multiple intelligences, 8 kinds of smart I have been teaching advanced learners for sixteen years. Every year I like to have a theme for my classroom. My themes always revolve around the children empowering themselves. This year’s theme is: What is your superpower? It’s fun to listen to the kids as they read my bulletin boards, which are in the hallway outside of my classroom, and the comments they make to each other. More importantly I love hearing them make statements about themselves such as: “I love animals, so I’m Nature Smart.”

I overheard a conversation one day between two fifth graders and it went like this:

Anna: Carly, you’re Music Smart because you like to sing.

Carly: I like to sing, but my brother says I’m a bad singer.

Anna: That doesn’t mean you can’t be Music Smart. Just make sure the radio is up really loud when you sing.

Carly: Ohhh, I didn’t think of that.

Do you have to be perfect in an area of interest to be good at it? No!

A friend of mine can read music and lead it, but she can’t play an instrument. She is Music Smart, but it doesn’t include playing an instrument. I like to focus on eight specific areas of strengths/smart/superpowers: Body, Music, Picture, Nature, Self, Word, Logic, and People. Click here to read the details of each of these areas.

Each of us have our own unique superpowers and how we use them. It’s what you do with them that can make a difference in our own individual lives. Who cares if you aren’t perfect in them either. In fact, take Anna’s advice to Carly, “Just turn up the radio and sing as loud as you want!”