Sandpaper Globe: Land and Water
The sandpaper globe has two textures: rough sandpaper where there's land and smooth blue paint where there's water. A child of about 2.5 to 3 runs two fingers over it and learns the words land and water before any continent has a name. It's the first geography lesson in most Montessori sequences.
Sourced from the texts, not yet presented at home
| Typical age | 2.5 to 4.5 years |
|---|---|
| Area | Cultural |
| Before this | Nothing. This lesson can come first. |
| Materials | |
| Direct aim | To learn the words land and water and identify each on the globe. |
| Control of error | The textures. Land is always rough and water always smooth, so the child can confirm by touch. |
| Leads to | |
| Time | About 5 minutes (our estimate). |
| Grouping | One child, or two side by side |
| Parent prep | None. |
| Cost | Buy about $42 to $82. Make: possible to make with some effort. |
| Other names | Land and water globe, First globe |
What the work teaches
Direct aim. To learn the words land and water and identify each on the globe.
Indirect aims, the ones you will not see at once
- A first concrete image of the earth as a whole
- Refinement of the sense of touch
- Preparation for the colored continent globe and puzzle maps
- A light touch, the same one the sandpaper letters will ask for
Set it out before you invite the child
A table-top globe on a short stand: land covered in sandpaper, water painted smooth and blue.
Nothing else on the table, so the globe is the only thing in front of the child.
Clean, dry hands. Montessori had children wash with soap and dry their hands before touch work.
The sandpaper globe is not described in Montessori's books from 1912 to 1917; it's standard in AMI and AMS albums. It builds on a material she did describe: a small board divided into a rough half and a smooth half.
Presentation, step by step
- 1Carry the globe to the table with both hands, one under the base and one on the stand.
- 2"This is a model of the earth. It is called a globe."
- 3Touch a rough area with two fingers. "This is land." Let the child feel it.
- 4Touch a smooth area. "This is water." Let the child feel it.
- 5Second period: "Show me water. Show me land."
- 6Third period: touch an area and ask, "What is this?"
Details that hold the child's attention
The coastline, where rough turns to smooth under one finger.
Turning the globe slowly to find that water covers more of it than land.
How the child sees a mistake
The textures. Land is always rough and water always smooth, so the child can confirm by touch.
The words come after the hands
| Words | Shown with |
|---|---|
| globe | The model of the earth. |
| earth | What the globe stands for. |
| land | The rough parts. |
| water | The smooth blue parts. |
The three-period lesson, scripted
You need the globe itself, one rough patch and one smooth patch.
| Period | What you do and say |
|---|---|
| 1. Naming | Touch rough: "This is land." Touch smooth: "This is water." Two or three times each. |
| 2. Recognition | "Show me water." "Show me land." Turn the globe a little and ask again. |
| 3. Recall | Touch a spot and ask "What is this?" |
Montessori taught rough and smooth on boards before naming anything, the child's hand held lightly above the surface. A child who has done that work brings the touch with them.
Extensions and variations
- Sorting pictures of land and water
- A land, air and water sorting activity with small jars
- Moving to the continent globe
- Finding land and water on a flat map once the globe is easy
Variations
- Pairing the lesson with pouring water into a land and water form tray
Make it or buy it
| Material | Make it | Buy, approx. |
|---|---|---|
| Sandpaper Globe | With effort | $42 to $82 |
Prices noted . Approximate US street prices for home-use versions; they vary by maker and change often, so recheck before buying.
Making it at home
A plain inexpensive globe can be adapted by painting oceans blue and gluing fine sand onto the land areas with craft glue.
What to check when buying a set
Sandpaper globes are usually sold alongside the continent globe as a pair.
Printables for this age
This work needs only the material, so it has no printable of its own. The shelf plan below places it among the other works for the same age.
- Shelf plan for age 2PDF, 1 page, 325 KBEvery work for this age on one page, in order, with a column to date each presentation.
Every printable for one age, by email
The shelf plan and the lesson printables for your child's age in one email, then three short emails on the first lesson, what to make or buy, and what comes next.
Signs the child is ready, and signs it is done
Ready for the first presentation
- Tells rough from smooth.
- Carries an object with both hands to a table.
- Touches lightly when asked, without rubbing hard.
- Says "water" and points to water in a picture.
Ready for the next lesson
- Names land and water on the globe in any position.
- Finds water on a picture of the earth or a flat map.
- Turns the globe slowly with one hand while touching with the other.
- Asks the names of the land shapes, which is the cue for the continent globe.
Fitting it into a home, not a classroom
| If you have | Do this |
|---|---|
| No sandpaper globe | Paint the oceans of a cheap globe blue and glue fine sand on the land with craft glue. Let it dry fully and shake off loose grains before the lesson. |
| A child under 2.5 who wants to join in | Let them feel the globe with you. The words can wait. |
| Two children | Side by side, one globe. Take turns: one touches and names, the other checks by touch. |
| Living near water | Take the words outside: a puddle and the ground around it, a beach, a pond. |
When it does not go to plan
| When | Try this |
|---|---|
| The globe gets spun hard. | Hold it still with one hand and show the slow turn. Put it away if spinning is all that happens today. |
| Everything is called land. | Go back to the first period another day, touching only two spots, one of each. |
| Picking at the sand on a homemade globe. | Seal the sand with a coat of clear glue once dry. |
| Interest ends after two minutes. | That's a full lesson at this age. Leave the globe on the shelf. |
Hazards to check before each session
Homemade globes shed sand. Seal it, and wash hands after the lesson for a child who still puts fingers in the mouth.
Stand the globe on a low, steady table; on a high shelf it topples when a child reaches up.
Where other sequences and standards place it
We have not bought the paid homeschool curricula, so they are not listed here.
| Framework | Where it sits |
|---|---|
| This site's Cultural sequence | Lesson 1 of 12 published, before World Puzzle Map: Continents and Land and Water Forms and Continent Globe (Painted Globe). Checked in: the scope and sequence |
| Montessori, Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook (1914) | The closest material in the book is the board with rough and smooth surfaces, touched with fingertips after washing. The globe applies that touch to geography. Checked in: Sensory Education, Fig. 13 |
| Montessori, The Montessori Method (1912) | Education of the tactile sense: wash the hands, then draw a finger very lightly over the surface. Checked in: Chapter XIII, Education of the Senses |
| Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework, preschool | P-SCI 3: the child compares and categorizes observable phenomena. Indiana's early learning standards add SS 3.1, awareness of the world in spatial terms. Checked in: www.in.gov |
Sandpaper globe: questions parents ask
What is a sandpaper globe?
A globe with sandpaper glued over the land and smooth blue paint over the water. It's the first of two globes; the second is the continent globe, with each continent in its own color.
What age is the sandpaper globe for?
From about 2.5, once the child can feel rough and smooth. It usually stays on the shelf until the continent globe takes over, somewhere around 3 to 4, and a child may keep coming back to it afterward just to run two fingers along the coastlines.
Do I need both Montessori globes?
No. The sandpaper globe teaches two words; a homemade version works. If you buy one globe, buy the continent globe, which serves longer. Bought sandpaper globes run about $30 to $90.
Sources cited by book and chapter
- Maria Montessori, Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook (1914)
Sensory Education, Fig. 13
A small rectangular board divided into a rough part and a smooth part; the child, who already knows how to wash his hands with soap, dries them and dips his fingertips in tepid water before touching.
The Method
Rectangular tablets with rough and smooth surfaces are part of the didactic material for the education of the senses.
Language and Knowledge of the World
By means of the lessons in nomenclature the child comes to know words such as rough and smooth very thoroughly, after long exercise in comparing the qualities of objects.
- Maria Montessori, The Montessori Method (1912)
Chapter XIII, Education of the Senses
Washing the hands teaches the child not to touch objects with unclean hands, and the child is taught to touch a surface by having his finger drawn very, very lightly over it.
Chapter XX, Sequence of Exercises
Rough and smooth surfaces are presented once the education of the attention has begun, after the dimension materials.
Reviewed by
What to offer next
Once the child chooses this work unprompted and finishes it without help, the next lesson to prepare is World Puzzle Map: Continents.
- Sandpaper globe2.5 to 4.5 years
- Plant care2.5 to 5.5 years
- Puzzle map3 to 5.5 years
- Land forms3 to 5.5 years
- Continent globe3 to 5 years