Multiple Intelligences
                         Lesson Plans

Logical Mathematical Gifts
So you see logical/mathematical intelligence in your son or daughter? Great! But how do you help develop this intelligence as you home school?

Actually it’s pretty easy to do! Typically these activities are ones your child will love to try, so motivation is high. Since your child has an intuitive connection to math, learning new skills in this area should bring quick success.

These kinds of activities should rev up your child’s learning motor!

Organizing information
Cooking from a recipe
Time line of a person’s life
Compare and contrast activities (How is this like that? How is this different from that?)
Various building/construction toys
Outlining a topic of study
Planning how much ___ to buy for a party
Counting games (mancala)
Put a selection of items out and ask your child what characteristics the group has. (They’re all shiny. They all can be found outside.)
Penny, nickel, dime, quarter – “Why do you think I listed the coins in this order?”
Writing Secret Codes
Tell similarities and differences of two different stories

Lesson Planning
Let’s say you are studying reptiles. You could get some alligator meat from the seafood section of a grocery store and let your child help follow the recipe on the back of the package.
Then have your child keep a list of the kinds of reptiles he reads about and make a time line of any extinct and endangered ones.


She could make a poster comparing and contrasting crocodiles and alligators.


He could list chapter titles he might include in a book about reptiles.


A mobile could be made to hang from the ceiling with characteristics of all reptiles (out of paper cut in the shapes of different reptiles).


He could survey a group of family members and friends to see what reptile is most liked/most feared. The results could be displayed in a bar graph.


She could make a classification book about various species of iguanas. (listing habitat, food preferences, enemies, etc.)


Models of different snakes could be sculpted out of clay and patterns painted on the backs.


The list could go on and on. Ideas for activities may just pop up out of nowhere as you and your child brainstorm fun ways to display/share his new knowledge.




Musical Gifts
You have decided your child definitely has a knack for things musical. That’s great! Now let’s explore ways to use this gift as your child learns new skills and concepts.

He’ll definitely enjoy these activities and may come up with more musical ideas on his own as he performs tasks successfully and his confidence in learning increases.

You can try some of these activities with your child.

Make your own musical instrument (shaker, drum, etc.)
Add sound effects to a familiar story
Make up a cheer about each family member
Listen to music of various time periods and cultures
Make up songs, raps, jingles to learn facts
Listen to nature sounds
Exercise to music
Listen to various musical instruments
Learn to play an instrument from a different country
Take music lessons
Listen to a math rap tape to learn multiplication facts

Lesson Planning
What if you are studying Regions of the United States? Your child may want to learn the 50 States song.
She could make up a tune about each region. The words could include geographical info, economic info, etc.)
He may enjoy listening to various types of music of each region.
Have her learn her state song.
Make up a dance that reflects the mood of a certain historical moment in that region.
Write a short musical presentation for a particular region.



How blessed to have a child who cares for others and relates so well to them! Keep reminding yourself of this during those times you are desperate for silence!
Your child with Interpersonal Intelligence needs to talk. Talking and understanding are synonymous for this youngster. Working in groups or learning to teach another person will motivate and inspire this precious child of God.

How wonderful to have a child who encourages others, listens to hear what they are going through, and can include even the shyest friend in a conversation!

Your child will thrive on interactive lessons and face to face contact with other learners.

Read aloud
Readers’ Theater (each family member taking a different character’s part in a story)
Role play different book characters
Interviewing others
Working with others toward a goal
Describe the feelings and thoughts of various historical figures
Survey others to get differing opinions
Group research
Teach another person about a topic recently studied
Talk about how to go about solving a problem
Play non-competitive games


Lesson Planning
The topic of the hour is Ancient Egypt. Your child is playing the role of Howard Carter, the archaeologist who discovered King Tut’s tomb. Video tape his performance.
Let your child teach a family member how to play a game from the time period.
To get varying perspectives, your child can play the parts of each character in this scenario. Pharaoh, Moses, Aaron, a Hebrew slave.

Your child can create “learning centers” for the rest of the family. In one center, he shows his model of how the Nile River provided for the Egyptians. At another center he could read his chart explaining how to make a mummy. He may read a children’s story book about the time period to the family. Ideally he could work with a sibling to share knowledge.

 

Natural Giftedness
Your child would spend her entire life outside if it were possible? Folks with Naturalistic Intelligence have a keen sense of observation and an awareness of her surroundings.

Taking care of injured animals is a temptation as is making sure nature is treated with respect. Your child may show strong concern for environmental issues.

She’ll enjoy
Taking nature walks
Hiking
Camping
Keeping nature journals with sketches and notations
Making habitat models/dioramas
Going on a nature scavenger hunt
Learning about habits of animals
Growing flowers and vegetables for the family

Lesson Planning
If you are studying the relationship between multiplication and division, how do you use nature?
Your child probably has a collection of rocks, shells, pressed leaves, etc. Use these to show how two piles of rocks with three in each pile would equal six rocks. Put all the rocks together and then divide them into equal groups.

Study rabbits (or other prolific creature). How many babies can a female have in a certain amount of time? Better still, make a nice little home for a mom and dad hamster and graph the results.

Research how fast certain insects reproduce or how many ladybugs would be needed to take care of the aphid problem in the garden.


 

Intrapersonal Giftedness
Is your child reflective? Does he like to spend time alone just thinking about life? People with the gift of Intrapersonal Intelligence try to find meaning in life and want to make a difference in the world.
An extroverted parent may worry that her child is too shy or won’t have any friends. But the “intrapersonal” child not only enjoys her time alone, she actually needs it in order to function. Certainly in order to learn.

No man is an island – the reflective soul will eventually seek the presence of others, but it will be in her own time. Plenty of time is necessary for contemplation and working out of ideas. (Ideas are treasured and seen as an extension of oneself, so treat them with respect no matter how “non-workable” they may appear. Criticizing an idea equals criticism of the person.)

Your child may exhibit an extraordinary sense of creativity or empathy or logic. Many times she can intuit what’s going on in a situation even if no words are spoken.

So how can you encourage this son or daughter?
Thinking
Journaling
Listening to his thoughts, feelings, ideas
Brainstorm
Keep an idea book
Imagination-“If I could be any person in Biblical times, who would it be and why?”
Let him evaluate his strengths and weaknesses in a certain subject area.
Ask “How do the lessons I learned from this person’s life connect to my present day life?”
Creative writing

Lesson Planning
In some respects, intrapersonally gifted children seem to be created for learning. They typically like to read, write, discover, and often seem to teach themselves! In my opinion, these children are the “easiest” to teach because of their strong desires to learn.

Let’s say you are studying about the life of Thomas Edison. Your child may look at the whole of his life and ask, “Was it really worth it? So gifted in inventions, so lost in family relationships. Was fame, money, prestige worth losing his family? Was he happy or bitter at the end of his life?” Then she’d likely make a connection to her life. What would she have done in the same situation? Will she ever allow the same kind of thing to happen? What’s really the most important thing in life anyway?

Write an excerpt from Thomas Edison’s diary.

What are my ideas for inventions?

Describe Thomas Edison’s personality. What were his strengths and weaknesses? Do you see any of these characteristics in your life?

Which of Edison’s inventions did you most enjoy reading about?

Have all his inventions changed our lives for the better? Have any made our lives worse off?



Visual/Spatial Gifts
What a memory for detail the Visual/Spatial learner has! How to get from one place to another just comes naturally for this child.

He would enjoy these types of learning activities.
Doing or constructing mazes
Building
Designing a new home, fabric, etc.
Making videos
Collecting maps from places he’s visited
Making a map of his community
Sculpting
Creating pictures
Playing Chess
Sketching/drawing
Working puzzles
Using the imagination
Creating graphs and diagrams
Drawing scenes from a story or historical event
Make sets/props for a play

Lesson Planning
You are learning about electricity. Your child could draw pictures showing different kinds of circuits.

Paint the path of an electron as it travels along a wire

Come up with complex circuitry – map it out on paper

Build a working flashlight or robot

Invent a new type of lamp that would evenly distribute light in a room


 

Verbal Giftedness
So your child excels in the verbal/linguistic areas? Awesome! You’re likely to get lots of laughs along the home schooling way as this child can use all kinds of humor – jokes, puns, plays on words.
He has a knack for language and typically loves learning new vocabulary words.

Activities that would encourage this child’s abilities include
Debate
Comedy
Poetry writing
Explaining
Creative writing
Crossword puzzles
Giving speeches
Reading poems and stories from other countries
Spelling bee
Giving verbal instructions
Learning foreign languages
Descriptive writing
Letter writing
Guessing games


Lesson Planning
Your child is fascinated with bats. You might have her write and give a speech about the importance of bats in the environment and why they should be appreciated instead of feared.
She can make a nature book of types of bats and include detailed descriptions of their appearances.
Read or write jokes about bats
Write a poem about a bat’s habitat
Pretend you are a baby bat on your first flight with your mom. Write about your experiences trying to catch mosquitoes and keeping up with Mother.


 

Kinesthetic Gifts
You’re positive your child excels in the Bodily/Kinesthetic arena. He is a natural at basketball and enjoys gymnastics. Seems like he has always been an acrobat of sorts.

When highly focused, this intelligence can bolster learning in other areas. As we have discussed in the brain strategies section, movement can accelerate the learning process. This child definitely loves to move.

He’d likely enjoy
Learning sign language
Acting out a scene from a historical novel
Presenting a puppet show
Going on nature hikes
Choreographing a song
Playing charades
Dance
Sports
Exercise
Building
Inventing
Drama and role play
Learning karate
Hands on experiments


Lesson Planning
The unit of study is Native Americans. Your child has read about various tribes and wants to construct a display of types of Indian homes.
Have him learn Indian sign language.
Read The Sign of the Beaver and try out some of the nature tips Attean taught Matt.

Learn and perform Native American dances.

Using only natural resources, try building a miniature tepee.

Take a nature hike and leave subtle trail markings. See if you can find your way back to your starting point using your signs.



Intrapersonal Giftedness

Your child loves interacting with people.  You're sure he'd talk to a rock if no one else was around.  He includes others, loves a good party, and thinks aloud.

Activities that would encourage this child’s abilities include

debate
teaching a lesson to a younger child
dramatics
audio/video recordings
skits
small group activities
cooperative learning activities

Lesson Planning
The unit of study is Volcanoes. Your child has read about the two types of eruptions and is ready to work on a project showcasing her knowledge.  The important thing for interpersonal children is that they have others to work with.

Have her work with another child to build a mini-volcano.

Audio record the child narrating a flight over Hawaii's Mount Kilauea.  This audio may be played as the family pretends to be in a helicopter, flying over the volcano. 

The child explains what he's found out about volcanoes to a younger sibling.