Fundamental Needs of People
Initial Presentation: 1st Grade
Continued Review: Throughout the Elementary Curriculum
Materials: Fundamental Needs of People cards/chart, pictures representing the fundamental needs. Easily made with a printer and some magazines (see below).
- Through discussion about needs/wants, build the chart with the children providing correct vocabulary as necessary.
- Lay out the chart with words only, work with the children to sort the pictures.
Possible Follow Up Works (From most basic to most advanced)
- Replicate the standard layout (above) individually or in small groups
- Create an individual chart for the “Fundamental Needs of (Child’s Name)” reflecting their family values and culture
- Create a chart for a specific culture from another time period or geographic region (download a FREE blank Fundamental Needs of Human chart from my Teachers Pay Teachers store)
- Create a timeline of a specific area (defense, transportation, etc) and how it has been met/developed over a period of time.
- Social Justice- discuss the unmet needs of a specific group or culture and brainstorm ways we can help meet their needs. Websites for child sponsorship groups are a great place to start for this. In addition to photos of children in need, there is also information about how the organization uses funds to meet each of these needs.
The Fundamental Needs of People provide a framework for the entire elementary study of culture and correlates with history, peace/social justice, and even language. When studying a new culture, region, or period of history the fundamental needs provide a child with an instant outline for research questions. Those outlines then provide a framework for a well composed paragraph on a specific culture, tying into written language skills.
This lesson is also perfect for multi-age learning, vital to both classroom and home based Montessori. Both the initial presentations and follow up work are ideal for small group work even if students are not at the same level.
***
Want to move beyond the basics with more detailed lessons like this one?
I really Love this! Looking forward to reading your futrue postings on this concept. Thank you for sharing.
Love, love this presentation!! Thanks for sharing!!!
I'm happy you're showing Montessori elementary materials! Parents tend to feel intimidated when their children move beyond the preschool lessons, and it's great to see elementary lessons explained so clearly! Thanks for linking up with Montessori Monday. I featured your post at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LivingMontessoriNow
Fabulous post, thank you so much for linking up at It's Elementary! I think you've captured the essence of this work perfectly, and I love your photo's 🙂