As an arts integration teacher, I often use storytelling as a teaching tool and have recognized that when I demonstrate various methods of telling a story, I use at least one of Howard Gardner’s eight multiple intelligences.

Gardner defines intelligence as the ability to solve a problem or create a product in a naturalistic environment; In other words, according to Gardner, the question is not whether someone is smart, the question is how someone is smart. To answer this question, Gardner states that we all have eight intelligences, although some of us are more dominant in some than in others. From this, I figured that every time I diversify my storytelling methods, I’m essentially giving my students a chance to show me new abilities and strengths.

Below are eight methods I have used to teach storytelling with examples of how each connects to one of Gardner’s eight intelligences.

1. Traditional word-only storytelling: Students tell a story based on their personal experience, poems, songs, or other form of writing. The words act as the centerpiece. This approach interacts with Gardner’s verbal-linguistic intelligence, ultimately increasing students’ opportunities to display effective use of words and phrases.

2. Movement Stories: Students tell stories in narrative form; however, the movements and gestures are seamlessly integrated into the story. This method highlights Gardner’s bodily kinesthetic intelligence by allowing students to demonstrate their skills through the interplay of words and body movements.

3. Picture Cues: Students look at pictures and tell a story depending on the visual cues. According to Gardner, this method reflects visuospatial intelligence. This technique encourages students to use visual images not only to initiate thinking about the story, but also to elaborate on the story’s evolution.

4. Music Enhanced Stories – Students tell a story accompanied by background music to set the tone or enhance the mood. This format allows the music to help facilitate the student’s ability to tell the story, exemplifying Gardner’s musical-rhythmic intelligence.

5. Journal or Journal Stories: Students tell a story based on personal feelings, ideas, and thoughts from journal or journal entries. The restructuring of these entries invites students to think about the content introspectively, thus aligning this process with Gardner’s intrapersonal intelligence.

6. Group Stories: Students tell a story as a group. When placing students in groups to create a story, students must work cooperatively and collaboratively; as a result, this method demonstrates Gardner’s interpersonal intelligence.

7. Fauna and Flora Stories: Students tell a story that they have told before, but anecdotes related to nature should be incorporated. Since this approach forces students to be more sensitive to their natural environments, it exhibits Gardner’s naturalistic intelligence.

8. Object Connections: Students build on an existing story related to an inanimate object. This method requires students not only to use prior knowledge, but also to make logical inferences. Since students are showing their ability to establish logical reasoning patterns, this practice fits well into Gardner’s logical-mathematical intelligence.

I can’t believe how these eight storytelling methods have made such a difference in the way I view my students’ intelligences; Plus, my students say they love the challenge of showing off their skills and abilities in more ways than one.