Montessori's language materials are based on a carefully structured phonic approach to writing and reading. Recognised for their excellence, they are used widely in many non-Montessori schools and settings. First, children learn sensorially by tracing sandpaper letters with their fingers while they are told the sounds. Soon they are writing simple words with moveable letters, matching words with objects and reading their first stories in phonic readers. When asked how they learned to read and write Montessori children will often answer, "I did it myself." (back to Curriculum)