Adults have the luxury of understanding and accommodating how they take in

new information and what helps them remember. Children don’t have the
same benefit. We treat all learners the same way, without regard to the
different ways in which they take in and process new information. We put
them in colorful rooms full of visual stimuli, packed with their friends. We ask
them to be quiet, stop moving, and concentrate. Pay attention. Listen.

When you consider a child’s learning style, kinesthetic learners (who require

movement to learn) or tactile learners (who require hands-on learning),
traditional classroom environments can be the biggest obstacle to learning.
Very often, the children who can’t succeed in these classrooms are labelled
ADD or ADHD. Could this be the case with your child?

Reality is that children, like their adult counterparts, are not all the same in
how they learn. The more we understand our students’ learning strengths, the
sooner we will be able to accommodate those needs and the more our
students will soar. Here are some tips that will help.

Kinesthetic and tactile learners have similar learning styles

1. Kinesthetic learners need to move. 
They wiggle, tap, swing their legs, bounce, and often just can’t seem to sit still.
They learn through their bodies and their sense of touch.

2. Kinesthetic learners have excellent “physical” memory.

They learn quickly and permanently what they do as they are
learning. SnapWords are sight words that are taught using body motions.

3. Kinesthetic learners are often gifted in physical activities like running,

swimming, dancing, and other sports.
4. Kinesthetic learners are typically very coordinated and have an excellent sense
of their body in space and of body timing.
They have great hand-eye coordination and quick reactions.

5. Tactile learners learn through fine motor movements rather than whole body
movement.
They are more moderate than kinesthetic learners who require whole body
movement. 

6. Tactile learners learn primarily through the sense of touch. 

The most tedious of subjects (spelling and phonics) can become an enjoyable,
visual and tactile activity when you use resources designed especially for
tactile and kinesthetic learners. Experience the difference!

7. Tactile learners learn best through hands-on activities. 

Incorporating related motions into teaching is one way to strengthen tactile
learners. Explore our Alphabet Teaching Products to see how hand gestures
can play out in learning letters.

8. Tactile learners express their learning best with projects. 

They learn better when creating mini-books, games, skits, models, building
blocks, art materials, and hands-on math.

9. Kinesthetic and tactile learners have trouble sitting still.

At school: Let them move! If you tell them they can stand up, swing their legs,
or even pace the floor as long as they are not disrupting the other students,
their performance will improve. Integrate movement and learning by
playing Pop-Up.
At home: Practice movement at home. Some children learn new material
better if they are able to pace the floor while reading. They may need to swing
their legs while reading with you. Try this hopscotch activity to incorporate
movement! 
10. Kinesthetic and tactile learners lose interest quickly.
At school: Use novelty and change where you teach a lesson in order to help
break up long periods of time when the students would be sitting in their
desks. Consider changing location, letting children sit on the floor,
encouraging them to synthesize their learning by sketching what they learned.
Keep intensive teaching moments short.
At home: If your child is working on homework, break homework time into
short spans with a break in between. For example, do math homework, then
take a break to run around the yard, do somersaults on the floor or do a
physical activity of the child's choosing. Then do more homework.
11. Kinesthetic and tactile learners have difficulty learning steps and procedures.
At school: Teach students to visualize what they are learning. If you are
teaching them steps for solving a problem, have them go inside their
imaginations to "see" themselves following the steps. TIP: These types of
learners are also visual learners. They need to be very clear on the outcome before
making sense of the steps. Be accepting if the child comes up with different steps
that work better for them. After all, the desired outcome is what matters and
kinesthetic/tactile learners excel once they are clear on what is expected of
them.
At home: Share with your child the goal or what the desired final "product" is.
Next, share the suggested steps and have the child imagine doing them. Ask
your child if they believe the steps will produce the desired outcome. Listen
and adjust as needed if the outcome will be the same. Try this activity to
encourage your child to practice steps and procedures. 
12. Kinesthetic and tactile learners are easily distracted by their environment.
Their attention follows their hands.
At school: Teach them to draw sketches or diagrams of what they are hearing
in a lesson. Teach them to point to each problem. Encourage the child to find
a spot with minimal distraction. Encourage them to use flashcards with
information they are learning. TIP: use flashcards with strong visual
cues. Remember, kinesthetic and tactile children are also visual learners.
At home: Create a cozy, private environment for your child to use as they do
schoolwork. A strategy that works very well is creating a "study spot" that uses
a screen to limit what the child can see in a room. TIP: make a screen from a
large cardboard box with one side and the bottom cut out.

13. Kinesthetic and tactile learners can be overwhelmed.

At school: Teach them to use deep breathing and relaxation techniques to
help with focus. Break up their tasks into manageable segments.
At home: Take a break from schoolwork or the activity. Decide together the
amount of time for rest and relaxation and let the child set the timer. Help
them learn to organize their homework into individual tasks, put them in order
of priority and focus on just one at a time.
14. Kinesthetic and tactile learners tend not to be auditory learners.  Information
they learn by body movements will be stored in their brains, help them focus,
and remember what they learned.
At school: Incorporate movements and visuals into the lesson. For example,
when teaching a sight word like "help" also show the body movement that will
both mimic the shape and meaning of the word. TIP: Visual are powerful aids
for these types of learners because anything that is embedded in a visual can be
captured and stored in a memory in less than a second.
At home: Your child's memory is not related to how many times you've told
them to do something, despite how much we might wish this is true. They
learn by doing. Help them store words or facts by creating fun, repetitive
movements or visual signals such as whiteboards with lists and images.
15. Kinesthetic and tactile learners need manipulatives.  
At school: They will focus more easily with objects to manipulate instead of
always paper and pencil. Get creative with learning tools. For example, use
sight word cards to build sentences. When they are solving math problems,
encourage them to draw the problem or build the problem using
manipulatives.
At home: Use building blocks to help them visualize math problems. Practice
sight words with a game rather than pencil and paper.

16. Kinesthetic and tactile learners' attention tends to wander.  

At school: Keep their attention by combining visuals and related movement
into your lessons. Switch up where you teach and how you deliver the
content. TIP: Try using images and body movement. You may be surprised how much
it changes the focus and learning results of kinesthetic and tactile students.
At home: Homework can be difficult to do in a busy or quiet home. Try to
switch up where homework is done. Share with your child that they have a
powerful learning gift and that visuals make learning instant and body
movement is a tool for remembering. A child can be their own best helper
once they understand their "problems" aren't evidence of a disability but rather
evidence of an unique gift.

What Is Kinesthetic Learning?

There are several different learning styles for both adults and children.
Three of the most common are:

 Visual learners are taught best through visually processing the

information.
 Auditory learners learn best when they can listen and re-listen to
course material.
 Hands-on learners need or prefer to be actively and physically
engaged in the course material to truly understand. Hands-on learning is
also called kinesthetic learning.
Kinesthetic learners absorb information by doing, rather than by seeing or
listening — they need to engage in some physical, tangible learning
exercise, whether it be by experimenting, hands-on solving or discovery
learning. Kinesthetic learning gets its name from the science of kinesiology,
which is the study of human movement. For example, if you're teaching
your students about how chemicals react with one another, a kinesthetic
learner may remember the terminology and theory, but they will grasp the
concept much quicker when you allow them to mix these chemicals and
see the reaction for themselves. This is a research-based learning and
teaching method with proven results. Several neurophysiological studies
have linked physical experiences with strong, active engagement activity in
the brain. The kinesthetic system has receptors in both the tendons and the
muscles — and that system becomes activated when you move your body.
You have probably heard the term "muscle memory" used when describing
the body's ability to remember certain physical motions — such as a dance
routine or typing on a keyboard — even when the mind does not
consciously remember. Muscle memory is a form of kinesthetic
learning and application. Kinesthetic learners are very sensory people.
Their minds thrive on information input from the things they touch, smell,
taste and otherwise experience with their bodies. For this reason, hands-on
learning projects are the quickest and most effective way of learning a new
skill or grasping a new concept. For example, while a visual learner might
learn the basics of a volcanic eruption from watching a film about
volcanoes or looking at visual aids, a kinesthetic learner would have an
easier time understanding the various processes involved by constructing
one out of clay or paper mache and mixing the correct substances to cause
an eruption. Kinesthetic learners may have an easier time in classes with
hands-on learning built-in to the curriculum, like interactive science labs or
art classes, rather than lecture-style activities.

Characteristics of a Kinesthetic Learner

It's important to remember that kinesthetic learners can still learn through
audible or visual means. In fact, many people learn through a combination
of these three learning styles. Being a hands-on learner simply means that
some aspects of learning come more naturally than other tasks and
subjects. Some common kinesthetic learner characteristics include:

 Tends to gesture while speaking.

 Remembers things they have done, rather than things they have
seen or heard.
 Gets distracted and fidgety during hands-off activities.
 Enjoys working with tools, instruments and other supplies.
 Often skilled at solving puzzles and completing mazes.
 Thinks more clearly when able to move and engage, rather than
sitting.
 May need frequent study breaks to stay focused.
 Likes to construct things with hands, like crafts or DIY projects.
 Moves when learning or processing new information, such as foot-
tapping.
Many kinesthetic learners go on to have careers in hands-on fields of work,
such as physical therapy, carpentry, horticulture, dancing, acting, athletics,
farming and more.
Benefits of Hands-On Learning in the Classroom
There are several benefits of hands-on learning for both students and
teachers. Students who learn kinesthetically will have the advantage of
learning at a pace that is comfortable to them, and they will not feel like
they are falling behind their more auditory or visual peers. As a teacher,
using multiple different teaching methods gives you a chance to asses what
each student's strengths and areas for improvement are, so you can use
that information to tailor and personalize future lessons. Additional benefits
of kinesthetic learning for students include:

 Kinesthetic learners can often grasp the "big picture" of a lesson or

activity quickly. Rather than thinking of a presentation as a chore or a
task they completed at school, hands-on engagement means they will
have a much easier time connecting that presentation to their everyday
life.
 It encourages students to think outside of normal classroom
assignments and seek real-world applications
 Fosters a spirit of curiosity and a drive to try new things
 Children have an opportunity to fix their mistakes and learn
organically through trial and error
 For older students, hands-on learning is a chance to explore areas of
career interest before committing
Many teachers spend hours perfecting their daily lesson plans, with very
little real-time feedback provided during lessons. You might be left
wondering if you truly got your message across and whether your students
received it in a way that prepares them for their homework assignment, an
upcoming test or even their future careers. When you employ kinesthetic
learning techniques in the classroom, you have a unique and valuable
opportunity to test your teaching methods in real-time. By asking students
to get involved with the lesson via an in-class project, you can pinpoint the
areas in which your students are struggling and the areas in which they are
succeeding. This can help you shape future lessons and gauge whether a
certain subject or topic needs a bit more classroom time before moving on.

Tools and Strategies for Kinesthetic Learners

As a teacher, there are several steps you can take to ensure each type of
learner in your classroom has an opportunity to engage with the material in
a way that is comfortable and natural for them — this might mean stocking
up on tools and supplies or learning new kinesthetic teaching techniques.
Tools and Supplies

The classroom supplies you will require for kinesthetic-based lesson plans
will vary depending on the subject you teach, the age of your students and
the particular lesson you are teaching that day. Some objects teachers
often have on-hand for engaged lessons include:

 Building blocks
 Puzzles
 Matching games
 Arts and craft supplies
 An abacus
 Molding clay
 Computers or tablets
 Puppets
 Countable objects, like coins
 Index cards
Teaching Strategies

Again, specific teaching strategies will vary between classrooms and

depend largely on the age of your students. Some examples of great ways
to incorporate kinesthetic learning into the classroom include:

 Use charts and presentations: Ask your students to create charts,

graphs or poster presentations for a homework assignment. You can try
this as an in-class activity, or assign it for the students to do at home.
Either way, let your students be as creative as they would like to be —
they might just find a new learning technique along the way.
 Combine learning styles: Design lessons to include elements of
each type of learning style, such as videos with audio, poster
presentations and hands-on projects. Although some topics will always
require more audible or visual teaching methods, try to incorporate small
movements and activities where you can.
 Bring lessons to life: Use characters or live presentations to
roleplay real-life applications of your lesson. For a younger classroom,
puppets or toys will keep your students' attention well. For an older
audience, consider working together with the school's theater program
to bring lessons to life. You could also put on your own classroom
production and let students take on the roles themselves.
 Utilize games and activities: Incorporate games and physical
activity often. After all, kinesthetic learning is all about body movement.
 Create your own vocabulary matching games or spelling word
scavenger hunts. Don't be afraid to take it outside of the classroom.
 Take field trips: Think back to your own time in the classroom.
Some of your most memorable learning experiences likely happened
during a field trip or class outing to a museum, zoo or another
educational resource center. Field trips are an excellent way to help
both hands-on learners and the rest of your students gain a more real-
world understanding of their homework assignments. As you search for
field trip options, focus on those that also offer hands-on activities or
demonstrations for students.
 Let the students teach: It might sound counterproductive, but
sometimes the best way for a student to work through their struggles is
by facing them head-on. By assigning your students each a part of the
lesson to be responsible for presenting to the class, they can engage
with the subject material in a new way.
 Bring in the experts: Consider bringing in experts to help attach a
face to your lessons. For example, if you are teaching your students
about animals, enlist a local zookeeper or veterinarian to speak with
your class. This will help frame the relevance of your presentation for
your students, and they will see the tactile applications of the lessons
they are learning.
 Have class discussions: Class discussions allow your students to
engage with each other — and with you — about the material they are
learning, but in a time designated just for them. Class and small group
discussions let your students feel comfortable, and this interaction gives
many hands-on students a chance to talk through the assignment in a
way they would be unable to do if they were sitting still and quietly
listening from their desk.
When in doubt, ask your students for feedback. Ask them which areas are
difficult to understand, and what would help them grasp a concept more
clearly. If your lesson relies heavily on data, for example, a kinesthetic
student might feel overwhelmed by all of the visual information. If this is the
case, they might ask you to put those numbers into a more real-world
context.

At-Home Tips for Kinesthetic Learners

As a teacher, you may encounter students of all ages who greatly benefit
from kinesthetic learning. While you can implement this teaching style in
your classroom, it may be challenging for students to continue kinesthetic
learning when they are doing homework. Here are some tips you can offer
your students, both young and old, to help them practice kinesthetic
learning at home:
 Create a study space: Advise your students to create a designated
study space where they can do their homework each night. Make sure
this space is private but spacious enough that they can get up and move
around when needed. If they struggle with sitting still, advise them to
choose a desk that they can stand and work at instead. Eliminate all
external distractions from this area, especially TV and music.
 Combine movement with learning: Encourage your kinesthetic
students to stay active while they study, even if that means tapping a
pencil or pacing the floor as they recite vocabulary words. By combining
their studying with physical motions, students are more likely to
remember their lessons. They can even try training their brain to
associate study materials with movements. For example, if they tap their
toes while listing off the U.S. presidents, their brain is more likely to
recall that information when they repeat that movement during a test.
 Take frequent breaks: All students need a break from studying
every once in a while to stay focused. Kinesthetic learners especially
require regularly scheduled study breaks to avoid getting too distracted,
bored or under-stimulated.
 Use different study tools: Advise your students to use a variety of
different tools while they study, such as pens, markers, highlighters and
sticky notes. The mixture will help keep them engaged with the course
material and give their hands something to do.
 Be experimental: If your students are struggling to focus while
studying at home, encourage them to experiment with new study
techniques and methods until they find one that fits their unique learning
needs.

How Planners Help With Hands-On Learning

Using a print planner can help kinesthetic learners stay on top of all
learning activities, projects and assignments. They also provide a tangible
place for hands-on learners to keep track of their notes, write down
questions they want to ask and plan their at-home study sessions. You
should consider choosing print planners for your students because it allows
them to:

 Set aside time in their week for extra studying or hands-on

engagement.
 Get a big-picture look at their week and month, so they never miss an
important class, presentation or classroom project.
 Have a place to keep track of all the study strategies they have tried
and those they hope to experiment with in the future.
 Draw their own charts, graphs and diagrams, so they can more easily
understand the subject matter you're presenting.
 Develop organizational skills that they will carry with them into higher
education or the workforce.
 Reduce the stress associated with forgotten due dates, crammed
study sessions and misplaced assignments.

Choose Success By Design to Find the Best Planners for Your

Hands-On Learners
Printed student planners are the perfect way to provide your kinesthetic
students with a more tangible way to keep their assignments and thoughts
organized. At Success by Design, we offer planners for all students,
including elementary, middle and high school ages. We also provide helpful
planner accessories that many hands-on learners will find useful, such as
fill-in wall charts. Interested in ordering custom planners for your students

 The kinesthetic like to be prepared for exams, and there is no better way to do it than
making a short summary of the class notes
 Writing what you want to remember is a good alternative to increase the kinesthetic
memory.
 One characteristics of the kinesthetic is that they always moving about or doing things,
hence they prefer a game with movements rather one without it..
 They are kind of hyperactive so they enjoy physical activities or sports, they have an innate
dedication to physical exercises.
 Some kinesthetic people use to write things over and over in order to memorize it, because
if they don’t write the things many times they can forget it.
 The majority of kinesthetic learners use to doodle or draw on any available paper because it
helps them to concentrate better. And also they feel more comfortable if they are doing
something with their hands.
 Some hands-on learners love touching things with their hands. This make them feel more
confident about their own knowledge of the real things
 They enjoy doing with his hands. It means that this type people attracted to do activities
such as painting, sculpture, or cook.
 Kinesthetic learners enjoy planning their activities every week by making a list. As a
consequence they become more organized and also they can remember perfectly what they
have to do at every hour of the day.
