Whole-brain learning uses techniques that integrate the imaginative brain skills with the analytical and language skills. Kinaesthetic learning deals with body and movement, learning and knowing through physical activity and motion. Simple strategies can make better use of the whole brain and can dramatically improve learning and performance skills.

"Rohwer (1966) investigated various kinds of associative mnemonics in young children and found that the best connective for remembering words were meaningful "actor-action-object" relationships." (Ehri, Deffner, & Wilce, 1984, p. 881) Further research (Fleming & Stern, 1986) supports, "The tactile-receptive systems of the hands provide for another access to the hemispheres ... The consistent results of the various investigations may warrant recommendation that the right hemisphere ... should be directly stimulated in order to improve (student's) accuracy and efficiency in reading and spelling" (p. 358).

"Because there is nothing inherent in the visual symbol of a letter that suggests its name or sound, one must develop that "something" that causes the child to make the letter/sound connections." (Ehri, Deffner, & Wilce, 1984) If pictures are used that relate to the sounds of the letters and the child's modalities are used to learn and remember the sounds, these techniques will provide a safety net for memory and retrieval. Without connections there will be no understanding. Without understanding, there is no retention, usage or transference.  To read more click here

One of the hottest educational issue of the recent past 10 years has been whole language versus phonics.

It began with this premise: children have a language base, thus reading should be predicated on a child's natural language usage. Therefore, reading books that do not sound like the natural language of a child should be avoided.

The only thing that was forgotten in this whole decade of "natural education" was the child's brain and how it processes information. It does not like random information and stores it poorly.

With the whole language movement, we have virtually thrown the baby out with the bath, rather than artfully combining all the wonderful aspects of whole language and phonemic awareness. (It really wasn't "whole" without phonics.) You don't have to negate a child's language base and self discovery because you highlight and teach a certain phoneme in your lesson plans.  To read more click here