Long Fence and Home

The Right FitFinding the Perfect Fit for

Your Child’s Learning Style

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Introduction

Bridgeway Academy

www.bridgewayacademy.com

Homeschooling Help

www.homeschoolinghelp.com

58

2

Areas Covered

• How are we

different?

• Learning Styles

• Selecting the

right curriculum

for each learning

style

2

32

Experts have identified

three basic learning styles

• Auditory learners remember by

talking out loud. They like to have

things explained and may have

trouble with written instructions.

• Visual learners easily remember

visual details. They prefer to see

what they are learning and write

down instructions. May have

trouble following lectures.

• Kinesthetic or tactile learners

prefer activities that allow them to

touch the things they are learning

about. They also like to move

around when talking or listening.Source: Is there a "One Size Fits All" curriculum?; http://www.upsidedownschoolroom.com/learningstyles.shtml

5

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3

Talking

Do you:

• Talk sparingly but dislike

listening for too long?

• Enjoy listening but are impatient

to talk?

• Gesture and use expressive

movements?

3

Spelling

Do you:

• Try to see the word?

• Sound out the word or use a

phonetic approach?

• Write the word down to find out

if it feels/looks right?

3

Focus

Do you become distracted by:

• Untidiness or movement?

• Sounds or noises?

• Activity around you?

3

Social

Do you:

• Prefer direct, face-to-face,

personal meetings?

• Prefer the telephone?

• Prefer to talk with people while

walking or participating in an

activity?

1

Quick Test

3

Moms are from Venus;

Kids are From Mars

Of those who took our survey:

• 19% are Auditory Learners

• 39% are Kinesthetic Learners

• 42% are Visual Learners

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Auditory Learners

• Talkers

• Listeners

• Multi-Taskers

• Extremely verbal

• Great at memorizing

• Commercials

• Stories

• Movies

• Drama productions

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Auditory Learners

• Learn well when

material is step by

step, following a

logical progression

from beginning to

end.

• Learning is

sequential

34

Auditory Learners

• Well

developed

working

memory.

• Generally

excel in

phonemic

awareness

• Good readers

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Potential Struggles

• Note-taking

• Interpreting

graphs, charts,

etc.

• Can be

interruptors

• Patience

• Understanding

higher level

concepts and

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Teaching Strategies

for Auditory Learners

• Use questions

• Explain verbally, use audio

books, documentaries,

YouTube videos, Bridgeway

Learning Labs, etc.

• Create opportunities for

them to do the teaching

• Find ways to get them

working in groups—or have

them teach younger

siblings.• Ask for oral reports rather than written

• Incorporate music into your lessons

• Present new concepts sequentially or step by step

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Tips and Tools for Auditory

Learners

• Talk out loud when doing

math

• Listen to books

• Make recordings of what you

have learned

• Read out loud

• Explain what you have

learned to someone else

• Take a tour where you can

listen to a tour guide

• Use rhyme or mnemonic

devices to remember things

238

Teaching Textbooks ACE

BJU Press DL Saxon

Chalkdust A+ Math

Dive CDs

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Sequential Spelling

Wordly Wise

BJU Press

Finding King Onomatopoeia

Accelerated Christian Education (ACE)

Audio Books (FOF CS Chronicles of Narnia, Little

Women, Secret Garden, etc.)

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Paradigm Science (Grades 7-12)

Apologia Science (Grades 1-12)

BJU Press (Grades 1-12)

Walch Power Basics (Grades 7-12)

Jonathan Parks Audio Series

238

Story of the World (Grades K-8)

Paradigm (Grades 7-12)

Sonlight (Grades 1-12)

Ancient Civilizations and the Bible (Grades 6-12)

BJU Press (Grades 1-12)

Your Story Hour, Adventures in Odyssey

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This teaching style can hold

children back

What Happens if

your child

struggles with

auditory

learning?

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This teaching style can hold

children back

• Most classrooms rely on the

auditory style of learning, and

so do many parents

• Unfortunately, less than 20%

of all children are auditory

learners with 2% being boys and

8% girls.

• No wonder boys are diagnosed

with ADD/ADHD nine times

more often than girls!

Source: The Myth of the A.D.D. Child, by Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D., 1997; http://borntoexplore.org/whatisadd.htm Born to

Explore! The Other Side of ADD

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Visual Learners

• Love pictures

• Close their eyes to

memorize

• Observant

• Good at puzzles

• Can see the whole

picture

• Soak in information

based on their

surroundings

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Visual Learners

• Are global learners—

learn better when

they can start with

the whole

• Have an amazing

ability to make

connections

• They know more

than they show you

• Often perfectionists

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Visual Learners

• Are global learners—

learn better when

they can start with

the whole

• Have an amazing

ability to make

connections

• They know more

than they show you

• Often perfectionists

3

3

3

3

3

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Possible Struggles

• Often have hyper

sensitive senses.

• Often have a high

energy level and

need to move their

bodies in order to

learn

• Have high emotions,

which when aroused

can make it difficult

to think and learn

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Possible Struggles

• May struggle with

simple facts and

sequential

mastery learning.

• Time

Management

• Multiple choice

tests

• Auditory

processing and

communication

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Teaching Tips for the

Visual Learner

• Provide the big picture

first—then explain the

details

• Use a hands-on approach

to learning

• Make it challenging

• Use problem solving

assessments when possible

• Appeal to their love of

color

• Write things down & have

them write things down

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Teaching Tips for the

Visual Learner

• Let them see the answers

to what they are doing

• Use pictures

• Charts and graphs

• Color

• Timelines

• Give them time to form an

image as you teach

• Let them sit and soak in

the information around

them

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Tips and Tools for the

Visual Learner

• Draw out what you are

learning

• Write things down

• Use highlighters or

different color pens to

color code notes and study

sheets

• Doodle to stay focused

• To help listen to a lecture,

ask yourself, “What is the

main point?”

438

Right Start BJU Press

Singapore Life of Fred

A+ Math Algebra Tiles

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Marie’s Words (SAT Prep)

All About Spelling

Write Source (Grades 1-12)

Write On! (Grades 3-8)

Teaching English Through Art

Finding King Onomatopoeia and Other Stories

Movies as Literature

438

Science Detective (Critical Thinking Company)

Build it Yourself Series (Nomad Press) (3-6)

Paradigm Science (Grades 7-12)

Apologia Science (Grades 1-12)

Discover! Science (Grades 1-2)

438

Story of the World (Grades K-8)

Walch Power Basics (Grades 7-12_

Paradigm (Grades 7-12)

Sonlight (Grades 1-12)

Steck Vaughn (Grades 1-12)

13

Visual Learners

39

Kinesthetic Learner

• Need their bodies to be in

action in order to learn

• Communicate with body

language

• Have quick reactions

• Learn well when engaging

emotions

• High energy level

• Sensitive to the world around

them

• Often seen as hyperactive

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Kinesthetic Learner

• Do better in academics

when they are also

involved in sports or

performing arts

• Often gifted athletes

• Often gifted musicians

• Seem to have an internal

compass

• Use their body when they

are angry

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Potential Struggles

• Sitting for a long time

• Following oral

instructions

• Spelling

• Handwriting

• Tests

• Essay questions or writing

assignments that require

them to complete it in

one sitting

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Teacting Tips for the

Kinesthetic Learner

“God put the wiggle in children-

-don’t you dare try to take it

out!”Henrietta Meers

•Math manipulatives

•Allow them to touch

•Frequent breaks

•Chores divided up--need variety

•Keep teaching time short and

sweet

•Dig in the dirt

•Make them a part of learning

40

Teaching Tips for the

Kinesthetic Learner

• Allow them to move while they

learn

• Find ways to allow for group

work

• Use physical objects as much as

possible

• Flashcards

• Demonstrate

• Use LEGOs, K’Nex, play dough,

etc.

• Role playing

• Use multiple choice tests, short

answers and fill in the blanks.

40

Tips and Tools for the

Kinesthetic Learner

• Keep a rubber band handy

• Get active when studying—

bounce a ball, throw a ball

back and forth with study

buddies, work your core

• Underline, highlight or take

notes while you read

• When feeling overly unfocused,

use breathing and relaxation to

get back on track

538

Math U See Horizons Math

A+ Math Life of Fred

Saxon Math Right Start

Discovery Math

538

Marie’s Words (SAT Prep)

Write Source (Grades 1-12)

Write On! (Grades 3-8)

Zoo Phonics (Grades K-2)

BJU Press (Grades K-12)

Learning Language Arts Through Literature

538

Science Through Children’s Literature (Grades K-7)

Build it Yourself Series (Nomad Press) (3-6)

The Private Eye (Grades K-12)

Apologia Science (Grades 1-12)

Discover! Science (Grades 1-2)

538

Story of the World (Grades K-8)

Walch Hands on Culture Series (Grades 5-9)

Sonlight (Grades 1-12)

Steck Vaughn (Grades 1-12)

Chatham Hill Games (Grades 3+)

Build it Yourself Series (Grades 3-8)

The American History Detective (Grades 3-8)

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“Tell me and I will forget,

Teach me and I may

remember, involve me and I

will learn.”

Benjamin Franklin

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What do you do when the struggle is

about more than just learning style?

• Confuses or reverses letters or words

• Poor reading comprehension

• Poor handwriting skills

• Avoids reading and writing

• Does little or no voluntary reading?

• Poor enunciation of sounds

• Fails spelling and other reading-related work

• Unable to perceive sounds, letters or words

correctly

40

What do you do when the struggle is

about more than just learning style?

• Does not complete tasks

• Emotional, easily upset about schoolwork

• Frustration, negative experiences with

independent schoolwork

• Easily distracted, impulsive or overactive

• Fails to understand or remember instructions

or assignments

• Very poor self-esteem

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6

Bridgeway Academy www.bridgewayacademy.com

Homeschooling Help www.homeschoolinghelp.com

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Two more factors:

Brain Dominance

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46

Left Brain

• Taxon Memory

• Telephone numbers

• Names

• Lists

• Math facts

• Must be rehearsed

Short Term

Memory

45

Brain Dominance

• Lef

t

Bra

in

Do

mi

na

nce

• Tends to approach

47

Left Brain Dominance

• Organize

d

• Think

linearly

• Love

writing

• Love

talking

• Love

details

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Left Brain Dominance

• Very

schedul

ed

• Resear

ch and

develo

pment

• Watchi

ng the

clock

•

51

Right Brain

• Spatial

• Colors

• Feelings

• Story-telling

• Hands-on

Long Term

Memory

50

Brain Dominance

• R

i

g

h

t

B

r

a

i

n

D

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Right Brain Dominance

• Extremely

impulsive

• Very

creative

• Love

drawing

• Oblivious

to details

• Extremely

distractibl

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Right Brain Dominance

If you don’t allow for

the creativity then

you are stifling that

child at his or her

learning level.

• What if you are a

left brain

dominant Mom?

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In many years of observation I have never met a stupid child but I have met many stupid and debilitating, and yes, even

brain-damaging, systems of education. As we have discovered, a child can learn

almost anything and pass the standard if she is dancing, tasting,

touching, hearing, seeing, and feeling information. She can delight in doing so because she is using much more

of her mind-brain-body system than conventional teaching generally permits.

31

So much of the failure in school and home stems directly from boredom, which itself stems directly from the larger failure to stimulate and not repress all those wonder areas in the child's brain and soul that could give him so many more ways of responding to her world

Jean Houston, co-director of the Foundation for Mind Research

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Contact Information

• Bridgeway Academy

www.bridgewayacademy.

com

• Curriculum Express

www.curriculumexpress.c

om

• Homeschooling Help

www.homeschoolinghelp.

com

• Essential Learning

Systems

www.LDHope.com58