P OSSESSIVE A DJECTIVES

(Class Lessons)

In like manner the teacher explains the meaning of the words my, your, his, her, etc. She may do this with a simple gesture. Here are the commands:

—Point out various objects saying: This is my slate; that is your slate; that (over there) is her slate.

—Point at the different seats, saying: That (over there) is his place, that is your place, and this is my place.

—Pass around the little baskets, saying: This is my basket. Whose is that other basket? Is it your basket? And this one? Ah, this one is his basket.

—Let us take a turn around the room and then return to our seats. You go to your seat and they will go to their seats. Then we will divide up our things. Let us put our things here and their things there. We will go to your seats and you go to their seats. Meanwhile they will get up and then come over here to take our places.

[Signora Montessori does not differentiate between the possessive adjective and the possessive pronoun; perhaps because there is in Italian no characteristic pronominal form. Strictly speaking the Italian predicate form mio (e.g., Questo libra è mio) is adjectival, while the form il mio (i.e., with the definite article) is pronominal (e.g., Questo è il mio). English has, however, the pronominal possessives: mine, yours (thine), his, hers, ours, yours, theirs, used also as predicate adjectives.

The above exercise should therefore he repeated later under the subject of pronouns in a slightly different form.—TR.]

VI

VERBS

When I gave the first grammar lessons to defective children I put special emphasis on nouns and verbs. The noun (= object), and the verb (= action) were distinguished with the greatest clearness, much as we distinguish matter from energy, chemistry from physics. Condition and motion, as potential and kinetic energy, are both expressed by verbs. Whereas formerly the child took the objects in his hands and studied their name and attributes, here he must perform actions. In the execution of actions he must necessarily receive some help, for he is not always capable of interpreting the word with the precise action which corresponds to it. On the contrary, the study of the verb is necessary to initiate him into a series of "object lessons" upon the different actions he must perform. The teacher therefore must give individual lessons teaching the child to interpret the verb.

A

In the usual manner we present a box which has four compartments, for the article, the noun, the adjective, and the verb. The sections are designated by the usual title cards: tan, black, brown, and red. In the compartment at the back of the box there are six slips for each exercise, and for every written word there is a card, except for such words as are repeated in successive sentences. For example: if the following sentences are written on the cards:

Close the door!

Lock the door!

on the corresponding cards will be found the words:

Lock

the door.

Close

And so the child after he has composed his first sentence needs to change only one card (lock for close) for the second sentence. This brings out the force of the verb, showing that one sentence may be changed into another by indicating an entirely different action. The child performs the action and then on his table he builds the sentences with the cards. In the series we have prepared, the verbs are either synonyms or antonyms. Here is the material:

SERIES A

—Close the door Lock the door

—Tie a knot Untie a knot

—Spread your beads

Collect your beads

—Fold the paper Unfold the paper

—Open the book Shut the book

—Speak a word Whisper a word

SERIES B

—Raise your hands Lower your hands

—Toss the ball Throw the ball

—Show your right hand Hide your right hand

—Touch the velvet Feel the velvet

—Write a short word Erase a short word

—Draw a circle Fill a circle

SERIES C

—Bring a chair Drag a chair

—Lace a frame Unlace a frame

—Raise your head Bow your head

—Fill a glass Empty a glass

—Arrange the brown cards Mix the brown cards

—Roll the white handkerchief Twist the white handkerchief

SERIES D

—Embrace your nearest schoolmate Kiss your nearest schoolmate

—Gather your prisms Separate your prisms

—Borrow a black pencil Lend a black pencil

—Cover your face Uncover your face

—Lift the red counter Drop the red counter

—Smooth the white paper Crumple the white paper

SERIES E

—Clench your two hands Open your two hands

—Spread the large carpet Fold the large carpet

—Bend your left arm Straighten your left arm

—Rub the table Scratch the table

—Pour the water Spill the water

—Comb your hair Part your hair

P

The teacher should have in mind the grammatical rules for the position of the verb in the sentence,

to give the child a clear idea of its normal location before the direct object: "first the verb, then the object upon which it acts."

Example:

Smooth the white paper.

The verb should, for the first permutation, be transferred to the end:

the white paper smooth.

Or, if you wish,

Arrange the brown cards.

the brown cards arrange.

When the verb is taken away entirely the action vanishes:

Lift the red counter.

Drop

the red counter.

Making all possible permutations, the child sees that only one order of words is capable of bringing a meaning out of the confusion:

Roll the white handkerchief.

the white handkerchief roll.

white the handkerchief roll.

white roll handkerchief the.