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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