Visual teaching is about teaching the subject with anything the student can see. For example, flash cards may be used to teach letter and word recognition in a reading class. Flash cards may even show a picture that matches the word or begins with the letter. This helps the student to connect the letter, word or other material with a visual they can recall. Videos, photos, props and slide shows are also effective materials used in visual teaching.
Auditory teaching strategy involves speaking the material to the child. For example, when teaching reading, the teacher might say the word or letter. Singing is also an effective auditory tool. One example is the alphabet song, which is used to teach letters and their correct order. Auditory digital is a type of auditory teaching defined as self-talk, or having the student repeat the material. The alphabet song is an example of this teaching strategy when the student is singing the song.
Kinesthetic learning happens when the child uses touch or movement to absorb the material. Teachers often use this strategy by using letter or words cut from sandpaper or another rough material. Children can feel the shape of the letter and more easily absorb the information. Children often have trouble distinguishing between the lower-case letters "b" and "d." One kinesthetic method of teaching children the difference involves having them use their whole body to draw the letters very large on a material lying on the floor.
The most effective way to use the multisensory teaching strategies is to combine all three strategies. These can be used all at once or at different times during the same class. For example, while teaching reading a teacher may show a slide-show of different words and a photo representing the word while students feel sandpaper cut-outs of the word and say the word out loud as a group. Alternately, a teacher may show a video of words and the item they represent and follow the video with a physical activity, then later have the students repeat the words and their spelling.