Few materials in the Montessori classroom are as iconic as the Pink Tower. Children are immediately drawn to the way the tower stands so elegantly, usually at the starting point of the sensorial area of the classroom. This is where it all begins… the hand becomes the link to understanding concepts using patterns, textures, colors, and variations in size and dimension.
To introduce this work , the child is shown how to remove the smallest piece, placing it on the left side of the rug . After the third cube, the child takes a turn until all of the pink cubes are lined up. The child can be invited to continue working with the pink tower by building it from biggest to smallest. It is extra satisfying if the child checks his work by aligning the tower and feeling that one side is smooth. This is done by running the finger along the side soo carefully without knocking over any cubes.
Early exposure to work such as the pink tower helps children visually discriminate size, and paves the way for more complex sensorial and mathematical activities. The Pink Tower will always be one of my favorite introductions for young learners because of its visual beauty and simplicity.

AGE: 2.5 through 4

CATEGORY: Discrimination of Size

ACTIVITY: Individual

AREA: Rug

PREREQUISITES:

  • Knob Cylinders
  • Rug Rolling

Materials

  • Ten wooden pink cubes ranging in size from 10 cm to 1 cm

Presentation

  1. Place the largest cube in front of the child.
  2. Point to the largest one and say: “This is large; can you say large?”
  3. Bring the smallest cube down and say: “This is small; can you say small?”
    • Have the child feel the difference in sizes in the cubes.
  4. “Can you show me small?”
  5. “Can you show me large?”
  6. Mix them up.
  7. Play other games like “Can you put the small one on my hand?”; Can you put the largest one over your head?”…..
  8. End up with both cubes in front of the child, largest on the left.
  9. Point to the smallest and ask: “What is this?”. Point to the largest and ask “What is this?”
  10. Mix them up and repeat.
  11. Place both cubes in front of the child, ask her to close her eyes, take one away and ask “Which one is missing?” Repeat.

Presentation

  1. Once the child has successfully completed the previous exercise a medium size cube can be introduced.
  2. Pick up a medium size cube and place it between the two extremes.
  3. Point to it and then to the smaller cube.
  4. Point back to the medium cube and say, “This is larger than that one. Can you say larger?”
  5. Point to the smallest, then point to the medium cube and then to the largest cube and say: “Small, larger, largest. Can you say small, larger, largest?”
  6. Point to the medium size cube, then point to the largest cube and say: “This one is smaller than that one”
  7. Later, point to the largest, the medium and the smallest cube and say: “Large, smaller, smallest”
  8. Now introduce another another medium size cube and say: “Small, larger, larger, largest.”
    • When the child can name the sizes going in one direction, introduce the names going the other way.
  9. Point to any two cubes and ask: “Which one is larger – this or that one?”
  10. Point to them again: “Which one is smaller – this one or that one?”
  11. Play many other kinds of games that way.
  12. Point to the largest cube and ask: “What is this?”
  13. Point to the smallest cube and ask: “What is this?”
  14. Point to the medium cube and ask: “What is this?”
  15. Play “Which one is missing?”
  16. Clean up.

Presentation

  1. Invite the child to the shelf where the Pink Tower is set up.
    • The Pink Tower should be set up on a low shelf or a small stool.
  2. Introduce the name of the apparatus: “This is the pink tower; can you say pink tower?”
  3. Ask the child to go set up a rug on the floor.
    • Teacher stands by the shelf while the child is getting the rug to ensure that another child doesn’t take it.
  4. When the child comes back, show her how to carry the cubes to the rug:
    • Carry the smallest cube with three-finger grip of the dominant hand.
    • Carry larger cubes with three-finger grip of the dominant hand on top, hold the base at the bottom with sub dominant hand.
    • Sometimes the smallest cube is kept in a container next to the Pink Tower for safe keeping.
  5. Child carries the first cube. Teacher carries the next one and so on.
  6. Place the cubes randomly on the rug. Place the biggest next to the smallest one.
  7. Sit down on the child’s dominant side.
  8. Reintroduce the apparatus: “This is called the Pink Tower.”
  9. Look at the cubes and HUNT for the biggest one with your eyes.
  10. Starting with the biggest cube, using 3FG, place fingers in the center of the cube and spread them out until they go off the edges and the cube can be picked up.
  11. Pick up the cube and place it squarely in front of the child. Pause.
  12. Hunt for the next cube.
  13. Pick it up in the same manner and place it squarely on top of the biggest cube.
  14. With index finger of dominant hand, trace the top edge of the biggest cube starting with the corner nearest to the child and going counter clockwise.
  15. Repeat the above steps with the remaining cubes.
  16. When completed, pause and look at the tower.
  17. Begin at the top of the tower with both hands, three finger grip, and gently run hands down all the cubes, so the child gets a tactile impression of the gradation of each cube.
  18. Give the child a turn.
  19. Take each cube down one at a time and place them randomly on the rug biggest next to smallest.
  20. Offer child a turn.
    • You may want to give the child a turn during the teachers presentation. Do at least three before doing so.
  21. Upon completion of child’s work, or if he has denied her turn, stand up and look over the entire tower.
  22. Clean up.
    • Bring the tower down. For a younger child you may need to arrange the cubes horizontally on the rug biggest to smallest, left to right.
    • Take the cubes back to the shelf, one at a time, teacher carries the biggest one first.
    • Return the rug

Presentation

  1. As in the previous exercise, arrange cubes randomly on the rug, biggest next to smallest. Follow all previous steps.
  2. Using same procedure as in the first presentation, build tower with one corner directly above the preceding one, two edges even, two sides flush.
  3. After each cube is placed, and using palms of hands, go down back and side of tower using alternating hands.
    • For right-handed child, back side and left side are flush.
    • Use the right hand for the back side and the left hand for the left side when working with a right handed child.
    • Procedure for a left-handed child is reversed.
  4. When the tower is completed in this manner show the child that each cube increases by one small cube.
    • Walk the smallest cube down the steps, tracing along the edge of the other cubes.
    • Walk the smallest cube down the stairs after the previous step has successfully been accomplished or on another day.
  5. Replace all the equipment as in first presentation.

ADDITIONAL EXERCISES

  • Allow the child to be creative with the cubes as long as the principles of largest to smallest are applied.
  • Child can build cubes horizontally like a train.
  • Child can build cubes vertically, yet criss-crossing edges.
  • Child can line them up like a string of diamonds.

POINT OF INTEREST

  • Grasping the cube while carrying it to and from the rug.
  • Feeling the weight changes.
  • Centering the cubes.
  • Tracing the edges.
  • Running fingers down the tower.

CONTROL OF ERROR

  • Visual disharmony.
  • Seeing or feeling the cubes are out of sequence.

DIRECT AIMS

  • To sharpen visual discrimination of gradation of size in a series.
  • To develop muscular coordination and extended concentration.
  • To develop judgment in size.
  • To develop independence and creativity.

LANGUAGE

  • Large – Larger – Largest
  • Small – Smaller – Smallest