The Multiple Intelligences of Reading and Writing: Making the Words Come Alive

by Thomas Armstrong

We normally think of reading and writing as skills that are a part of linguistic intelligence. In The Multiple Intelligences of Reading and Making the Words Come Alive , Thomas Armstrong shows how involving the other seven intelligences—logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic—will help students acquire reading and writing skills, especially those students who are not particularly strong in linguistic intelligence. The Multiple Intelligences of Reading and Writing appeals to all educators who work with reading and writing skills, from the preschool teacher leading the class in phonemic awareness activities to the post-graduate professor helping students examine kinesthetic imagery in Shakespeare's plays. The book combines Howard Gardner's MI theory and recent brain research on reading and writing with historical, anthropological, biographical, and psychological perspectives on literacy. Armstrong pulls the research together to show you how to engage students by infusing the study of words with imagery, logic, oral language, physical activity, emotion, music, social involvement, and nature experiences. Armstrong provides hundreds of ideas, strategies, tips, and resources for teaching everything from grammar and spelling to word decoding and reading comprehension. His strategic approach synthesizes the best reading and writing methods for application in preK-12 classrooms, literacy programs, speech and language pathology groups, one-to-one tutoring sessions, and all other settings where words are the focus of learning. Armstrong shows you how to empower your students with literacy skills for life.

Genres: Education, Writing, Adult, Reference

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

I am the author of 20 books, including my latest The Power of Neurodiversity: Unleashing the Advantages of Your Neurodivergent Brain (Completely Updated and Revised Second Edition), which is a complete rewrite of a book I wrote with a similar title but slightly different subtitle in 2010.

My other books include: The Myth of the ADHD Child, 7 Kinds of Smart, Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, and The Power of the Adolescent Brain. I've also written for Family Circle, Ladies Home Journal, and the AMA Journal of Ethics.

I see myself as a reader as much as, or even more than, a writer. Some of the books which I've enjoyed recently include Joseph and His Sons by Thomas Mann, The Story of the Stone/Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin, the complete Arabian Nights (3 volumes), translated by Malcolm C. Lyons, The Studs Lonigan Trilogy by James T. Farrell, and From Here to Eternity by James Jones.

Beyond literature and writing, my hobbies and pursuits include improvising on the piano, doing mindfulness meditation, watching great movies on The Criterion Channel, doing yoga, and cooking Mediterranean cuisine.

Married for twenty-five years, and now divorced, I live in a cute Victorian style home on a hill in Sonoma County, California with my dog Daisy.

Reviews

[Sara Westhead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Armstrong offers some good ideas for assisting in differentiation in teaching English Language Arts, especially at the younger levels. However, I'm not sure that all these ideas fully embrace the theory of Multiple Intelligence (writing outside is not entirely meeting Nature intelligence, for example). Also, it seemed to me that he was inferring that he did not believe in/agree with the diagnosis of multiple learning disabilities, especially dyslexia. Yes, some of these tools may help, but it seemed like he thought these diagnoses should not be given in the first place.

[Jeremy Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book means a lot to me. To an aspiring English teacher such as myself, a book such as this which discusses ways to relate reading and writing to suit many different students who have many different learning styles and ways of thinking is worth its weight in gold.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book to give me deeper insights into current scholarship around reading. 'Words have muscle...a toddler saying up!! The power of bodily kinesthetics. Writing is a form of active reading. I took copious notes in my Remann Hall Book Club notebook.