly its former position.

Educator tip

Take a photo of each work tray's correct setup; post a small card on the shelf as a control. Children use the photo-card to self-correct.

Assessment

Note precision of setup, orderly work, and exact restoration.

More from Sensorial

• Geometric Solids — Matching to Plane Bases
• Sensorial Geography Puzzles — State or Country Maps
• Touch Boards — Graded Roughness Extension
• Sand Tray — Sensorial Writing Preparation
• The Long Decanomial — Laying the Multiplication Universe
• The Algebraic Decanomial — (a+b+c+…+j)²
• The Power of Two Cube — 2³
• The Power of Three Cube — 3³