I get more and more questions about 9-12 all the time, and I think it’s great! It means that parents and teachers are so thrilled with the way children progress in 6-9, they want it to continue. I’ve been assembling some helpful 9-12 information and thought it would be nice to put it together in one post.
First, here is a list of essentials for 9-12. Is this everything you need? No, but it’s the basics. You’ll want to look through something like my Comprehensive List for 9-12 to see every concept that’s covered. But if you’re just starting out, this list should be helpful.
Essentials for a 9-12 Classroom
Math:
Checkerboard
Test Tube Division (Racks & Tubes)
Fraction Circle Box
Decimal Board
Decimal Checkerboard (pictured)
Materials for Squares and Cubes
Geometry:
Equivalence Insets (also used to prove area formulas)
Geometric Solids for volume and surface area
Botany:
Materials for the study of types and functions of plants (nomenclature cards, plant charts and experiments); materials for studying plant classification (Chinese Box)
Zoology:
Materials for the study of types and functions of animals (nomenclature cards, animal and 5/6 kingdom chart); materials for studying animal classification (Chinese Box)
Chemistry:
A copy of the Periodic Table, books for studying the Periodic Table and elements
Physical Geography:
Geography Charts & Experiments for 9-12 – plus materials for the Geography Experiments
History:
Timelines (Humans, Language, Math), materials for study of Ancient Civilizations, Middle Ages, Renaissance
Cultural Geography:
Materials and books for studying economics, Advanced Fundamental Needs (the town or the village), continent and country studies
Physical Science:
Materials for the study of forces, simple machines, physics
Reference & Research
Dictionary
Encyclopedia
Thesaurus
Access to a library
Computer/Internet Access (with parental control program installed)
Where can you find all these resources? Surprisingly, there are a lot of places that carry 9-12 Elementary materials.
Resources for 9-12:
Montessori Math Cards – 900 cards, with answer booklet, that cover 90 different math concepts
NAMC 9-12 Albums – Gorgeous, full-color albums (manuals) for every 9-12 curricular area (pictured: NAMC 9-12 Zoology Album)
Montessori Research & Development 9-12 Albums – Well researched albums (manuals) for 9-12
9-12 Timelines from Alison’s Montessori Beautiful timelines for math, language, humans, civilizations, and more
Cultivating Dharma – Free printables created by a 9-12 Montessori teacher (see curriculum categories on the right)
Keypress Math Curriculum – Easy to use math curriculum that is full compatible with 9-12 Montessori
Taking a Closer Look at 9-12 Materials – all of the 9-12 PDF files available from us at Montessori for Everyone
Nienhuis Math Materials – High-quality wooden materials for the study of powers, hierarchy, decimals, fractions, and more (see the Mathematics category)
One great thing about Montessori elementary is that appropriate resources can be brought in that are not necessarily “Montessori”. For instance, when it comes to studying something like the Periodic Table, resources can be found online or at teacher stores that are very compatible with Montessori.