5 Ways to Make Connections Across the Montessori Elementary Curriculum

March 12, 2017

At a glance

Age: Montessori elementary, approximately 6–12

Focus: Connecting lessons across curriculum areas

Key ideas: Great Stories, prior knowledge, Going Out, research and integrated follow-up work

Purpose: To help children experience knowledge as connected rather than as separate school subjects.

One of the things I love most about Montessori Cosmic Education is the way different areas of the curriculum connect. History can lead into science, geography can lead into culture and a Great Story can spark questions about language, mathematics, morality or human relationships. In the elementary classroom, these connections help children see knowledge as part of a much bigger picture rather than as a collection of separate subjects.

The Montessori curriculum is so vast! What I love about it is how many connections there are in the curriculum. However sometimes in the vastness of the curriculum it can be hard to connect a lesson in say language with a lesson on botany although this is so important!

Helping children make connections ensures students increase their metacognition and also helps children connect curriculum areas rather than thinking 'I just did a language activity, now I am doing a Zoology activity'

Below are five practical ways Montessori teachers can create cross-curricular connections through the Great Stories, prior knowledge, Going Out, research and integrated follow-up activities.

1. Use the Montessori Great Stories to Make Connections

The Montessori Great Stories provide a shared framework for elementary learning. They introduce the universe, life, human beings, language and mathematics, giving teachers repeated opportunities to connect later lessons with ideas children have already encountered.

The Great Lessons are at the centre of Cosmic Education, which endeavours to help children connect different facets of the cosmos. Broadly the Great Stories each have a different main focus, however when we tell them we can accentuate different areas to draw attention to a particular aspect. For example one time I told the Great Lesson on the coming of Humans I highlighted the part of the story about communication to my class to link with the importance of talking well to each other. This was because communication was an issue of interest in our class at the time!

When we tell the Great Stories we may also start a certain story by saying 'Remember in the story about how the universe was made such and such happened.' This draws the child's mind back to the learning that happened in that story and helps make links to what they are learning now. I also find it useful to have students tell me what they remember about the last Great Story.
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In modern teaching vernacular, this is called 'accessing prior knowledge' and is a way of honouring the child's knowledge and of ensuring that new learning connects to prior learning. Accessing prior knowledge does not need to be a formal activity. It may be as simple as asking children what they remember, displaying an earlier timeline or material, or referring back to a story before beginning a new lesson. This helps children attach new ideas to an existing framework rather than experiencing each presentation as an isolated piece of information

2. Connect New Lessons with Previous Learning

When giving a new lesson, draw on previous learning from other curriculum areas. Most of us are comfortable making links within one subject. For example, during an introductory Stamp Game lesson, a teacher might show how the Golden Bead thousand cube is now represented by a tile marked 1000. However, I have found it less common for teachers to deliberately draw on knowledge from a different curriculum area.

Examples of way to do this:

Last week we talked about clothes we wear in winter. Can you tell me some of those clothes? Which of those pieces of clothing do you wear more than one of? Hmmm today we are going to talk about the word for 'more than one' That word is plural. The teacher then goes onto to give a lesson on singular and plural bringing in examples the children gave at the beginning of the lesson.
We have been learning about angles. Do you remember the Clock of Eons/Eras? I wonder what the angles are in that? Can you remember what it looks like? Let's measure them....

3. Use Going Out to Integrate Curriculum Areas

Going Out is a natural form of integrated learning in Montessori elementary. Children may need to research a destination, contact an organisation, plan transport, calculate costs, prepare questions, read maps and communicate with adults. A single Going Out can bring together practical life, literacy, mathematics, geography, science and social studies.

I know that independent Going Out is not practical or permitted in every school or country. Where this is not possible, class excursions can still offer many of the same benefits. Children can help research the destination, contribute to planning and complete meaningful follow-up work afterwards.

4. Offer Cross-Curricular Research and Extension Activities

Doing Research is a great way to do this. As you will be familiar with, students may choose a topic and then read and write about it.

Continent Activities

Fundamental Needs Extensions

Research how people meet a Fundamental Need in different climates or historical periods.
Design a home for a particular environment and explain the materials, measurements and construction choices.
Compare the geography, food, clothing and celebrations of two regions.
Create a timeline showing how a scientific discovery changed human life.
Write and illustrate an explanation of how an animal is adapted to its environment

Not every child is ready to choose a broad topic and independently decide what to read, record and create. Prepared extension cards can provide a useful bridge. They give children a defined starting point while still allowing choice, creativity and sustained “big work.” Over time, this support can be reduced as children become more confident researchers. Activities such as this structured plant writing activity

or this animal writing activity are great for emerging writers and thinkers.

5. Keep the Purpose of Cosmic Education in Mind

5) Most importantly keep the big picture in mind. The day to day activities are not the end goal. I keep this poster in front of my mind to help me see the forest and not the trees! Cosmic Education means it isn't about having the child spurt back facts at us but at helping them see the integrated their part in the universe.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an integrated curriculum in Montessori?

An integrated Montessori curriculum connects ideas across subjects. A lesson in history may lead to geography, science, language, mathematics, art or ethical discussion rather than remaining within one isolated curriculum area.

How do the Great Stories connect the Montessori curriculum?

The Great Stories provide broad narratives about the universe, life, human beings, language and mathematics. Teachers and children can return to these narratives when exploring later topics, helping new learning connect with a larger story.

What is cross-curricular work in Montessori elementary?

Cross-curricular work draws on more than one learning area. A child might research housing in a cold climate, calculate dimensions, create a model, write an explanation and consider geography, materials and human needs within the same project.

What can I offer children who are not ready for independent research?

Prepared question cards, choice boards, short research prompts and defined design tasks can provide enough structure for children to begin sustained work while still allowing meaningful choice.

Explore More Montessori Cosmic Education Ideas

Connecting different curriculum areas is at the heart of Montessori Cosmic Education. The Great Stories may begin the conversation, but the connections continue through science, history, geography, language, mathematics, culture and the questions children bring to their work.

What Is Montessori Cosmic Education? A Practical Guide for Ages 6–12
Learn how Cosmic Education helps children understand the connections between the universe, life, humanity, culture and their own place in the world.

The Montessori Great Stories: A Practical Guide to the Five Great Lessons
Explore the purpose of each Great Story and the science, history, geography, language and mathematics learning that can grow from it.

What to Do After the First Great Story
Find practical follow-up ideas that help children move from the Story of the Universe into experiments, research, geography, astronomy and creative work.

Fundamental Needs in Elementary Montessori
See how the Fundamental Needs of Humans can connect history, geography, culture, environment, technology and the shared experiences of people across time.

Resources for Connected Montessori Learning

Children do not always move straight from an impressionistic lesson into completely independent research. Some benefit from clear choices, visual prompts and prepared activities that help them make connections and begin sustained follow-up work.

Montessori Cosmic Education Bundle
A broad collection of Great Lesson follow-up work, science, history, geography, timelines, Fundamental Needs activities and independent shelf work for ages 6–12.

Montessori Great Stories Resources
Explore scripts, presentations and follow-up materials connected with the universe, life, humans, writing and mathematics.

Montessori Fundamental Needs Bundle
Help children compare how people across different times, places and cultures have met their physical and spiritual needs.

Fundamental Needs Extension Activities
Provide open-ended prompts that combine research, design, history, culture, geography, writing and creative thinking.

Montessori Continent Activities and Projects
Encourage children to connect geography with culture, daily life, research, art, language and human needs.

Explore All Montessori Resources for Ages 6–12
Browse classroom-tested resources across Cosmic Education, maths, literacy, science, geography, history and culture.

Explore Montessori Cosmic Education Resources

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