How to present and build the Brown Stair MONTESSORI Lesson

Material:
Nienhuis Montessori USA www.nienhuis.com ›
Ten wooden, brown prisms which all have the same length (20 cm) but differing in breadth and height, increasing in size progressively in the algebraic series of the second power
12 = 1 square centimeter
22 = 4 square centimeters
32 = 9 square centimeters
42 = 16 square centimeters
52 = 25 square centimeters
62 = 36 square centimeters
72 = 49 square centimeters
82 = 64 square centimeters
92 = 81 square centimeters
102 = 100 square centimeters
A rug/floor mat (32" x 48")
A place on the shelf where the stairs can be viewed from two dimensions: the side and the front.
If possible you may place the brown stair on the table or the shelf which can be seen from different angles
Presentation:
Invite a child
Introduce the activity
Set up the mat on the floor
Invite the child to the brown stair
Show him how to carry the prism,
Use right hand, take the thinnest one, hold it with your right hand with whole hands
Pick up the prisms one at the time and place it on the mat (on the right side of the mat)
The guide carry 3 stairs and after the 4th one have the child carry the prisms
When done, sit down
Let the child know that you are going to build the stair
Tell the child that you are looking for the first one
Place the thickest one on the top left corner of the mat with longest side toward the child (or yourself)
Find the next one and place it in front of the first one
Once in a while make sure they align by placing your hands on both side of the stairs
DO the same until finish
Pause
Observe the stairs
Invite the child to stand up and see the stairs from different angle and go back sitting down
Let the child know that you are going to undo the stairs
Mix the prisms
Invite the child to do the stair as many times as he wants
When the child finish, have him to mix the prism before putting it back from the thickest to the thinnest
Following Exercise:
Showing the Unit of Difference
Present this after the child can built the brown stair comfortably and correctly
Invite a child when you observe he just finish build the brown stairs
Let the child know that you are going to show something different
Pick up a prism that closest to you (the thinnest one)
Put it on the top of the prism which is a little bit higher than it, in the way that their edges match together.
Keep doing the same one by one
Make small pause
After placing in 2 or 3 prisms Invite the child to do the rest
Invite the child to do the activity as many times as he wants
When the child finish, show him how to clean up: • How to put back the br...
Mix the prisms
Bring the prism back one at the time, start with the thickest one
Language:
Thick & Thin
Plus comparatives & superlatives
Language is given after the child can work with the materials comfortably and correctly
Control of Error:
In the child and his ability to discriminate dimension
Direct Purpose:
Refinement of the visual
Visual discrimination of dimension in regard to width