How Did Humans Discover Fire?

This lesson takes a look at one of the first ways humans used chemistry. In the lesson, we expand on some of the topics introduced in Montessori’s Third Great Lesson. We also talk about some of the concepts we introduced in The Story of the Elements. Diving into those two topics first may give you a better understanding of this lesson. That being said, we always encourage you to follow the child and their interests. If you have a young learner who is excited about fire, you can always share this lesson, and go back to fill in the blanks at a later time.

What you’ll learn:

• Early humans discovered and used fire as a tool.
• You need 3 specific things to make a fire.
• When a substance burns, it transforms into something new.
• How we know that early humans used fire.