Increase Your Word Power: Using Your Senses to Improve Your Vocabulary

Author Dorothy Fontaine shows how to apply the teaching theory of renowned educator Howard Gardner to the practice of building students’ word power for academic success. More than 20 years ago, Gardner first offered the education profession his now famous theory of Multiple Intelligences, or MI. Widely accepted today for its beneficial results, MI contends that every student is equipped with eight or more separate types of intelligence, but each student is stronger in some intelligence sources, weaker in others. Multiple Intelligences include logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, and contact with nature, among others. Gardner’s approach to learning starts by discovering each student’s several areas of intellectual strength, then concentrating on those specific strengths as starting points for educating the student in all subjects. In this book, author Dorothy Fontaine focuses Gardner’s MI theory and applies it in ways designed to help students build the strong vocabulary they’ll need for success as they go on to higher education. For example, among her suggestions for teaching vocabulary building to a “Musical/Rhythmic Learner” . . .

Put new vocabulary words and sentences that clearly define them to the tunes of popular songs. Share these songs with one another.
And for the “Outdoors/Naturalist Learner” she suggests. . .

Go outside to study vocabulary. This is your natural environment. Relate the vocabulary words to your observations of nature each day.

Many, many more suggested approaches to learning are presented for all eight intelligence types. Both parents and teachers will value Dorothy Fontaine’s book for its practical application of Gardner’s highly regarded theory. Each chapter of this book concentrates on one of Gardner’s eight basic intelligence sources, and then outlines strategies for translating that intelligence source into the learning of words and their meanings. Approximately 125 new words are presented in each chapter—each word given with its definition, part of speech, and an example sentence. A master list of approximately 1,000 words at the back of the book brings all new words together for review. A series of “Quick Quizzes” throughout the book will help students gauge their word-learning progress.