Multiple Intelligence: “All Summer in a Day”

TITLE: Multiple Intelligence (Circular Curriculum) for “All Summer in a Day”

**note: This learning experience is specifically about the short story “All Summer in a Day”. This activity follows reading the story. Students must know something about multiple intelligences, including their own.

GRADE: 7

MATERIALS/TIME REQUIRED: poster paper; at least one class period of 90 minutes

PROVIDE FOR INCLUSION – A You Question, Energizer, or Linking Strategy: Ask students to share (in partners, groups, or full group) something they would miss terribly if they had to move to another city, state, country.

IDENTIFY THE OBJECTIVES:

Content Standard: Any reading comprehension or literary analysis

Collaborative: Reflect on experience, think constructively

Personal: Develop personal strengths, explore challenges

IDENTIFY THE STRATEGY: Circular Curriculum (from the Artistry for Learning)

After you finish the story, invite students, working in tribes or individually, to make a poster that employs some or all of the “multiple ways of knowing”. These examples are NOT how the concept is taught, they are demonstrations of learning, on the students’ part.

At first, this is best done in small groups, where students collectively produce a poster that represents all intelligences. Require that students work on at least three different intelligences; they may work in pairs within the group. Be sure to have students sign their names to the appropriate parts (intelligences) represented on the poster. After students have success both with the group effort, and with exploring and developing multiple intelligences, use the circular curriculum for individual works (utilizing three or more intelligences).

Here is an example of demonstrations of understanding, based on the multiple intelligences (also the student handout). The italicized words are elements of Bloom’s Taxonomy. There are many more ideas in your Tribes book, on pages

Visual/Application

Illustrate what the children looked at each day on the planet when they were outdoors.

Natural/Evaluation

Select something from outside that looks like it came from Venus. Explain.

Logical/Analysis

Compare and contrast Margot and the other students, using a Venn Diagram.

Musical/Synthesis/Evaluation

Compose or choose a song that represents the story. Explain, if necessary.

Linguistic/Synthesis/Comprehension

Compose an ending to the story. What happened after the children opened the closet door. This should be a paragraph.

Intrapersonal/Knowledge/Synthesis

Imagine you are Margot and write a diary entry about your day.

Intrapersonal/Knowledge/Comprehension

Tell the story to the class, in five sentences or less.

Kinesthetic/Analysis

Role play two different scenes from the story.

REFLECTION:

Content: How did you choose your “intelligence” entries…based on your strengths, or based on your challenges? How was this demonstration of understanding more or less demanding than the traditional or usual summary or book report?

Collaborative: What did you enjoy about being able to work with someone else on any part of this project? How did you handle any disagreement?

Personal: Why is it important to recognize multiple intelligences? How can this influence you…in anything in life?

PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR APPRECIATION: If the final result is a group poster, then use the strategy “Gallery Walk” and invite statements of appreciation.

AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT: Have students develop a rubric (they will need some experience here) and grade their own work (really helps if they view each others work first). Eventually, students can actually make up the specific “intelligence” suggestions and develop their own responses. (I actually got to the point where I could say “Give me three examples, using three different multiple intelligences, that demonstrates your knowledge of_____.”)

LEARNING COMPONENTS

►Group Development Process (Influence – meaningful participation)

· Cognitive Theory

►Multiple Intelligences

· Cooperative Learning

· Constructivism

►Reflective Practice

►Authentic Assessment