How To Help Hands-on Learners Get More From Their Reading

Today I will be sharing several ways to help hands-on learners get enjoyment from their reading while they learn from it. You can read my post about visual learners here and my auditory learners post here.

Hands-on learners (as their name suggests) learn best when they are using their hands and doing something more active than reading a book or listening to someone teach. They want to be actively involved in what they have to learn. So how can we help these kinds of learners be actively involved in reading?

Hands-on Learners and Reading

One way to help during reading time, whether it is read-aloud time or the student is reading alone, is to have actual objects that they are reading about where the students can handle them and learn first-hand how they work. When it works out to do this, the students will get more from what they are reading. It will allow them to actually experience what they are reading about.

One example of how you could do this is when you are doing a nature study, you and your students can go out into nature and gather different things you are studying about, such as leaves, twigs, flowers, and nuts. Once back inside, when the students are reading, they can look at the things they gathered and handle them as they read about them.

History and Hands-on Learners

Another way you could do this is in history class. If you are studying the clothing of a particular era or country, you could help your students replicate a costume like one they are studying about. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or particularly detailed. The students could then wear their costumes as they are studying about the clothing.

Not all the ways of helping hands-on learners get more from their reading have to be that involved, either. Coloring sheets and drawing paper will help them as well. If they can color or draw something they have been studying, these activities will also help them to learn and remember.

Taking notes during reading time is another good option, as well as drawing or coloring during read-aloud time. Even though I am not a hands-on learner, I still find that if my hands are busy, I can get more out of whatever it is that I am listening to. This would be even more necessary for hands-on learners.

Other types of worksheets would also be good for them. If they write, do matching activities, answer questions, look up words, and do similar activities, they become actively involved in their reading and will learn better and remember more.

Doing crafts related to what they have learned is (in my opinion) one of the funnest hands-on projects. Cutting, gluing, coloring, and drawing are all enjoyable activities for hands-on learners. Plus, the crafts are something they can keep afterwards to show what they have been studying.

The Study Guides

All these different types of paper-related hands-on activities are found in the Study Guides I sell on Teachers Pay Teachers. The study guides have worksheets to fill out, activities, games, and crafts to do. They are also beneficial for auditory and visual learners as well.

Some other activities that would help hands-on learners are doing experiments, building models, and role-playing. Or doing anything else that involves using your hands or doing something active.

Are you a hands-on learner? Whether you consider yourself one or not, were there any helpful suggestions that you can use? Do you have any other tips for hands-on learners that you would like to add? I would love to hear them in the comments! If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe, so you get an email every time there is a new post.