One way for kinesthetic learners to make a physical connection to the information they are learning is by "performing" the information themselves. Teachers can have the student perform by participating in idiom charades, where they act out a literal representation of an idiom and other students guess what the idiom is. Students can also perform skits in small groups in which they act out figurative expressions, which helps them understand difficult metaphoric language in plays, novels, poetry and prose of all types.
Writing, drawing, painting and especially sculpting all add a tactile and kinesthetic element to remembering information. Kinesthetic learners will remember something they created with their hands much better than something that was told to them or that they read in a textbook. Have students create a poem or a story using figurative language and then create a piece of art to illustrate their work. If you give students the freedom to create art in whatever form they choose, they will pick an art form that best complements their style of learning.
The teacher can create work stations around the room, each station containing a physical activity and an academic task related to figurative language. For example, one station can include jump ropes for the students, a short story and the instructions, "Jump rope 50 times, then read the story together and underline each simile or metaphor you see." In small groups, students move from one station to another, completing each physical and academic task. Prefacing each mental activity with physical work may help students feel less restless and mentally fatigued as they assimilate the information they need to learn.
The teacher assigns each type of figurative language a corresponding physical movement. For example, personification can link to jumping jacks, while synecdoche can link with patting your head while rubbing your stomach. The teacher reads aloud to the class a piece of writing containing many types of figurative language. When students recognize a particular type of figurative language, they perform the assigned action for that language. Connecting the literary term with the physical movement can help kinesthetic learners remember it more easily.