Walk With Me curriculum is being discontinued on June 30, 2018.Click here to learn about the transition to Dwell.

The Ways We Learn

How do children—and the rest of us—learn? The answer to that question can be almost as varied as the people in a class. Some learn best through words. Others through music. Still others through nature or through movement.

Sessions in Walk With Me try to respect the many ways children learn. Walk With Me sessions include a wide range of activities that speak to children with the following types of intelligence (based on Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences):

Children who are

learn best through verbal activities (listening, reading, or speaking), including discussions, worksheets, writing, reading, storytelling, and word games.

 

learn best by exploring patterns and relationships through activities such as problem solving, analysis and comparison, logical puzzles or games, making charts and graphs, or putting things in sequence.

 

learn best by visualizing concepts. These kids enjoy viewing maps, slides, pictures, videos, and diagrams; making jigsaw puzzles; and expressing their ideas with shape, color, and design.

 

learn best by using their bodies, acting things out, using puppets, moving—anything hands-on.

 

learn best through sound, music, and rhythm—playing musical instruments, writing their own songs and raps, listening to recordings, singing, and so on.

 

learn best through doing things with others, cooperating and working in small or large groups, role playing, conversations, brainstorming, and other interactive exercises.

 

learn best by working independently through such things as writing in a journal, meditating, reading, and reflecting.

 

learn best through activities connected to living things and natural phenomena, through nature walks, examining plants and animals, nature experiments, and activities that focus on ecology.

—The ideas on this page are based on material from the following resources: Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom by
Thomas Armstrong, © 2000, and a chart prepared by Donald L. Griggs, Livermore, California.