Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence: Word Smart, Poetry Smart, Book Smart Word Smart centers are mostly making words activities.  In "Stir the Stew"  students use a small ladle to scoop letter tiles out of a bowl (in this picture, I just have a baggie).  They then use the worksheet to record the words they create using only the letters they scooped out.  Each section of the worksheet is for a different length of word: two letter words, three letter words, etc.  Students could easily just write the words in their journals so you don't have to photocopy worksheets. This poetry center focuses on reading fluency and expression, but the Magnetic Poetry center requires sentence structure and parts of speech practice.  You'll see the Magnetic Poetry center on a following page about using commercially-made materials.    This Book Smart center was incredibly quick to make!  Students get to choose anything they want to read in the classroom library.  This is a big treat because they can choose easy picture books, class-made books, magazines, and other materials they would not get to choose from the library for D.E.A.R. time.

Bodily- Kinesethetic Intelligence: Body Smart This is a fun one.  I also use a Hershey fraction book (with brown construction paper photocopies of the chocolate bar sections in the book) and Valentine candy heart multiplication/division book (with real candy hearts that students know are very old and not edible!).  They are great hands-on math practice activities.  For younger students, you could use the Cheerio or M&M counting and sorting books.

Interpersonal Intelligence: People Smart The focus here is writing for a meaningful purpose.  Many students only write in school, and because they have to.  This is an opportunity to show them that writing can be fun and useful in their own lives, right now.  They can write a letter to whoever they want, and after turning it in to me after center time, can give it to that person.   They use different colored ink pens, which makes it really fun in their eyes.  The left side of the folder demonstrates proper letter writing format, which I insist on towards the end of the year, although I allow casual notes in the beginning.  You could also use this center for business letter format practice. Another People Smart center involves autobiographies and biographies, and students are asked to reflect on the character's lives and often their own.  You'll read more about that on a following page about using books in centers.

Visual-Spatial Intelligence: Picture Smart, Art Smart In Picture Smart, students use photos and drawings as an inspiration for their writing.  They can also be given specific tasks, such as writing five verbs they see, ten adjectives for a picture they think is pretty or interesting, creating captions or headlines, a dialogue with quotation marks for two people in an ad, etc. In Art Smart, students choose an art task sheet to complete.  You'll read more about this and see more examples on a following page.