Montessori Photos in McClure's Magazine

McClure's Magazine featured many photographs of Maria Montessori's early work. Find photographs of early Montessori schools, Maria Montessori, and historical photos about Montessori here. You may also wish to read the articles the photographs appeared in. Due to the amount of Montessori photographs, this page may take some time to load.

Article Name:
An Educational Wonder Worker (May, 1911)
The Montessori Schools in Rome (December, 1911)
The Montessori Apparatus (January, 1912)
The Montessori Method and the American Kindergarten (November, 1912)

May, 1911 no. 1

Article Title: AN EDUCATIONAL WONDER-WORKER: THE METHODS OF MARIA MONTESSORI

by:
Josephine Tozier

Photo of Maria Montessori in 1911
MARIA MONTESSORI
THE ITALIAN EDUCATION WHO HAS ORIGINATED A NEW AND REMARKABLY SUCCESSFUL METHOD OF TEACHING YOUNG CHILDREN

Children in a Montessori school with their mother, 1911, Italy.
THE MARCHESA RANIERI DI SORBELLO, AN AMERICAN WOMAN, WITH HER TWO SONS, WHO HAVE BEEN TRAINED BY THE MONTESSORI METHOD. THE YOUNGER BOY, WHO IS ONLY THREE AND A HALF, CAN READ AND WRITE IN BOTH ENGLISH AND ITALIAN.

Children in a Montessori school writing with chalk.
PRACTISING A WRITING LESSON ON THE PAVEMENT
MARIA MONTESSORI'S PUPILS FIRST BEGAN TO WRITE WITHOUT HAVING HAD A SINGLE LESSON IN ACTUAL WRITING. THE PREPARATION HAD BEEN SO COMPLETE THAT THE FINAL ACT CAME SPONTANEOUSLY, AND THE CHILDREN BELIEVED THAT THEY HAD BEGUN TO WRITE BECAUSE THEY HAD "GROWN BIG ENOUGH"

Children in a Montessori school with the movable alphabet.
MAKING WORDS WITH CARDBOARD SCRIPT, THE LESSONS IN ARTICULATION HAVE TAUGHT THE CHILDREN WHAT SOUNDS, AND CONSEQUENTLY WHAT LETTERS, ARE NECESSARY TO FORM THE WORDS

Montessori sense of touch training
TRAINING THE SENSE OF TOUCH
THE LITTLE GIRL AT THE LEFT IS LEARNING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ROUGH AND SMOOTH BY RUNNING HER FINGERS ALTERNATELY OVER COARSE SANDPAPER AND SMOOTH CARDBOARD. THE BOY IS LEARNING TO DISTINGUISH DIFFERENT SHAPES BY FITTING GEOMETRICAL INSETS INTO PLACE BLINDFOLD, GUIDED ONLY BY HIS SENSE OF TOUCH. THE CHILD AT THE END IS DISTINGUISHING TEXTURES BLINDFOLD.

Early Montessori Materials, 1911
APPARATUS USED IN TEACHING CHILDREN TO TIE KNOTS, RUN LACINGS, ETC.; ALSO NUMBERING APPARATUS AND BLOCKS FOR TRAING THE CHILD ESTIMATE LENGTH

Montessori Geometric Cabinet Materials, 1911
SQUARE TABLETS OF WOOD WITH GEOMATRICAL INSETS WHICH THE CHILD LEARNS TO FIT INTO PLACE, AND SQUARES OF CARDBOARD CONTAINING GEOMETRICAL OUTLINES TO BE FILLED IN WITH CRAYON, ONE OF THE STEPS IN LEARNING TO WRITE.

Montessori sensorial Materials, 1911
APPARATUS USED IN TRAINING THE CHILDREN TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN DIFFERENT WEIGHTS, COLORS, AND SIZES

Children Working with the Montessori Color Tablets, 1911
LEARNING TO DISTINGUISH COLORS BY ARRANGING COLORED SILK ON CARD BOBBINS, ACCORDING TO GRADATIONS OF SHADE. THERE ARE EIGHT FUNDAMENTAL COLORS AND EIGHT SHADES OF EACH COLOR, MAKING SIXTY-FOUR BOBBINS IN ALL

Original Montessori language Materials, 1911
APARATUS USED IN TEACHING CHILDREN TO WRITE, CONSISTING OF FREE CARDBOARD LETTERS, WITH WHICH THE CHILDREN FORM WORDS, AND OF SANDPAPER LETTERS PASTED ON CARDS, WHICH THE CHILDREN LEARN BY TOUCH

Child writing in a Montessori school, 1911
ONE OF MARIA MONTESSORI'S PUPILS WRITING FROM DICTATION AT THE BLACKBOARD. THE AVERAGE CHILD OF FOUR LEARNS TO WRITE IN SIX WEEKS BY THE MONTESSORI METHOD

Original Montessori math materials, 1911
A LESSON IN ARITHMETIC

December, 1911 no. 2

Article Title:
THE MONTESSORI SCHOOLS IN ROME


The Revelotionary Educational Work of Maria Montessori as Carried Out in Her Own Schools

By:
Josphine Tozier

Maria Montessori surrounded by students
LITTLE GIRLS IN THE SCHOOL OF ST. ANGELO WELCOMING THE DOTTORESSA MONTESSORI, WHO HAS COME IN TO OBSERVE AND TO GIVE LESSONS

Children carrying materials down the stairs to the outdoor area
LITTLE GIRLS IN THE GHETTO SCHOOL OF ST. ANGELO, IN ROME, CARRYING THE MONTESSORI MATERIALS FROM THEIR SCHOOL-ROOM ON THE THIRD FLOOR TO THE OPEN COURT. THE CHILDREN MAKE THE JOURNEY DOWN THE STEEP FLIGHTS OF NARROW STEPS WITH PERFECT ORDER AND SECURITY OF MOVEMENT.

Children Sweeping the Floor in a Montessori School
CLARA, FOUR AND A HALF YEARS OLD, PEPPINELLA, THREE AND A HALF, AND DORA, AGED FOUR, SWEEPING THE CORRIDOR. THE INDIVIDUALITY OF THE CHILDREN IS SHOWN TO SOME EXTENT IN THE PICTURE. CLARA IS SWEEPING VERY CAREFULLY. PEPPINELLA WITH GREAT VIGOR.

Students arranging the tables in a Montessori school
LITTLE GIRLS ARRANGING THEIR WORK-TABLES IN THE COURTYARD OF ST. ANGELO IN PESCHERIA

Anne George Working in a Montessori School

Ghetto Street in Rome
A STREET IN THE GHETTO OF ROME. IT IS FROM THIS FILTHY, DISEASE-STRICKEN QUARTER THAT THE CHILDREN OF THE ST. ANGELO SCHOOL COME.

Children working on rugs in a Montessori Classroom
CHILDREN AT WORK IN THE ST. ANGELO SCHOOL IN ROME. THE LITTLE GIRL ON THE CARPET WHO IS COMPOSING WITH THE CUT-OUT PAPER LETTERS HAS BEGUN A SENTENCE TELLING THAT "FORESTIERI" (STRANGERS) FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY HAVE COME TO VISIT THE SCHOOL.

Children in a Montessori School, 1911
CHILDREN OF THE ITALIAN NOBILITY, AT THE MONTESSORI SCHOOL ON THE PINCIAN HILL, WASHING THEIR HANDS. THE CHILDREN USE LITTLE PITCHERS AND BASINS WHICH THEY CAN HANDLE EASILY, AND LEARN TO FILL THE PITCHERS AT THE FAUCET, POUR THE WATER, AND WAIT UPON THEMSELVES WITHOUT HELP

Queen Margharita visiting a Montessori School
QUEEN MARGHERITA VISITING A MONTESSORI CLASS IN THE SCHOOL OF ST. ANGELO.
THE QUEEN HAS TAKEN A GREAT INTEREST IN MONTESSORI'S WORK

January, 1912

Article Title:
THE MONTESSORI APPARATUS: A DESCRIPTION OF THE MATERIAL AND APPARATUS USED IN TEACHING BY THE MONTESSORI METHOD

by:
Josephine Tozier

A girl making a sentence with the movable alphabet
MAKING A SENTENCE WITH THE CUT-OUT LETTERS. THE SENTENCE READS, “I WISH WELL TO THE LADY DIRECTRESS, TO MY TEACHER, SIGNORINA MASSA SILVIA, AND TO THE DOTTORESSA MARIA MONTESSORI”

Montessori Children Singing an Ave Maria
MONTESSORI CHILDREN SINGING AN AVE MARIA

Montessori Children Doing Dishes
ANNA AND GILDA, AGED FOUR AND FIVE, DRYING DISHES IN THE GARDEN OF ONE OF THE MONTESSORI SCHOOLS. THE SECURITY AND EASE WITH WHICH THE CHILDREN HANDLE THE SLIPPERY PIECES OF TABLEWARE ARE AN INSTANCE OF WHAT THE MONTESSORI SENSE TRAINING DOES FOR CHILDREN

Montessori Dressing Frames, 1912
PEPINELLA AND ROSINA, THREE AND ONE HALF AND FOUR YEARS OLD, LEARNING TO BUTTON AND LACE TOGETHER STRIPS OF CLOTH FASTENED TO WOODEN EMBROIDERY FRAMES. THESE ARE AMONG THE FIRST EXRCISES OFFERED TO THE CHILDREN IN THE MONTESSORI SCHOOLS

An Italian meal in a Montessori School, 1912
MONTESSORI CHILDREN EATING DINNER IN THE CLOISTERS OF THE SCHOOL HELD BY THE FRANCISCAN NUNS. PEPINELLA AND UMBERTINO, THREE AND ONE HALF AND FOUR YEARS OLD, ARE REMOVING THE SOUP-PLATES

Original Montessori Color Tablets, 1912
VERA AND LUCIA, IN THE SAN ANGELO SCHOOL IN ROME, ARRANGING CARDS OF SILK IN THEIR CHROMATIC ORDER. THERE ARE EIGHT COLORS, AND EIGHT SHADES OF EACH COLOR, MAKING SIXTY-FOUR GRADATIONS IN ALL.
(Matt Bronsil's Note: The standard is now 9 colors: blue, red, green, orange, yellow, pink, gray, brown, and purple. Each color has 7 colors, thus making 63 color tablets total).

Children Serving Soup in a Montessori School, 1912
LITTLE PIETRO, FOUR YEARS OLD, SERVING SOUP TO THE OTHER MONTESSORI CHILDREN. THE SERVING AND WAITING ARE DONE SO DEFTLY AND CAREFULLY BY THE CHILDREN THAT NOT A DROP IS SPILLED OR A DISH BROKEN

Children working with Montessori sensorial materials, 1912
MARIA AND TERESA MAKING THE "BROAD STAIR" AND THE "LONG STAIR." TERESA HAS BEGUN TO COUNT THE RED AND BLUE SPACES IN ROD NUMBER FIVE BEFORE PUTTING THE ROD IN PLACE. SHE IS LEARNING TO RECOGNIZE THE RELATIONS BETWEEN NUMBERS
(Matt Bronsil's note: It seems there was originally only the red and blue rods to distinguish length. Early on, Montessori developed rods that were only green, then later changed to only red. Now the standard is red rods to distinguish length with alternating red and blue colors to introduce math).

Original Montessori metal inset materials, 1912
FOUR FIGURES BY A MONTESSORI PUPIL, SHOWING HOW THE CHILD HAS GRADUALLY LEARNED TO CONTROL HIS PENCIL, AND HAS THUS MASTERED THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF PENMANSHIP.

Maria Montessori working with an orphan on the sandpaper letters.
MONTESSORI GIVING ALFREDO, A MESSINA ORPHAN, A LESSON IN THE SANDPAPER LETTERS. ALFREDO IS TRACING THE CONTOUR OF EACH LETTER WITH HIS TWO FINGERS, PRONOUNCING ITS SOUND AS HE DOES SO.

1912: Children Working with Montessori Materials
ROSINA AND ANNA PLAYING WITH THE CYLINDERS AND THE GEOMETRICAL INSETS, BY WHICH THE SENSE OF TOUCH IS TRAINED IN ACCURACY AND DELICACY

Diagram of the Montessori Number Rods
DIAGRAM OF THE "LONG STAIR." IN PLAYING WITH THESE RODS THE MONTESSORI CHILDREN LEARN, ALMOST SPONTANEOUSLY, ALL THE ELEMENTS OF ARITHMETIC.

November, 1912

Article Title:
THE MONTESSORI METHOD AND THE AMERICAN KINDERGARGTEN

by:
Ellen Yale Stephens

Children wortking with Montessori Language Materials
(Article provided no caption for this photo)

Ellen Yale Stephens working with children in her American Montessori classroom.
A CLASS OF CHILDREN IN THE FIRST AMERICAN MONTESSORI SCHOOL, CONDUCTED BY MISS ANNE GEORGE AT TERRYTOWN, NEW YORK, SHOWING THE CHILDREN AT ONE OF THEIR SINGING GAMES

Child working with Montessori Math Materials: 1912
(Article provided no caption for this photo)


Matt Bronsil is the author of these posts. He can be contacted at The Contact Page
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