Support Your Child’s Learning Style
Your child is more likely to want to learn if he uses the
learning style that feels most natural and makes the most sense—to him or her.
Help your child figure out, and use, his/her best learning style.
Does your child learn best by:
Ø Hearing, such as listening to a talk or
a book on tape? If so, he may be an auditory learner.
He enjoys music and hearing
stories. He can probably follow oral directions very well. He is comfortable
talking. He would probably prefer spelling his words aloud to the teacher to
taking a written quiz
Ø Seeing, such as reading a book or a
graph? If so, he may be a visual learner.
He appreciates artwork, movies and
the live theater. He can probably follow a map like a pro. He likes to have
something written on paper to back up oral lessons. He would probably prefer
studying a chart of the times tables to repeating them out loud with the class.
Ø Doing, such as building a model or
preparing a chart? If so, he may be a kinesthetic learner.
He loves to move, making recess and
exercise critical parts of his school day. He would much rather participate
than sit and watch. He likes using his hands to create things. He is probably
much happier during hands-on activities than during the theory lesson that came
before.
Auditory Learners
Auditory learners feel motivated and engaged when they can
incorporate more listening into schoolwork. Here are good ways to motivate an
auditory learner:
• Have your child record himself/herself
reading a chapter out loud. Then review by listening to it.
• Use rhymes, songs, and
associative words (letters or words that make
you think of other words) to remember
facts. Example: My Very Excellent
Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas
to remember Mercury, Venus, Earth,
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune and Pluto.
• Have him/her ask friends and family members to give you an
oral quiz or
listen to you recite math facts.
• When assigned to read fiction,
suggest that he/she see if a book on tape is
available. Your child can follow
along in the book as he/she listens.
• Suggest that he/she “talk
himself” through a problem. “Let’s see, multiply
and divide before you add and
subtract. So the first thing I need to do is
multiply two times six … .
Visual Learners
Visual learners feel more motivated and engaged when they
can incorporate more seeing into their
schoolwork. Here are some ways to
motivate a visual learner:
• Help him/her use color wherever
possible. Take notes using different colored pens. Write spelling words and key
concepts in “rainbow style”—write each word three times, first in red, then in
orange, then in blue. Highlight important passages in stand-out tones, such as
bright pink.
• When reading a text, suggest that
he/she first go through and look at all the pictures, charts, graphs and
diagrams in the chapter. Which points are they illustrating? Suggest that he
use the illustrations to reinforce what he is reading.
• Help your child make a study
wall. Each week, help him/her make a poster of something he needs to learn and post
it in that spot. Have your child refer to it often.
• Flashcards are great for visual learners.
Suggest that he/she use them for math facts, vocabulary words, anything that
needs to be memorized.
• Talk with your child about
staying attentive during oral presentations by watching the speaker. If he/she
is a visual learner, allowing his/her eyes to drift toward the window or door
is a sure way to miss most of what is being said
Kinesthetic Learners
Kinesthetic learners feel more motivated and engaged when
they can incorporate more doing into their schoolwork. Try these ideas to
motivate a kinesthetic learner:
• Urge your child to combine study
breaks with physical activity. Suggest that he/she study for 30 minutes, then
go for a short run (about 10 minutes) and then come back to study.
• Encourage your child to do
hands-on projects. Kinesthetic learners can shine at science fairs and art
shows because they love to create things. Participation in these events can
boost your child’s self-esteem, which can in turn boost his motivation. Help
him/her with reading comprehension by having him/her tell you about or act out
a passage from a book. Be your child’s audience or play a role yourself.
No comments:
Post a Comment