88. Montessori Storytelling: The History of English Spelling with Zil Jaeger
In this episode of Literacy in Color, Michelle chats with Montessori educator and literacy advocate Zil Jaeger to explore a powerful instructional tool: storytelling.
Zil shares how Montessori storytelling goes far beyond engagement; it’s a structured, intentional approach to building background knowledge, activating imagination, and anchoring learning in meaningful ways.
Key Takeaways:
- Why storytelling is foundational to Montessori education
- The concept of cosmic education and helping students see the interconnectedness of knowledge
- The “whole-to-parts” approach and how it supports schema-building and retrieval
- How storytelling strengthens memory through curiosity, imagery, and repetition
- Zil’s “Story of English Spelling” & why English spelling is not random and how history lives inside words – Through timelines, maps, and multisensory storytelling, students begin to understand why words are spelled the way they are.
Zil also shares how Montessori & Structured Literacy can align with intention, bringing research-based practices into a Montessori framework in thoughtful, systematic ways.
Resources Mentioned:
- Zil’s Story of English Spelling: https://www.ziljaeger.com/shop/p/englishspelling
- Etymonline (Etymology Dictionary)
- Book: The High Frequency Word Project by Rebecca Loveless & Fiona Hamilton
- Book: Dictionary of Word Origins by John Ayto
- Book: Oxford School Dictionary of Word Origins by John Ayto
- Book: Spell It Out by David Crystal
- Book: Language Visible by David Sacks
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Connect with Zil Jaeger:
- Website: www.ziljaeger.com
- Instagram: @ziljaeger
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