Three cards can be found in almost any Montessori classroom. They are sometimes called nomenclature cards. The word “nomenclature” comes from the Latin word “nomenclatura” which means “assigning names”. This is exactly what the cards do - they teach children the names of things. The cards grow children’s vocabulary, enrich their language, teach them to identify things, build connections between the sound and the written forms of the words, train memory and attention and teach independence.
The name “3-part cards” refers to:
- picture-only card
- name label
- picture+name card, whole card or control card (henceforth referred to as “whole cards”)
Often children match pictures to names or vice versa and then use whole cards to check if they did it correctly. Whole cards serve as a control of error. That’s why children can work with the cards completely independently and no adult help is required.
I can hear sometimes that 3-part cards are boring and children don't want to use them.
But are they really?
I think it may happen if you always use them in 2-3 simple ways.
I want to help you with that. I decided to create a full detailed guide where I would describe all the different ways of working with 3-part cards that I used in my classroom. Those ways are tested and working and children enjoy them. I wanted to make this guide really good and valuable for you. I added photos of my printables to almost every point to illustrate everything for you and to make the guide visual and easy to read and understand. In the end, the guide turned out to consist of 20 pages!
I think it is very important to be able to know these different ways because we spend time and resources on creating the cards and we don't want them to just gather dust on the shelf or be used a couple of times.
It will be useful for you if you are:
- an experienced teacher. It will be a great refresher. You can print it and put it in your training manuals to be able to use them as a reminder from time to time. They will be very useful for your assistants.
- new teachers. You will be able to use the guide as a great printable reminder and reference.
- parents and homeschoolers. You will get a better understanding of how to use the cards in numerous ways and how to make them fun for the children.
If you are a subscriber already then you can download this guide from my FREE Printables Library (The password can be found in my latest email).
If you are a subscriber already then you can download this guide from my FREE Printables Library (The password can be found in my latest email).
