What Is Multisensory Learning?
🎯 Learning objectives
After this article, you should be able to:
- Understand the six senses of multisensory learning
- See why more senses make stronger memories
- Use the SEE-HEAR-TOUCH-SAY-WRITE-RECALL path at home
Here is a memory experiment you can try right now. Read this word quietly, just with your eyes:
APPLE
Now try it the multisensory way: see the apple 🍎, hear "apple" said out loud, touch the letters as you build the word, say it yourself, write it with your own pencil, and then recall it after hiding everything.
Which memory feels stronger? For almost every child — and adult — the second one wins easily. That is multisensory learning.
The six senses of learning
- 👀 SEE — a picture, a colour, the written word.
- 👂 HEAR — the pronunciation, the letter sounds, a rhyme.
- ✋ TOUCH / INTERACT — tracing, tapping, arranging letters, building.
- 🗣️ SAY — the child says it out loud, in their own voice.
- ✏️ WRITE — pencil to paper. The hand remembers what it writes.
- 🧠 RECALL — hide everything and bring it back. That final step locks the memory in.
The APPLE example, step by step
| Step | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1. Picture | Look at a bright red apple 🍎 |
| 2. Audio | Hear "apple" — listen to it slowly |
| 3. Written word | See the letters A P P L E |
| 4. Letter arrangement | Build the word from letter tiles |
| 5. Say it | The child says "apple" out loud |
| 6. Spelling exercise | Write A-P-P-L-E, then check |
| 7. Recall | Cover it up — can you write "apple" from memory? |
Why it works
Every sense stores the word in a different part of the brain. Six senses mean six paths back to the memory — if one path is sleepy, another finds the word for you. That is why multisensory lessons help children who struggle with reading and children who learn fast.
Try the full experience in our APPLE multisensory lesson.
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