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Using More Of The Senses For Better Understanding

August 1, 2009

Have you ever noticed that you forget what you are reading almost as quickly as you read? Fortunately there is an easy solution that you can teach to your children.

Doesn’t it make sense that the more senses you use during reading, the easier it would be to retain and recall the information? It turns out this is true. In this article, I will describe an easy-to-use technique that incorporates this brain-based learning strategy.

Most of us simply look at the words on a page. All this does is bore the brain with what appear to be more useless words. Your brain needs to see, feel, touch, smell, taste, and experience emotion while reading. Let me demonstrate how to do this using Paul Revere’s famous ride as the example.

Paul Revere could smell and taste the salt coming off of Boston Harbor as he stood and waited for the signal from the church steeple. Suddenly, he spied one lantern which signaled they were coming by land. He mounted his horse, and could feel the sturdy saddle pressing against him. As he rode, he could hear the clopping of his horse’s hooves on the stone road.

Soon he entered the woods, and could hear the horse’s hooves gently striking the mud, and could smell the pine trees that surrounded him. He continued riding, and in the distance he could see the house of a minuteman. He sped up, and sounded the alarm, “the regulars are coming, the regulars are coming.”

Compare this story with what you typically see in a text book: Paul Revere warned the minuteman that the regulars were coming. Notice how much more engrossed your brain becomes by changing the text into a total sensory experience? You can apply this exact same technique to learn other things as well. For example, don’t memorize that the symptoms of malaria include high fever, vomiting, and delirium. Imagine lying down in bed with a high fever that is making you feel delirious while you are violently throwing up. Now your brain has something it can hold onto and remember.

This is an easy technique to apply to just about anything your children and you need to learn. With just a little practice it will become an invaluable brain-based learning strategy you can put to practical use.

I hope you enjoyed this article. Be sure to share it with your friends and family so they can also learn the advantages of learning with Mr. Reader.

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Written by Webmaster · Filed Under Speed Reading Comprehension