Free Montessori three part cards templates

Three-part cards, also called three-period cards or nomenclature cards, are one material in three pieces. The control card has the picture and the word printed together and is what the child checks against. The picture card has the same picture with no word. The label card has the word on its own. The child lays out the picture cards, puts a label under each one, then turns over the control cards and corrects the work without an adult saying anything. That only works if the picture on the picture card is exactly the size and position of the picture on the control card, and the label card exactly the size of the label strip. All seven sheets here are built from the same boxes: a 78 by 46 mm picture area and a 78 by 15 mm label area, with the dashed cutting line outside them so it never eats into the picture.

What's in this set

1. Blank control cards: six to a page, each a 78 by 46 mm picture box above a 78 by 15 mm label box, with a dashed divider and a dashed cutting line.
2. Blank picture cards: six to a page, each exactly the 78 by 46 mm picture box with no label strip, so one lies over a control card and covers the picture and nothing else.
3. Blank label cards: twelve to a page, each 78 by 15 mm. That is two full sets of six, one to cut and one spare.
4. Parts of a leaf, control cards: the worked example. Six finished control cards for blade, apex, margin, midrib, vein and petiole: the same leaf drawn six times with the named part in red and the word printed below.
5. Parts of a leaf, picture cards: the matching six, identical drawings at identical size with no words.
6. Parts of a leaf, label cards: the six words printed twice, so you have a spare set after the first one wears out.
7. Definition card template: six blank cards for the fourth card some teachers add, each with a 22 mm picture box, a 13 mm label box and three ruled lines.

Print sheets 1 to 3 to make a set of your own, or print sheets 4 to 6 to see a finished set in your hands before you draw anything.

Frequently asked questions

What are Montessori three part cards?

Three matching cards for each thing being named: a control card with the picture and word together, a picture card with the picture alone, and a label card with the word alone. Also called three-period or nomenclature cards. The child matches pictures to labels, then checks against the control cards without help.

What size should three part cards be?

There is no single standard. What matters is that the picture card matches the picture area of the control card exactly, and the label card the label strip. These templates use a 78 by 46 mm picture and a 78 by 15 mm label, which gives six control cards to a page and keeps the word readable across a table.

How many cards go in one set?

Four to eight. Six is the usual number and it is what the leaf example uses. If you have more than eight names for a topic, make two sets and keep them in separate envelopes.

What is the fourth card for?

The definition card carries a one-sentence description, so an older child can match a definition to a picture after the labels have become easy. It is optional. Sheet 7 is a blank template for it; keep the finished definition cards in a second envelope and bring them out later.

Can I use these for words other than botany?

Yes. The blank sheets take any set of nouns: parts of a flower, continents, farm animals, musical instruments, shapes, kitchen tools, the layers of the earth. The leaf set is here as a worked example of the format, not as the only subject.

More Montessori printables

For the reading work three-part cards assume, see the Montessori language worksheets, which include the pink series picture and word cards, and the CVC words worksheets. Cutting a first set is scissor practice in itself: the cutting practice worksheets build up to a straight line. On the math side, the Montessori math worksheets follow the order children meet the materials in.