Teaching Kinesthetic Learnersby Lyn Newton | More from this Blogger 03 Dec 2007 08:42 AM Teaching kinesthetic learners can be very trying for some teachers. Many teachers are still stuck in the thought that students should sit perfectly still and listen. Any movement indicates to the teacher that the student is not listening and learning. However, teaching kinesthetic learners can be very fun. Lessons that involvement movement and activity is usually enjoyed by all students and the teacher alike. While kinesthetic students actually need the movement to enhance their lesson, most other types of learners of students will find the activities interesting and entertaining. When planning a lesson for kinesthetic students involve as much physical movement as possible. Use hand signals, arm motions, and dances when appropriate. If movement is not possible, allow these students to move by selecting them to handout or collect papers or be the teacher's helper. Try to add manipulative activities to math lessons and experiments to science lessons. By using these things you are getting kinesthetic students involved in hands-on activities while encouraging other learners also. For example, visual learners will also benefit from the visual activities. If a learner is struggling greatly with sitting and listening, some research suggest allowing students to roll their feet on objects such as swimming noodle or to squeeze a stress ball with their hands while the teacher speaks. These activities give the student movement and helps keep him or her from distracting the rest of the class by being up or shifting around during a test or lecture. Be certain to allow for movement transitions between activities and ensure that students are not sitting too long at one time. If a lesson is lengthy, take breaks and allow for stretch time. If a student's movement during class is not extremely distracting then it may be best to try to ignore it. If the other students are not bothered by the movement then it probably is not worth making note of during the lesson. Learn more about Lyn Newton  Lyn is a kindergarten teacher and mommy to a girl and a boy. In her spare time, she enjoys informative and creative writing. Relevanteducation tags User Comments KatrinaK (5) 03 Dec 2007 10:21 AMVery nice series of articles on different kinds of learning. Thanks for all the great tips! Trina Community Tags lesson planning, movement in the classroom, types of learners Discuss this article
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