Children who learn through auditory input learn primarily by hearing. These children often do well in traditional classrooms because they can learn by listening to a teacher's lecture. They often enjoy poetry because they can hear the rhythm and rhyme of the words. Children who favor auditory learning often read aloud and can benefit from using a reading phone or PVC pipe that will enable them to whisper-read without disturbing other children. These children also typically enjoy listening to audio books while following along with the printed material and may remember material more if it can be put to a song or rhyme.
Children who are visual learners learn by seeing and reading. They enjoy graphs, charts, outlines and maps. These children may have difficulty remembering material that they hear unless they have a visual to go along with the information. Visual learners also do best when they can tie new concepts to things that they already know, so remember to keep the big picture in mind when teaching visual learners. Tools that help these children include charts, posters, graphs and books.
Kinesthetic learners learn by doing. These children have to touch or handle something in order to understand it. For them, reading or listening to a lecture is not enough. Kinesthetic learners often want to be up and moving around while they are taking in information. Tools that will help these learners to absorb information include models, hands-on experiments and building materials such as blocks. When you are teaching a kinesthetic learner, try modeling a concept, try it together, then have her do it independently.
When it comes to multisensory learning tools, look for activities that focus on more than one sense. For example, cut out sandpaper letters enable children to explore letter shapes through both the visual and kinesthetic modalities; similarly, you can form letters from modeling clay. Children who sing songs and use accompanying motions are learning through their auditory and kinesthetic modalities. Children who listen to a recorded book while following along with the print are learning through both their visual and auditory modalities. If they use a finger to track the text, then they are also using the kinesthetic modality.