How to Teach Kinesthetic Learners

People often mistakenly think that kids who need action or need to move around are not listening. These kids are probably just kinesthetic or hands on learners. They learn better when they use their hands, move their bodies, doodle or write something down.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Alphabet tiles
• Word tiles
• Magnetic letters
• Paper
• Pens
• Patience

1. Teach kinesthetic learners by showing them how to do something. They like to learn by using their hands. They remember new information by watching others and then trying things themselves. They need to tinker to figure it out.
2. Use letter tiles and magnetic letters to teach spelling. Kinesthetic learners remember words by touching the letters and moving them around. Some like to trace each letter with their fingers.
3. Keep lessons short and offer little breaks in between each part. They are physical people who need to take breaks and move around.
4. Play games. Play spelling games, board games and flashcards. Use the computer to teach language and math. When kinesthetic learners use their hands, they learn.
5. Use alphabet tiles to build words. Use word tiles to build sentences. Use sentence strips to build paragraphs. Kinesthetic learners learn better when they are doing instead of simply reading.
6. Make flash cards with kinesthetic learners. Let them write the words on the cards themselves. Writing down information onto cards helps them remember facts.
7. Teach math by finding things to count. You can use anything like pennies, toys or food. Kinesthetic learners need to move objects around. They also learn math by writing out facts.

Tips & Warnings

• Kinesthetic students listen even when they aren't sitting still.
• Encourage frequent breaks.
• Don't stop kinesthetic learners from moving around.