How Montessori Teaches Children to Read—By Teaching Writing First

One of the most distinctive features of the Montessori approach to literacy is its sequence: children learn to write before they learn to read. While this may seem counterintuitive, it is rooted in deep respect for children’s natural development and a scientific understanding of how language is acquired.

The Montessori Sequence: From Sound to Symbol

Montessori literacy begins with the sounds of language, not the names of letters. Children play sound games—like “I Spy”—to isolate and identify the initial, middle, and ending sounds in words. This auditory foundation is crucial for both writing and reading.

Next, children are introduced to sandpaper letters: tactile, textured letters that children trace with their fingers while saying the corresponding sound. This multi-sensory activity links the visual symbol, the physical motion, and the sound, building strong neural pathways for both writing and reading.

Sandpaper Letter. Lower case /d/

Why Writing Comes Before Reading

Dr. Maria Montessori observed that writing is a more natural extension of speech than reading. Writing allows children to express their own thoughts by encoding sounds into symbols, while reading requires the more abstract skill of decoding someone else’s ideas from written symbols. Montessori explained, “Writing develops…in the same way as speech, which is also a motor translation of sounds that have been heard. Reading, on the other hand, forms a part of an abstract intellectual culture”.

Concrete to Abstract

• Writing: Children use what they know—the sounds of their own language—and represent them with letters, often using a moveable alphabet before their fine motor skills are ready for pencils.

• Reading: Only after children have constructed and “written” words do they begin to interpret the symbols created by others.

Benefits of This Approach

• Efficiency: Teaching writing simultaneously teaches reading; as children build words, they naturally begin to recognize them in print.

• Effectiveness: Children understand letters as meaningful sounds, not just abstract shapes to memorize.

• Engagement: Writing first builds confidence and motivation, as children become active creators rather than passive recipients of language.

Building phonetic words with the Moveable Alphabet

The Montessori Materials: Tools for Literacy

• Sandpaper Letters: Build muscular memory for letter formation and sound association.

• Moveable Alphabet: Allows children to “write” words by arranging letters, even before they can hold a pencil.

• Metal Insets: Develop fine motor control needed for handwriting.

• Practical Life Activities: Strengthen the hand and pincer grip, preparing children physically for writing.

Metal Insets strengthen the pencil grip

The “Reading Explosion”

Because reading is prepared so thoroughly through writing, Montessori children often experience a sudden “reading explosion”—a moment when they realize they can read words, phrases, and sentences with ease. This is not the result of rote memorization, but of deep, sensory-based understanding and self-discovery.

Conclusion: Understanding Before Memorization

Montessori’s method ensures that children understand what they are doing before they are asked to memorize or decode. By teaching writing before reading, Montessori gives children the tools to become confident, joyful, and independent readers—on their own timeline, and through their own discoveries.

“A child does not read until he receives ideas from the written word.”

—Maria Montessori, Discovery of the Child

In Montessori, writing is the bridge to reading—rooted in the child’s own voice, senses, and understanding.