The general purpose of the sensorial area is to allow the child the opportunity to interpret the world intelligently. Between three and six years of age, children have a natural inclination to perfect their senses due to a sensitive period for the refinement of senses. This enables children to distinguish and classify his impressions through the mediation of specially designed materials.

The sensorial area may be defined as a series of exercises with scientifically designed objects that are grouped together according to some physical quality they possess, such as color, shape, size, sound, texture, weight, temperature and so forth. The grouping allows children to rediscover their environment by way of their senses in a clear and meaningful way.

There are two outstanding features that define the sensorial material; materialized abstractions and keys to the universe. Materialized abstraction means that abstract concepts are materialized or made concrete. This enables children to come into physical contact with an idea or concept. The key to the universe refers to the essence of the qualities or attributes found in the world and they will be presented to children through sensorial material. The sensorial material gives children the essence of the universal concepts allowing them to apply this understanding to the infinite variety of expressions of these concepts in the world.

Through sensorial material the child starts classifying and categorizing the physical qualities of the world. The sensorial materials make it possible for the child to distinguish and classify. We can thus conclude that order is the basis for the development of intelligence as it empowers the mind with the ability to distinguish. Intelligence, according to Maria Montessori, is to be able to distinguish, classify and catalog external things on the basis of a secure order already established in the mind, this is at once intelligence and culture. The characteristics of development are therefore, orderliness and the power of discrimination or ability to see different and similar.