Read the text “Maria Montessori”.

Her portrait was printed on Italian liras, and her name was in the list of Nobel Awards three times. She was the first Italian female doctor.

Nowadays, there is almost no university in the world where teachers’ training instruction isn’t named after her. So, she dedicated herself to children, being very passionate in defending their rights for natural and free development. Consequently, thousands of teachers were inspirited with her ideas took the side of humane school reform. Her life was surrounded with the world famous eternal glory.

A young graduate of the medical college, Maria Montessori, started to work as a doctor’s assistant in the University clinic. She met some mentally retarded children there for the first time. These children were in an empty room without any toys or books; nobody played with them nor was talking to them. Once, she noticed that children found a piece of bread left from dinner and started to play with it making balls of crumb. It was the only toy for them. Montessori was welcoming that game and later started to bring some new things: simple bags and boxes, dishes, small pieces of different fabrics. Later she noticed some changes in the behavior of those children: they were acting with more human sense, they could play and serve themselves and contact each other. So, the children, that nobody had ever paid much attention to, were developing! And what if to use the same method for normal children?! It would be a success! Montessori realized that for both normal and handicapped children special surrounding was necessary for the good development: games and toys which could help to learn the things around them. This theory became the start for her new educational system.

Montessori started to look through the books on pedagogic, psychology and anthropology looking for the answer to the question, whether intellectual development is dependent on the supervision of a teacher. To support her ideas she was in constant contact with the children psychologist Anna Freud and the founder of children psychology Jean Piaget.

Since the spring of 1900 Maria Montessori became the Head of the special ortophrenic school. There she made special surrounding for the children with limited abilities. And within three month that school was inspected with the special committee of the Italian Ministry of Education. The results of that inspection were shocking as those handicapped children were almost to the intellectual level of normal children of the same age.

Maria Montessori was looking forward to continue the experiment with ordinary children. Her first school, the famous “The Children House” was open in 1907 not far from Rome. There she made another discovery: It is necessary to teach children write first, and later to read, - as the children of her group could make words of letters and later to read what they had constructed at the age of four. And another achievement of Maria Montessori was her children at the age of seven could make and were able to do much more than average children.

Maria Montessori based her theory on children physiology. She proved on practice that parents and teachers may not do anything for children but to help them to do something independently because a child is born helpless and is dependent on grownups. At the age of 2, 5-3 years old suggests the children doing many things on their own while adults assist them.

The prior pedagogical point Maria Montessori stated was to raise interest, and the second thing was to use individual approach. She also stated that children teach other children better than adults (teachers and parents). That is why Montessori groups are made with the children of different ages.

In 1929 Maria Montessori and her son found the International Montessori Association that works till nowadays. The ideas and methods of Maria Montessori were criticized but stood on and also were checked with the time passing. In Netherlands about 30 % of state schools work to the system.

I.1. Answer the questions:

1) What is Maria Montessori famous for?

2) What was she?

3) What are the main points of Montessori pedagogic?

2. Say whether the following statements are true or false:

1) Maria Montessori was a teacher.

2) Maria Montessori was a doctor.

3) Maria Montessori dealt with average children.

4) Maria Montessori dealt with handicapped children.

5) Maria Montessori founded a brand new pedagogical theory.

6) Maria Montessori founded a new method of teaching mentally retarded children.

3. Continue the sentences:

1) Her portrait…

2) She was the first Italian…

3) Nowadays, there is almost no...

4) So, she dedicated herself to…

5) Consequently…

6) To support her ideas…

7) Since the spring of 1900 …

8) The results …

9) Maria Montessori was looking forward to …

10) Maria Montessori based her theory on…

11) She proved on practice that …

12) The prior pedagogical point Maria Montessori stated...

13) She also stated that …

4. Give synonyms from the text:

- adults;

-to help;

-to work separately with every child;

-great admiration, honor and praise which you earn by doing something successfully;

-to make someone have a particular strong feeling or reaction;

-designed to prevent or treat bone injuries.

Which word in the list is odd?

1) teacher, doctor, individual approach;

2) boxes, dishes, small pieces of different fabrics, university;

3) to welcome, to praise, to admire, to start;

4) average children, handicapped children, parents, adults;

5) to look forward to doing smth., to suggest doing smth., to state smth.

6. Fill in the blanks with the words from the text:

Her portrait was printed … Italian liras. She was the first Italian female….

Nowadays, there is almost no university in the world where teachers’ training instruction isn’t named … her. So, she dedicated herself to children, being very passionate … defending their rights for natural and free development. Consequently, thousands of teachers were inspirited … her ideas took the side of humane school reform. Her life was surrounded … the world famous eternal….

A young graduate … the medical college, Maria Montessori, started to work … a doctor’s assistant … the University clinic. She met some mentally retarded children there for the first time. These children were …. an empty room without any toys or books; nobody played … them nor was talking … them. Once, she noticed that children found a piece of bread left from dinner and started to play … it making balls of crumb. It was the only toy … them. Montessori was welcoming that game and later started to bring some new things: simple bags and boxes, dishes, small pieces of different fabrics. Later she noticed some changes … the behavior of those children: they were acting with more human sense, they could play and serve themselves and contact each other.

7. Make up the plan of the text. Here are the topics\ paragraphs in the wrong order. Make it correct:

-background;

-pedagogical inheritance;

-the development of the theory;

-the prior points;

-modern exploration.