My Inquiry Proposal
Integrating and Implementing the Montessori and new BC Curricula
My inquiry question: “What are the key concepts and pedagogical approaches to the Montessori Great Stories of “The Story of Life” and “The Story of Humans”? What is best practice for integrating the new BC curriculum with the relevant Montessori curriculum? How would a teacher implement these two Montessori Great Stories in a BC Montessori classroom?”
I am hoping integrate the Montessori Great Stories with the new BC curriculum focusing primarily on the grades 1-3 science and social studies curriculum. I will include lesson plans that weave both of these curricula together. I have started my research by reading “Children of the Universe: Cosmic Education in Montessori Elementary Classroom” Michael and D’Neil Duffy and I am realizing how excited I am to pursue this practical yet interesting task of attempting to integrate and map both of these curricula.
My question is significant to me because I hope to be a Montessori teacher. If I teach in the BC public school system as a Montessori teacher I will need to have a concrete understanding of both the Montessori curriculum as well as the new BC Ministry of Education curriculum. If I am able to map a document that connects the big ideas in grades 1-3 social studies and science to the Montessori Great Stories, I will not only have a resource for myself as a beginning teacher but a resource for other Montessori public school teachers in BC.
I expect to find that these two Montessori Great Stories mapped with the new BC 1-3 science curriculum will weave together nicely to form a useful resource as a future Montessori teacher. This inquiry project will force me to well versed in the Big Ideas of science for grades 1-3 as well as the building blocks into grades 4-6 science in the new BC Ministry of Education curriculum. Using the Montessori Great Stories to frame this required curriculum will not only capture the imaginations of the students but will act as reinforcements for further learning.