Which Intelligence is Your Child?
Mrs. Mills welcomed her students back to class after a long
summer vacation. At the end of the day, she asked each student to think of a
way to tell her about how they spent their summer vacation. The children smiled
and hurried out of the class with their simple assignment, happy to be free
once again (even if only for an evening!).
The next day the teacher invited the students to the front of class one by one to share what they did during the summer. Her instructions had been very simple, and she was looking forward to seeing what how her students had interpreted them. And she wasn’t disappointed! Tina went first, and she showed the class a beautiful picture she had drawn of her picking red apples in her Grandfather’s orchards. Steven was next, and he had prepared a story about how he had hiked in the woods behind his house with his brother chasing rabbits and raccoons all summer long. After Steven was Jane. Jane had prepared a dance that she had learned in the ballet camp she had been to in the summer. Rachael played a song on her recorder that reminded her of the mountains she had seen on her trip out west. Peter explained each step leading up to the highlight of his summer which was when he went paragliding with his dad. Sarah roused the class with her charismatic speech about how she had rescued a kitten. Benjamin showed the class his collection of insects and leaves he had assembled, and finally Billy passed on sharing and was just content to watch his peers (although he did share that he had played soccer with his uncle with Mrs. Mills in private during lunch). |
Video Vibe
Watch this video to learn more about the multiple intelligence theory and the eight types of intelligence.
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Were the teacher’s instructions too vague? Were any of the student’s approaches to completing their work wrong? Not at all! Mrs. Mills successfully created an activity that let her students multiple intelligences shine through!
Now, you may be asking, “Multiple intelligences? Is my son going to be growing a second head?” Well, put that worry away! Multiple intelligences has nothing to do with science fiction, rather it is a theory that explains the best way for your son or daughter to learn (Nolen, p.115). Some children learn best through pictures, others by listening, others need to be up and active and moving around for things to sink in (Nolen, p.115-119). Your child will have a dominant intelligence (Nolen, p.119). Once you learn their strengths, then you feed that intelligence with what it learns best from.
Above you’ll find a chart listing the 8 types of intelligences. Try to guess where your child fits in on the chart.
Now, you may be asking, “Multiple intelligences? Is my son going to be growing a second head?” Well, put that worry away! Multiple intelligences has nothing to do with science fiction, rather it is a theory that explains the best way for your son or daughter to learn (Nolen, p.115). Some children learn best through pictures, others by listening, others need to be up and active and moving around for things to sink in (Nolen, p.115-119). Your child will have a dominant intelligence (Nolen, p.119). Once you learn their strengths, then you feed that intelligence with what it learns best from.
Above you’ll find a chart listing the 8 types of intelligences. Try to guess where your child fits in on the chart.
Now, you can assess your child using the evaluation below and learn which intelligence suits them best!
Are you done? Were you right or did you get a little bit of a surprise? Either way, I’m sure you learned a lot about your child and how to help them learn to the best of their ability. Please see the links below for activities that you can use to foster and grow your child’s learning even more!
Here are some simple ways to promote multiple intelligences at home!
Here is a list of activities that promotes learning for each type of intelligence.
1) Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence
- complete a crossword with vocabulary words.
- write a short story.
- keep a daily journal.
2) Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
- search for patterns in the classroom, the school, outside or at home.
- play a math based game like Connect 4 or Dominoes.
- create your own numeric code.
3) Spatial Intelligence
- use puppets to act out and reinforce ideas that have been learned in class.
- use maps when studying geography.
- take photographs for assignments or presentations.
4) Musical Intelligence
- incorporate melodies with poems.
- use rhythm and clapping when counting.
- listen to music from different periods of history.
5) Bodily-Kinesthetic
- play active games like Twister.
- allow movement breaks and don't be so rigid about sitting down for long periods of time.
- act out concepts.
6) Intrapersonal
- make a scrapbook of their work.
- create goals for the future and plan how to reach them.
- write from the perspective of famous people from history.
7) Naturalistic Intelligence
- take care of the plants around the house.
- take care of the pets around the house.
- encourage outdoor trips and time spent in nature.
8) Interpersonal Intelligence
- work in groups.
- encourage social settings and meeting new people.
- interview experts to learn about topics.
1) Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence
- complete a crossword with vocabulary words.
- write a short story.
- keep a daily journal.
2) Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
- search for patterns in the classroom, the school, outside or at home.
- play a math based game like Connect 4 or Dominoes.
- create your own numeric code.
3) Spatial Intelligence
- use puppets to act out and reinforce ideas that have been learned in class.
- use maps when studying geography.
- take photographs for assignments or presentations.
4) Musical Intelligence
- incorporate melodies with poems.
- use rhythm and clapping when counting.
- listen to music from different periods of history.
5) Bodily-Kinesthetic
- play active games like Twister.
- allow movement breaks and don't be so rigid about sitting down for long periods of time.
- act out concepts.
6) Intrapersonal
- make a scrapbook of their work.
- create goals for the future and plan how to reach them.
- write from the perspective of famous people from history.
7) Naturalistic Intelligence
- take care of the plants around the house.
- take care of the pets around the house.
- encourage outdoor trips and time spent in nature.
8) Interpersonal Intelligence
- work in groups.
- encourage social settings and meeting new people.
- interview experts to learn about topics.
References:
Texts:
Nolen, J. (2003). Multiple intelligences in the classroom. Education. 124(1), 115-120
Websites:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/clip-save-checklist-learning-activities-connect-multiple-intelligences
Images:
http://www.literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html
http://freshmanmonroe.blogs.wm.edu/files/2011/08/examples.png
http://www.connectionsacademy.com/Libraries/blog/multiple-intelligences-learning-styles.jpg
http://howardgardnerindiatour.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/multiple-intelligence-dif1.jpg
http://brainconnection.positscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2000/05/multiple-intelligence.jpg
http://www.newschoolva.com/grfx/Multiple-Intelligences-Graphic.jpg
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf6lqfNTmaM
Nolen, J. (2003). Multiple intelligences in the classroom. Education. 124(1), 115-120
Websites:
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/clip-save-checklist-learning-activities-connect-multiple-intelligences
Images:
http://www.literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html
http://freshmanmonroe.blogs.wm.edu/files/2011/08/examples.png
http://www.connectionsacademy.com/Libraries/blog/multiple-intelligences-learning-styles.jpg
http://howardgardnerindiatour.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/multiple-intelligence-dif1.jpg
http://brainconnection.positscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2000/05/multiple-intelligence.jpg
http://www.newschoolva.com/grfx/Multiple-Intelligences-Graphic.jpg
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf6lqfNTmaM