PHYSICAL PRODUCT

Basic Vocabulary Card Set/26

$299.95 $336.70

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$299.95 $336.70

Product description

All 26 of our Basic Vocabulary Card Packets in one comprehensive set — 312 image-only cards. Each card shows a picture with no text thus focusing on spoken vocabulary and oral language before reading enters the picture. This gives pre-readers a rich word bank to draw on later, once decoding begins.

Titles include Amphibians, Around the House, Around Town, Birds, Butterflies, Clothing, Dogs, Farm Animals (Adult & Juvenile), Fish, Fruit, Garden Flowers, Horses (Coat Colors), Insects, In the Kitchen, Mammals, Orchestral Musical Instruments, Pets, Popular Musical Instruments, Reptiles, Sports Equipment, Tools, Transportation, Utensils, Vegetables, and Wildflowers.

Download a free reference sheet listing all vocabulary.

Why Vocabulary Cards Matter for Reading

Reading comprehension depends on two interwoven strands of Scarborough's Reading Rope: word recognition and language comprehension. Because vocabulary knowledge varies widely among children entering school, building spoken vocabulary early is one of the most direct ways to prepare children for reading comprehension later on. (Sounding out a word doesn't guarantee that a reader grasps its meaning.)

These Montessori vocabulary nomenclature cards all feature a single, real-world photograph on each card with no text whatsoever; they focus exclusively on oral language. This helps isolate the stimuli of one noun, one word. Vocabulary is taught using the three-period lesson: (1) naming, (2) recognizing, and (3) recalling.

What's Included

26 vocabulary packets covering animals, plants, everyday objects, and more
12 cards per packet, 312 cards in the complete set
Image-only format — no text, so pre-readers build oral vocabulary without visual distraction
Cards measure approximately 4.25" x 3.75"
Each packet comes in its own sturdy, clear reclosable bag for teacher storage
Guided lesson plan included, covering three-period lesson presentation and vocabulary enrichment/sorting games

Add on our Medium Cloth Pouches for a beautiful display and storage option. Rotate packets every week or so to keep the environment fresh and full of discovery.

All cards are eco-made in the USA, are laminated with a food-grade laminate, have rounded corners, and are ready to use right out of the box. CPSIA compliant.

What is the Science of Reading?

The Science of Reading is the large, converging body of research on how children learn to read, spanning cognitive psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience. It shows that skilled reading requires both accurate word recognition (phonics and decoding) and strong language comprehension (vocabulary, background knowledge, and oral language). Maitri Learning's materials are designed to build both sides of this foundation.

How do image-only vocabulary cards build reading skills?

Vocabulary is one of the core strands of language comprehension in Scarborough's Reading Rope. Because these cards show only an image, children focus entirely on building spoken vocabulary and oral language — the word knowledge that later supports reading comprehension, without the added demand of decoding text.

What ages is this kit designed for?

This set is designed for PreK through Kindergarten (ages 3–6) and works well for ESL learners of any age who are building English vocabulary. The image-only format makes it especially useful for children who aren't reading yet.

How is this kit Montessori-aligned?

These cards follow the Montessori three-period lesson (naming, recognition, recall) and the principle of isolation of difficulty — presenting one clear image per card so children can focus on building vocabulary without the distraction of text. Included lesson plans guide teachers through presentation and follow-up sorting activities.

What is an album badge?

Trained Montessorians select every product in The Shared Environment. If the product fulfills the description in a presentation, it gets an album badge.

Album badges represent the analysis of trained Montessorians and do not indicate endorsement by an accrediting body. The album badging process and symbols are proprietary intellectual property of The Shared Environment.