FIRST CLASSIFICATION OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM: "The elementary child has
had the opportunity to become acquainted with the pictures and the
stories about the animals.with the Animal Stories (Animal Story Cards):
this is a fun card game with cards that you can make... One side of the
card has a picture of an animal, the other side has a short description
told like a little story. Through these stories they find out how the
animals live, get food, move, etc." (Notes from my Montessori training
manual.) Previously they have studied these animals in no particular
order with Montessori zoology nomenclature cards (for ages 3 to 6), see a big list here from Montessori Print Shop.
But now (in elementary Montessori) they will study these same animals
in relation to how they evolved (their progress), particularly in the
order that appears on the Time-Line of Life." Affordable resources for Montessori zoology cards:
2. Montessori: Classification of the Animal Kingdom by The Learning Ark, download in $ PDF (Montessori life science materials). The files will include ready to print 4-part cards for: vertebrates and invertebrates, classification of vertebrates, and classification of invertebrates. She has also included 'Living and non-living' cards. More information about these materials can be found on her blog at http://www.thelearningark.blogspot.com/.
3. First Classification of the Animal Kingdom Charts from Montessori for Everyone in $ PDF
4. Black and white Montessori nomenclature card sets in PDF from Montessori Market Place, which include zoology, botany, geography, and meteorology cards (3-part cards, definition and picture cards, booklets, and wall chart).
5. Free PDF booklets for Time Line of Life study and the study of fossils (scroll down for the links) from Fossil-Facts-andFinds.com.
6. Pre-made and more costly Montessori elementary zoology materials to purchase from Montessori Services.
If you are looking for a Creationist viewpoint, read a review at EclecticHomeschool.org of Children of the Universe: Cosmic Education in the Montessori Elementary Classroom by Robin McDonald--she has a Creationist-friendly view.
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