MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

The Seven Intelligences

(Adapted from Howard Gardner. Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice.
Basic Books, 1993)

	BODILY-KINESTHETIC Processes knowledge through bodily sensations Moves, twitches, fidgets while sitting Enjoys physical activity, sports Enjoys hands-on activities, crafts Communicates through gestures Is the "class clown"
LOGICAL-MATH Asks questions about how things work Computes arithmetic problems in head quickly Enjoys playing chess, checkers, or other strategy games Enjoys working on logic puzzles or brain teasers Categorizes easily Has a good sense of cause-effect		LINGUISTIC Thinks in words Writes well Enjoys reading books, word games Appreciates nonsense rhymes, puns, etc. Enjoys listening to the spoken word Communicates to others in a highly verbal way
	MUSICAL Thinks in tones Learns through rhythm, melody Is sensitive to environmental noises Sings, hums, whistles, taps out rhymes Needs music to study Indicates if something is off-key, out-of-tune
INTERPERSONAL Enjoys socializing with peers Appears to be a natural leader Belongs to clubs, committees, etc. Empathizes with others, even advises Enjoys informally teaching other students Has two or more close friends		INTRAPERSONAL Is strong-willed, independent Prefers to work along, self-directed Expresses personal feelings accurately Has high self-esteem Is realistic about own strengths/weaknesses Has "private" hobbies, interests
	SPATIAL Thinks in images and pictures Enjoys art activities, colors Likes to build 3-D constructions Prefers videos, movies, maps, charts Daydreams more than peers Doodles when listening

Seven Kinds of Learning Styles

Children who are strongly:	Think	Love	Need	Misbehave by
Linguistic	In words	Reading, writing, telling stories, playing word games	Books, tapes, writing tools, paper, diaries, dialogue, discussion, debate, stories	Passing notes, reading during lessons
Logical/Math	By reasoning	Experimenting, questioning, figuring out puzzles, calculating	Things to explore and think about, science materials, manipulatives, trips to planetarium, science museum	Working on math or building things during lessons
Spatial/Visual	In images and pictures	Designing, drawing, visualizing, doodling	Art, LEGOs, video, movies, slides, imagination games, mazes, illustrated books, trips to art museum	Doodling, drawing, daydreaming
Bodily/Kinesthetic	Through somatic sensations	Dancing, running, jumping, building, touching, gesturing	Role play, drama, movement, things to build, games, tactile experiences, hands-on learning	Fidgeting, wandering around room
Musical	Via rhythms and melodies	Singing, whistling, humming, tapping feet and hands, listening	Sing-along time, trips to concerts, music playing at home and school	Tapping pencil or feet
Interpersonal	By bouncing ideas off other people	Leading, organizing, relating, manipulating, mediating, partying	Friends, group games, social gatherings, community events, clubs, mentors, apprenticeships	Talking, passing notes
Intrapersonal	Deeply inside of themselves	Setting goals, meditating, dreaming, being quiet, planning	Secret places, time along, self-paced projects, choices	Conflicting with others

<>And another way to use Multiple Intelligences to draw out your students' strengths

Intelligence Area	Is Strong in:	Learns Best Through	Famous Examples
Verbal	Reading, writing, telling stories, memorizing dates, thinking in words	Reading, hearing, seeing words; speaking; writing; discussion	T.S. Eliot Maya Angelou Abraham Lincoln
Logical/Math	Math, reasoning, logic, problem-solving, patterns	Working with patterns and relationships; classifying; abstract thinking	Albert Einstein John Dewey Susanne Langer
Visual/Spatial	Reading, maps, charts, drawing, puzzles, imaging things, visualization	Working with pictures and colors; visualizing; drawing	Pablo Picasso Frank Lloyd Wright Georgia O'Keefe Bobby Fischer
Bodily/ Kinesthetic	Athletics, dancing, acting, crafts, using tools	Touching, moving, processing knowledge through bodily sensations	Charlie Chaplin Michael Jordan Martha Graham
Musical/ Rhythmic	Singing, picking up sounds, remembering melodies, rhythms	Rhythm, melody, singing, listening to music and melodies	Leonard Bernstein Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ella Fitzgerald
Interpersonal/ Social	Understanding people, leading, organizing, communicating, resolving conflicts	Sharing, comparing, relating, interviewing, cooperating	Mohandas Gandhi Ronald Reagan Mother Theresa
Intrapersonal/ Inrospective	Understanding self, recognizing strengths and weaknesses, setting goals	Working alone, self-paced projects, reflecting	Eleanor Roosevelt Sigmund Freud Thomas Merton

Go With the Flow
(adapted from "The Seven Intelligences," Instructor (July/August 1995)

To nurture children who are Word Smart, Number Smart, Picture Smart, Body Smart, Music Smart, People Smart and/or Self Smart, consider setting up "flow" areas -- centers organized around the seven intelligences.

The concept of flow was developed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Flow is the state of complete absorption in something to the point where one loses track of time. Csikszentmihalyi observed it in artists, dancers, athletes, musicians, and in people in many other field.

Some flow-area ideas:

Verbal-Linguistic:

Set up language lab and invite students to tape selves reading a story or poem to share with others.

Establish a writing center with a computer, writing supplies, and examples of different kinds of writing -- for example, letter to local land developer with environmental concerns

Organize a tutoring station where older children can volunteer to help younger ones with reading and writing.

Math-Logic:

Make math lab with manipulatives, calculators, objectives to measure and graph. Put blocks, button, coins, etc. in it to classify.

Put together a science lab with simple hand-on experiments and science books -- ex., a tree identification or flower-dissection lab

Create a logic-challenge center. Use games, mysteries, challenges like how to teach a blind person geometic shapes.

Spatial:

Enrich an art area with paints, pencils, different types of paper, clay and various objects to use for models for still-life drawings. Display examples of famous artists' work for students to study. Invite students to do a painting in style of a famous artist.

Stock a visual center with a video camera, VCR and videotapes. Invite groups of students to make a short classroom documentary.

Fill an architecture center with pencils, rulers, and large sheets of paper. Invite students to draw the floor plan of anything.

Bodily-Kinesthetic:

Put together a hands-on center with materials such as clay, blocks, and craft materials.

Enrich a drama center with play books and ideas for student performances or puppet theater.

Create an open space for creative movement (if you have lots of space). Use space to learn how to juggle and to teach jazz and country dances to peers.

Musical:

Set up a music lab with cassettes, earphones and various tapes to compare and contrast -- Mozart with the Beatles, for example.

Display lyrics for students to analyze. Include sound-related items, such as a stethoscope, walkie-talkies, and a conch shell.

Invite students to compose their own songs and write the lyrics.

Interpersonal:

Create a flow area with a round table to encourage group discussions. Write curriculum-based discussion ideas on cards and place them in the center or let students choose their own topics.

Establish a debate center where students form teams and choose a subject to debate, for example, rain-forest preservation vs. local economic needs.

Give students an index card stating a common school-wide problem. Challenge them to work together to come up with solutions.

Intrapersonal:

Create a selection of self-esteem activities. For example, ask students to list ten of them strengths or specific ways they are a good friend to others. Encourage journal writing.

Invite kids to draw a picture that describes a mood or feeling.

Design study nooks for individual work. Use the nook (for example, a beanbag chair) as a cooling-off location.

3/29/99