Teaching Strategies for Kinesthetic Learners: Practical Ideas for School & Home

1. Connect Movement Directly to Learning

One of the most important strategies is also one of the simplest:

Let them move.

A child might:

• stand while working;
• use hand motions while practicing;
• act out a vocabulary word;
• move objects while solving a math problem;
• form letters or concepts with their body;
• walk while reviewing information; or
• demonstrate the steps in a process.

But there is an important distinction.

Movement should reinforce the concept whenever possible.

For example, having children jump while practicing sight words adds physical activity. But if they perform the same jump for every word, the movement itself doesn't tell them anything about the individual words.

A body motion connected with the meaning of a particular word, however, can become a memory anchor for that word.

That's purposeful movement.

2. Use Hands-On Materials

Tactile and kinesthetic learners often benefit from being able to physically interact with information.

Instead of only showing a math equation, give the child objects to manipulate.

Instead of only looking at letters on a page, let the child build words with letter tiles.

Depending on the lesson, try:

• letter tiles;
• word cards;
• math manipulatives;
• counters;
• models;
• puzzles;
• sorting activities;
• drawing;
• tracing;
• crafts; or
• real objects.

Whenever possible, connect the hands-on activity directly to the skill being taught.

The goal isn't to keep the child's hands busy.

The goal is to help the hands participate in the learning.

3. Break Long Lessons Into Shorter Segments

Extended periods of passive instruction can be particularly challenging for active learners.

Rather than:

20 minutes of explanation → activity

try:

Explain → Do → Explain → Do

Teach one part.

Let the child practice it.

Teach the next part.

Practice again.

You can also change positions or locations when appropriate—move from a desk to the floor, stand at a whiteboard, work at a table, or take the lesson outside.

Shorter instructional segments can give a child more frequent opportunities to respond, move, and apply what they are learning.

4. Let Children Show What They Know

Kinesthetic learners may sometimes find it easier to demonstrate understanding than to explain every step verbally.

Instead of always asking:

“Tell me how you solved it.”

also try:

“Show me how you solved it.”

A child might demonstrate an answer using objects, draw a representation, physically model a process, arrange cards, or act something out.

Demonstration doesn't have to replace speaking or writing. It can provide a bridge that helps children organize what they understand before putting it into words.

5. Use Meaningful Visuals

Kinesthetic learning doesn't mean instruction should consist only of movement.

Visual information can be especially powerful when paired with physical experience.

Use:

• pictures;
• diagrams;
• visual patterns;
• charts;
• embedded images;
• demonstrations; and
• graphic organizers.

At Child1st, we often connect abstract information directly with a meaningful visual so that the picture becomes part of the memory connection rather than simply decoration.

Then movement or hands-on practice can reinforce that same connection.

6. Teach Through Story

Stories give information context.

A fact or abstract symbol can be difficult to remember by itself. Put that information into a meaningful story, however, and the child has characters, actions, relationships, and events to connect with it.

Story can be incorporated into:

• letter-sound instruction;
• vocabulary;
• spelling patterns;
• history;
• science;
• math concepts; and
• reading comprehension.

When appropriate, let children act out the story as well.

Now story, visual imagery, language, and movement are working together.

7. Allow Appropriate Movement While Listening

A child doesn't necessarily need to be perfectly still in order to pay attention.

Some kinesthetic learners may listen more effectively while:

• standing;
• gently moving;
• doodling;
• taking notes;
• pointing to information;
• manipulating an appropriate object; or
• changing position periodically.

The important question is:

Is the movement helping the child stay connected to the lesson, or is it pulling attention away from it?

If the movement supports attention without disrupting others, it may be useful rather than something that needs to be stopped.

8. Give Children Opportunities to Experiment

Kinesthetic learners often want to discover how something works for themselves.

Use that tendency.

Instead of demonstrating every step before children begin, sometimes give them appropriate materials and a problem to investigate.

Let them:

try → observe → adjust → try again.

This can be particularly useful in:

• science;
• math;
• building;
• art;
• problem solving; and
• hands-on literacy activities.

Trial and error can help children develop persistence and discover relationships through experience.

9. Use Rhythm and Repetition

Rhythm gives repeated information a physical and auditory pattern.

Children might:

• clap while counting;
• tap syllables;
• use rhythm while practicing a spelling pattern;
• march while reciting information;
• use finger movements with sounds; or
• create a short chant.

Again, make the activity purposeful.

The rhythm should reinforce what the child needs to remember rather than simply add noise or movement.

10. Make Abstract Concepts Concrete

This is especially important in reading, spelling, and math.

Abstract symbols can be difficult because there is nothing inherently meaningful about them.

For example:

Letters represent sounds.

Written words represent spoken words and meaning.

Numerals represent quantities.

Mathematical symbols represent relationships and operations.

Before expecting a child to work entirely with abstract symbols, connect those symbols with something they can see, touch, manipulate, say, or experience.

Then gradually move toward independent use of the abstract representation.

Teaching Kinesthetic Learners to Read

Reading presents a special challenge because print itself is abstract and stationary.

A kinesthetic approach can make beginning reading more interactive.

For example, a child might:

See a letter or spelling pattern.

Say and hear its sound.

Trace, write, or build it.

Use a meaningful motion associated with it.

Read it in a word.

Apply it in connected text.

For high-frequency words, a meaningful visual and body motion can help establish the initial connection before the child transitions to recognizing the plain printed word.

For more reading-specific ideas, see How to Teach Kinesthetic Learners to Read Successfully.

Teaching Kinesthetic Learners Spelling

Spelling is another natural place to combine movement and hands-on practice.

Students can:

• say sounds as they write them;
• build words with letter tiles;
• trace a spelling pattern;
• use motions associated with sounds;
• sort words by spelling pattern;
• manipulate letters to create new words; and
• read and write words containing the pattern.

The important connection is between the sounds students hear and the spellings they see and write.

Teaching Kinesthetic Learners Math

Math becomes much easier to understand when abstract symbols represent something the child has actually experienced.

For example, before memorizing that:

        3 + 5 = 8

give the child eight objects.

Have them physically separate the objects into groups:

        1 + 7
        2 + 6
        3 + 5
        4 + 4

Now the equation isn't simply a fact to memorize.

It represents a relationship the child has seen and physically demonstrated.

As understanding develops, manipulatives can gradually give way to pictures, mental representations, and finally abstract numbers and symbols.

Kinesthetic Learning at Home

Parents don't need to recreate a classroom.

Everyday life provides plenty of opportunities for experiential learning.

Try:

Cooking for measurement, fractions, sequencing, and reading directions.

Building for spatial reasoning, measurement, planning, and problem solving.

Games for reading, math facts, memory, and strategy.

Outdoor activities for science, observation, measurement, and vocabulary.

Crafts for following directions, fine-motor practice, patterns, and creativity.

Movement for practicing words, sounds, facts, sequences, or concepts.

Learning doesn't have to happen only at a desk.

Give Movement a Purpose

Kinesthetic learners bring important strengths to learning.

They often want to experience, experiment, create, demonstrate, and discover rather than simply hear about something.

When we understand that need, we can make instruction work with the learner instead of continually asking the learner to work against their natural strengths.

The goal isn't simply:

“Let the child move.”

It's:

“Connect the movement, experience, story, visual, or hands-on activity directly to what the child needs to learn.”

When learning becomes meaningful and active, kinesthetic learners have more opportunities to engage their strengths—and experience success.