K is for Kinaesthetic

When you are looking for ways to improve learning for children, kinaesthetic teaching has to be tried.  There are three main ways of teaching – VAK for short:

But for many teachers the main way is still auditory “talking to / at “ the children with some visuals thrown in for good measure.

Having the children do something helps them to understand the process or even figure it out for themselves and this aids their learning and recall.  Which leads on nicely to the famous quote:

Boys make up almost 70% of children with Special Educational and more boys have lower grades/behavioural difficulties in the earlier years of school than girls. Is it because of their learning style?    Girls tend to have developed an auditory learning style by the time they are at least nine with boys reaching this about two years later.  Look at the chart below and see the challenges some children face and yet with kinaesthetic teaching they can learn incredibly well.

LEARNING CHALLENGES		LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
KINESTHETIC LEARNERS MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY		KINESTHETIC LEARNERS MAY ENJOY
·         Sitting still and completing solo tasks ·         Listening ·         Spacing letters in handwriting ·         Interpreting nonverbal communications ·         Interacting positively with peers ·         Problem solving ·         Controlling impulses ·         Writing legibly in cursive ·         Spelling, particularly if instruction involves a phonetic approach ·         Recalling what was seen or heard ·         Recalling visual images ·         Expressing emotions without physical movement and gestures ·         Sticking with one activity for long periods		·         Activities that involve movement ·         Large motor skill activities ·         Art activities requiring physical movement, such as sculpture and woodworking ·         Field trips that involve physical activity ·         Real-life experiences ·         Dramatic activities, role-play ·         Dance and sports ·         Physical relaxation exercises ·         Frequent changes of learning groups ·         Hands-on activities, working with manipulatives

If anyone is interested in learning more about this type of learning and things to do then these websites might be of interest.

http://www.classroom-management-success.org/support-files/30ways-samplechapters.pdf

http://www.ehow.com/info_12142710_kinesthetic-learning-techniques-children-special-needs.html

http://school.familyeducation.com/intelligence/teaching-methods/38519.html

The TpT resources for today's letter K are brought to you courtesy of Heather Rice - she has some wonderful resources for learning using VAK so check her store out
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Sing-With-Me-Sight-Words

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sing-With-Me-Sight-Words-Free-Samples-1009702

K is for Kitty in the Paint - http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/File-Folder-Game-Matching-Colors-to-Color-Name-Kitty-in-the-Paint-573769