Use metal insets and shapes to teach hand control and coordination. Sets for this exercise can be purchased at various Montessori websites. Teach the students the shapes that come with the set and let them develop their pincer skills tracing the shapes with a pencil. You may demonstrate first, so the child understands. They will learn proper control and pressure, as well as the curves and lines that are found when writing letters.
Cut letters from sand paper and mount them on cardstock in various colors. Present letters in cursive font, rather than print. Encourage children to feel the paper, tracing the letters and learning through their senses. Show the student the letters and introduce the sounds softly, rather than with a harsh enunciation. Place emphasis only on the sounds of the letters, not the names of them.
Teach the names of the letters only after the sounds have been mastered. Teach lower-case letters first, a few at a time. Allow the student to work at his own pace and continue to use the sand paper letter cards to learn the names of the letters, while also considering the sounds previously learned. Once the 26 letters and sounds are learned, start blending the sounds together using the alphabet cards. Allow students to take two letters and guess at the sound they make next to each other.
Offer the student tracing exercises once it is time to begin writing. Ask students to trace a letter, as if they were writing it, and sound it out simultaneously several times. Allow students to put letters together and trace whatever they are comfortable with. Montessori educators want the student to think that he is teaching himself to read, so give him space and let him choose his activities.
Purchase a Montessori moveable alphabet. Have students practice looking at pictures and sounding out the objects. Ask them to choose the letters from the alphabet and line them up according to sounds, thus attempting to build the word. Take it a step further and have the student write the word in a booklet. Students can begin creating sentences once they know a few words. Reading will follow naturally, so label toys and objects around the room so the student has a chance to learn them on his own.