Montessori Education Center of the Rockies – Early Childhood
Ross
Function of Words
Grammar Symbols
Noun:
Black Triangle – Black like carbon, because carbon, which is one of the
oldest known things, is black.
 Question to ask the child is, “Which word told you the name
of what I wanted?”
Article:
Small Light Blue Triangle – Always goes with the noun, but is
not as important, so we use a smaller triangle.
 Question to ask the child for the article a is, “Which word
told you there were several______, but that I only wanted
one?”
 Question for the article the is “Which word told you that
there was only one____, and that I wanted it?”
Adjective:
Dark Blue Triangle - Describes the noun, but it is not as important, so
we use a smaller triangle.
 Question to ask the child is, “Which word told you more
about the _____, or told you exactly which____ I wanted?”
Verb:
Red Circle – Equal in size and importance to the noun. Red like
the sun because it is the source of all life and energy. The verb equals
action and activity.
 Question to ask the child is, “Which word told you what
the_____ is doing?”
Adverb:
Orange Circle – Smaller than the verb symbol, and a different
color. Like a satellite of the sun.
 Question to ask the child is, “Which word told you more
about the verb, or told you how to do something?”
Preposition:
Green Half-Moon – Acts as a bridge between nouns or a noun and
a verb.
 Question to ask the child is, “Which word told you where I
wanted the ______?”
Conjunction:
Pink Bar – Acts like a link in a chain.
 Question to ask the child is, “Which word told you to join
the_____ and the _____together?”