Tracking progress from presented to mastered

A Montessori classroom has children working on dozens of different lessons at once, and no guide can hold all of it in memory. A three-stage record gives you a quick answer for every child and every lesson: has it been presented, is the child practicing it, or has the child mastered it?

What each stage means

Agree on these definitions with everyone who records progress in your classroom, so a mark means the same thing whoever wrote it.

Presented. You gave the child the lesson. The child saw the material used from start to finish and had a turn.

Practicing. The child has chosen the work on their own at least once since the presentation, and is repeating it. They may still make errors, need the control of error to check themselves, or skip steps. Most of a child's time with a material is spent here.

Mastered. The child does the work correctly, without help, more than once, and has started to use it in some new way: teaching it to a younger child, extending it, or carrying the skill into other work. A child who can build the pink tower but still mixes up the order of the two smallest cubes is practicing. A child who builds it reliably and starts building it with eyes closed, or pairs it with the brown stair, has mastered it.

Some lessons have a clear end, such as tying a bow. Others, such as the moveable alphabet, keep going for months. For long works, break the lesson into smaller steps and record each one, for example "moveable alphabet: three-letter words" and "moveable alphabet: phonograms".

Recording during the day

Keep the record simple enough to update in under a minute. Two methods work in most rooms.

A lesson grid on a clipboard. List the children down the side and the lessons for one area across the top. In each square write P, Pr or M with the date. Keep one sheet per curriculum area: practical life, sensorial, language, mathematics and cultural.

A notebook page per child. Some guides prefer a page for each child with lessons listed as they're given. Write the lesson and the date presented. Add the date the child started practicing, and the date of mastery.

Whichever you use, follow these habits:

• Record "presented" right after the lesson, before you invite the next child.
• Record "practicing" when you notice a child choosing the work on their own. A quick mark during your observation time is enough.
• Record "mastered" only after you've seen the child do the work well on more than one day.
• Never move a child back a stage to mark a bad day. If a child who mastered a lesson struggles with it after a holiday, note it beside the entry and watch.

Assistants can record "practicing" for work they see during the cycle, if you've agreed on what counts.

Planning next week on Friday

Set aside twenty or thirty minutes at the end of the week with the record in front of you. Go child by child and ask four questions:

1. What was presented but not practiced? The child may not have been ready, the material may be out of reach, or they may not remember it. Plan a short re-presentation or an invitation to return to it.
2. What has the child been practicing for a long time? Watch it next week to see if the child is close to mastery or stuck on one step. A child stuck for several weeks may need the lesson broken into smaller parts.
3. What has the child mastered? Look at what comes next in the sequence for that area and add it to next week's plan.
4. Which areas have no recent marks? A child with a full record in practical life and nothing in mathematics for a month needs an invitation in mathematics.

Write each child's plan as two or three lessons for the week. Keep a short list of children waiting for the same presentation, so you can give it to a small group when it suits.

Using the record with families

The same three stages give you specific things to say at a conference: "Your child has mastered the number rods and is practicing the spindle box. Next I'll present the cards and counters."

Families pick up the three words quickly. Use the words exactly as you use them in the classroom, and show the parent the record if they'd like to see it.

Once a term, read across the whole class record for each area. Lessons that few children have reached can point to a material that needs repair, a shelf that's hard to reach, or a presentation you've been putting off.