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.