Product Overview

No Lamination Required.
Printed on Premium Thick Plastic and Cut.
This material is ready to start using. No other prep work is needed.

This updated Impressionistic Charts Level 6–9 set is designed to give lower elementary children the “big picture” of physical geography and astronomy—then back it up with hands-on experiences that make the concepts real. In classic Montessori Cosmic Education fashion, the charts help you present a strong first impression (Solar System, solar power, Earth’s rotation and seasons), while the included teacher text + full-color experiments guide you step-by-step from story and wonder into scientific observation and reasoning.

Because the cards are printed on premium thick plastic and arrive cut, there’s no lamination, trimming, or prep. You can move straight from shelf to lesson—ideal for busy classrooms, homeschool environments, and schools building consistent Great Lessons follow-up work.

What’s included (and why it works)

Whole Charts (8.5" x 11") for your key presentations: clear visuals that support storytelling, group lessons, and follow-up discussions.
Research Cards (8.5" x 5.5") that extend the work: children revisit the ideas, label, read, and connect vocabulary and concepts to the visuals.
Extensive teacher text explaining the purpose of each chart and the science behind it—so presentations remain accurate, consistent, and confidence-building.
50 full-color experiments (across Chapters 1–3) that provide the concrete experiences children need before deeper abstraction: simple materials, clear procedures, and observation prompts that strengthen reasoning, language, and scientific habits.

This is an excellent choice for Montessori guides who want a complete, classroom-ready geography impressionistic chart program—one that supports imagination and wonder and meets the child’s need to “test the story” through real observation.

Concepts covered (Chapters 1–3)

Chapter 1: The Solar System & Early Earth Foundations

Children start with scale and relationship—how Earth fits into something far larger—and move into the earliest Earth stories that set the stage for later geology and geography work.

Chapter 2: Solar Power, Sunlight, and the Atmosphere

These charts clarify how sunlight reaches Earth, why angle matters, and how the atmosphere affects temperature and heat retention—key groundwork for climate, biomes, and later meteorology.

Chapter 3: Rotation, Day/Night, Latitude, and Seasons

Children connect Earth’s movements to lived experience—sunrise/sunset, time, and seasonal change—then extend to latitude, zones, and solstice/equinox understanding.

Chart list (29 charts total)

Chapter 1

The Solar System: The Ratio of the Earth to the Sun
The Solar System: The Earth and the Solar System
The Cosmic Dance: Beginning of the Cooling Process
The Time of the Volcanoes: The Cooling Process
The Sun’s Beautiful Daughter: Rain and Cooling
The Zones of the Earth: The Chemical Constitution of the Earth
Solar Energy
Fire and Ice: Movement on the Earth

Chapter 2

9. How the Sun’s Rays Reach the Earth: Perpendicular and Oblique Rays
10. The Sun’s Rays Reach the Earth: Perpendicular and Oblique Rays
11. Difference in Distance of the Sun to the Earth
12. The Work of the Solar Rays in Passing Through the Atmosphere
13. The Earth Stores Heat: The Atmosphere as a Poor Conductor of Heat
14. Radiation: The Giving Back of Heat
15. Radiation: Dispersing Heat #1
16. Radiation: Dispersing Heat #2

Chapter 3

17. Day and Night: Rotation and its Consequences
18. The Variation of the Temperature of the Earth’s Surface in Relation to Rotation
19a. Circles of Latitude
19. The Position of the Earth with Relation to the Sun: Inclination of the Earth’s Axis
20. The Seasons: Revolution of the Earth and the Resulting Seasons
21. The Seasons on the Map: The First Day of Each Season
22. Distribution of Heat on the Earth: Astronomic Zones
23. Our Summer: Solstice
24. Our Winter: Solstice
25. Spring and Autumn: The Equinox
26. Torrid Zones: Equatorial Climatic Zones
27. Frigid Zones: Frigid Climatic Zones
28. Temperate Zones: Temperate Climatic Zones

The experiments: making the “impression” concrete

The included experiments are intentionally simple to run, but conceptually rich—perfect for building scientific vocabulary, cause-and-effect thinking, and accurate mental models. Examples include experiences that help children observe:

how viscosity affects movement (comparing liquids and how they flow),
how hot air rises and temperature changes affect matter,
why sunlight angle changes intensity and heating,
how the atmosphere influences heat, pressure, and temperature behavior,
how rotation connects to day/night, and how light behaves through air and particles,
how latitude lines connect to zones and seasonal patterns,
and how tilt + revolution create seasons (with advanced extensions for older or highly curious students).

These experiences strengthen teacher presentations and protect the integrity of Montessori sequencing: story → impression → experiment → follow-up research → independent work.

RESOURCES

Look at our Geography Flow Chart for Lower Elementary to see how this work fits in with the traditional Montessori geography curriculum.

STANDARDS
View the Standards met through this material.