Dr. Maria Montessori - Comprehension Worksheet

Dr. Maria Montessori - Comprehension Worksheet

          Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952), was the author of a system of education called the Montessori system (named after her). The system aimed at making school, fun for the young learners. She was Italy’s first young woman doctor.

          A young doctor at 26, working at the psychiatric clinic of the university of Rome, she made a startling discovery that the mentally retarded children were treated as insane and were treated as such. Moved by their pitiable condition, she began to think whether it would be not possible to do something to improve their lot. She did not have to wait long for a reward for her tiresome labor. At a public examination a large number of “idiot children “performed as well as normal children from other schools.

          Her work was acclaimed as a miracle all over Italy. If her method could educate a mentally deficient child so as to match the performance of a normal child trained through the conventional methods, she believed it should be possible by adopting a new technique, for a child to record a much better progress. The existing system, she said, crushed the personality of children completely and made them unhappy.

          She believed the system should be such that the child should love to learn.

          Montessori ran a school where under six years of age were taught. To her surprise, she found that the children were not content with being allowed to play, but in fact demanded to learn. Her efforts made children happy and enabled them to enjoy their childhood.

          The Montessori system emphasizes importance for children of 3-6 years of freedom and use of exercises and gains in growth of coordination.

Multiple-Choice Question:

1. Give the antonym of ‘private’ in Para 2

(A) insane                                       (B) Public

(C) reward                                     (D) condition

2. Give the meaning of ‘labour’

(A) hard work                                (B) Progress

(C) Apparatus                               (D) Discovery

3. The word ‘crushed ’ means

(A) Compressed                           (B) Expanded

(C) Built                                          (D) Created

Find one word for the following from the passage (Matching):

4. seriously mentally ill          (Para 2)

5. pressed, damaged              (Para 3)

6. writer                                     (Para 1)

7. satisfy                                    (Para 4)

8. profits                                    (Para 5)

9. prize                                       (Para 2)

Fill in the blanks:

10. The educational system authored by Dr. Maria Montessori aimed at making school, fun for the ____.

11. During her work as a doctor she discovered that the mentally retarded children were _____.

12. Her hard work gave her a reward for her labour and at a public examination a large number of “____” performed as well as normal children from other schools.

13. Montessori’s work was acclaimed as a _____ all over Italy.

14. The Montessori system of education emphasises importance for children of ____ of freedom.

15. Her efforts made children ______.

16. She was Italy’s first young woman ______.

True/False:

17. Dr. Maria Montessori’s work was acclaimed all over France.

18. She had to wait long for a reward for her work.

19. She ran a school for children above six years of age.

20. The existing system crushed the personality of children.

21. According to her a child should love to learn.

22. She was Italy’s first woman nurse.

Answer key:

1. (B)

2. (A)

3. (A)

4. Insane

5. Crushed

6. Author

7. Content

8. Gains

9. Reward

10. young learners.

11. treated as insane.

12. “idiot children“

13. Miracle

14. 3-6 years

15. Happy

16. doctor

17. False

18. False

19. False

20. True

21. True

22. False