The Earliest Life Forms on Earth

Montessori’s Great Lessons give the universe to the child and encourage discoveries. After the expansive First Great Lesson: The Coming of the Universe (which incorporates astronomy, chemistry, and physics), Montessori 6-9 year-old children explore the Second Great Lesson: The Coming of the Earth. In addition to hearing stories from various cultures around the world about how our planet came to be, children are also told the evolving story of the Earth’s history as told by the scientific community through facts, evidence, and the Scientific Method.

The Second Great Lesson: The Coming of the Earth incorporates geology, physical geography, and biology. The life sciences shine during this curricular study of the earliest life forms on the planet. Having explored the smallest particles of matters, atoms, in the previous Great Lesson, here children learn about kinds of cells – prokaryote and eukaryote – which led to bacteria such as protists and early plant life in the form of cyanobacteria. 

In my current Montessori-hybrid charter environment, we explored cell structures – their parts and how they function, as well as how they differ. One of the most popular lessons I give involves using egg yolks and a fork to discriminate between the two main kinds of cells.

Children are motivated to read about and identify the parts of the cells using three- or four-part card Zoology materials. (Three-part cards feature an image, a label, and a combined image and label card. Four-part cards are mainly used in 6-9 and 9-12 learning environments for children with advanced decoding and reading comprehension skills.) After learning about prokaryote and eukaryote cells, children investigate which kinds of living things contain these kinds of cells. They then may choose to make models with objects representing different parts. These extensions deepen and broaden connections children will later make when they concern themselves with more advanced life forms.

As we move into the Timeline of Life that began with the Proterozoic Era of Earth History, children lay out the timeline (color-coded by era). 

They see just how long one main life form – the cnidarian (one example of which is a jellyfish) -- existed virtually alone on the planet, evolving and adapting as the world became cleaner due to adaptations of plant and animal life filtering the air and water of acid rain produced by volcanic off-gassing. 

These invertebrates paved the way for later animal forms to create skeletons and become vertebrates, and they remain some of the longest life forms in existence, due in large part to the gift they made of their bodies for the lives of others.