The Five Great Lessons

The Five Great Lessons of the Elementary Curriculum
The Great Lessons are an important and unique part of the Montessori curriculum.
These lessons are bold, exciting, and are designed to awaken a child's imagination
and curiosity. The child should be struck with the wonder of creation, thrilled with new
ideas, and awed by the inventiveness and innovation that is part of the human spirit.
The Five Great Lessons are traditionally presented in lower elementary (grades 1-3),
and are presented every year so that children see them more than one time. Unlike the
3-6 environment, where the child is introduced first to "small" ideas that gradually
widen into larger concepts, the elementary child is introduced right away to large
concepts - the largest of all being the beginning of the universe. Then they can be
shown how all the smaller ideas fit into the larger framework.
Traditionally, there are Five Great Lessons that are used to paint a broad picture
before moving to more specific study. They consist of:
• First Great Lesson - Coming of the Universe and the Earth

• Second Great Lesson - Coming of Life
• llThird Great Lesson - Coming of Human Beings
• Fourth Great Lesson - Communication in Signs
• Fifth Great Lesson - The Story of Numbers
First Great Lesson - Coming of the Universe and the Earth
The First Great Lesson is the most memorable and is often done on the very first day
of school. It involves the use of a balloon and gold stars to tell the story of the begin-
ning of the universe. This lesson also includes some demonstrations using solids and
liquids to show how the continents and oceans first came together.
This lesson leads to the study of:
• Astronomy: solar system, stars, galaxies, comets, constellations

• Meteorology: wind, currents, weather, fronts, erosion, water cycle, clouds, glaciers
• Chemistry: states of matter, changes, mixtures, reactions, elements, atoms, periodic
table, compounds, molecules, chemical formulas, equations, lab work, experimenta-
tion
• Physics: magnetism, electricity, gravity, energy, light, sound, heat, friction, motion,
experimentation
• Geology: types of rocks, minerals, land forms, volcanoes, earthquakes, plate
tectonics, ice ages, eras of the earth
• Geography: maps, globes, latitude/longitude, climates, land/water form names,
continent and country research
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www.montessoriforeveryone.com
Maria Montessori was devoutly religious, and
brought many of her beliefs into the Great Les-
sons. These lessons came about back when reli-
gious beliefs were an accepted, natural part of
everyday life (including schools). Things are differ-
ent today, and if you are teaching at a school,
you'll probably want to stick to a factual account of
the beginning of the universe (see the end of this
post for some resources); if you're at home, you
can feel free to tailor the lesson to your own fam-
ily's religious beliefs. The story is inspirational to
children no matter which version they hear.
The Second Great Lesson: Coming of Life
The Second Great Lesson involves the coming of life. This lesson revolves around the
Timeline of Life, a long chart with pictures and information about microorganisms,
plants, and animals that have lived (or now live) on the earth. The great diversity of life
is emphasized, and special care is paid to the "jobs" that each living thing does to con-
tribute to life on earth.
• Biology: cells, organized groups, five kingdoms, specimens, dissection, observation,

use of microscope
• Botany: study of plants, classification, functions, parts of plants (seed, fruit, leaf,
stem, root, flower), types of plants
• Habitats: location, characteristics, food chains/webs, symbiosis, adaptation,
ecosystems, conservation
• Ancient Life: eras of the earth, evolution, extinction, fossil records, excavation
• Animals: classification, needs, similarities/differences, human systems, nutrition,
hygiene
• Monera, Protista, and Fungi Kingdoms: what they are, classification, observation
The Third Great Lesson: Coming of Human Beings
The next Great Lesson is the Coming of Human Beings. This lesson involves a time-
line with a tool and a human hand to talk about the three gifts that make humans
special: a mind to imagine, a hand to do work, and a heart that can love. This lesson
will lead children to study the beginning of civilizations and the needs of early humans.
• History: timelines, prehistory, ancient civilizations, world history, history of specific

countries and continents
• Culture: art, artists, music, composers, dance, drama, architecture, design,

philosophy, religion, grace and courtesy
• Social Studies: current events, government, economics, commerce, volunteering &
charity
• Discovery & Invention: scientists, inventors, scientific method, inventions, simple
machines
The Fourth Great Lesson: The Story of Writing
The Fourth Great Lesson is the Story of

Writing, sometimes called Communication
in Signs. In this lesson, the story of the de-
velopment of the written alphabet is told,
with an emphasis on the incredible ability
that humans have of committing their
thoughts to paper. Included in the story are
pictographs, symbols, hieroglyphs, early
alphabets, and the invention of the printing
press.
• Reading: literature, poetry, non-fiction, myths and folk tales, authors, reading
comprehension, reading analysis, literary terms
• Writing: elements of style, function, voice, composition, letter writing, research,
study skills
• Language: origins of spoken language, foreign languages, history of languages,
speech, drama
• Structure: alphabets, bookmaking, grammar, punctuation, sentence analysis, word
study, figures of speech
The Fifth Great Lesson: The Story of Numbers
The last of the lessons is the Fifth Great Lesson: The Story of Numbers, also called the
History of Mathematics. This lesson begins with the earliest civilizations, who often
only had "one", "two", and "more than two" as their numeric system. It continues with a
look at different numbering systems throughout the centuries, culminating in the
decimal system that we use today.
• Mathematics: operations, fractions, decimals, multiples, squares, cubes,

percentages, ratio, probability, intro to algebra
• Numbers: origins of numbers and systems, bases, types of numbers, scientific
notation, mathematicians
• Geometry: congruency, similarity, nomenclature of lines, angles, shapes, solids,
measurement, theorems

• Application: story problems, measurement, estimation, graphs, patterning,
rounding, money concepts
The Great Lessons as a Unifying Theme
Clearly, these five stories encompass an enormous amount of information about the
origins of the world around us. When each story is shared, it should never be left alone
- there should always be further study open to the children so that the story becomes
the springboard but not the focus. The stories can be referred to throughout the year
when new topics are introduced, as a way of providing unity and cohesion to such a
wide variety of studies.
The best source of further information on the Great Lessons can be found online at
missbarbara.net/greatlessons.html. This is a website with tons of info on each of The
Great Lessons, created and run by Barbara Dubinsky. There you'll find detailed lesson
plans, background information, and classroom activities. This site uses slightly different
terminology for the names of the Great Lessons than I have used (there's some variety
within the Montessori method), but the concepts remain the same.
This article may be reproduced for distribution by training centers, schools, and parent groups. Use of this article
for monetary gain is strictly prohibited.

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The Five Great Lessons of the Elementary Curriculum

• First Great Lesson - Coming of the Universe and the Earth

First Great Lesson - Coming of the Universe and the Earth

This lesson leads to the study of:

• Astronomy: solar system, stars, galaxies, comets, constellations

All content copyright 2007 Montessori for Everyone

The Second Great Lesson: Coming of Life

This lesson leads to the study of:

• Biology: cells, organized groups, five kingdoms, specimens, dissection, observation,

The Third Great Lesson: Coming of Human Beings

This lesson leads to the study of:

• History: timelines, prehistory, ancient civilizations, world history, history of specific

All content copyright 2007 Montessori for Everyone

The Fourth Great Lesson: The Story of Writing

The Fourth Great Lesson is the Story of

This lesson leads to the study of:

The Fifth Great Lesson: The Story of Numbers

This lesson leads to the study of:

• Mathematics: operations, fractions, decimals, multiples, squares, cubes,

All content copyright 2007 Montessori for Everyone

The Great Lessons as a Unifying Theme

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