Multisensory Reading Activities for Struggling Readers

If the thought of another phonics worksheet makes you and your child groan, it might be time for a new approach. Think beyond flashcards and drills and instead picture learning that involves writing in sand, building words with colorful tiles, or tracing letters in the air. This is the world of multisensory learning, where reading instruction becomes an active, hands-on experience. These engaging methods aren’t just for play; they are a core part of effective, research-based programs like the Orton-Gillingham approach. By using fun multisensory reading activities, you can help make abstract concepts like letter sounds feel concrete, building a solid foundation for literacy while keeping your child motivated.

Key Takeaways

Learning is stronger when it involves more than one sense: By combining sight, sound, and touch, you create multiple pathways in the brain for information to travel. This method, backed by the Science of Reading, helps children build more durable connections to literacy concepts.
You can use simple, hands-on activities to make reading tangible: You don’t need special equipment to get started. Activities like writing letters in a sand tray, building words with tiles, or tapping out sounds with fingers turn abstract skills into concrete, memorable actions.
Match the activity to your child’s current skill level: Multisensory learning is most effective when it’s tailored to the student. As your child masters foundational skills like letter sounds, adapt the activities to support new challenges like blending words and improving comprehension.

What is Multisensory Reading?

Let’s start by breaking down what “multisensory reading” actually means. It’s a powerful teaching method that goes beyond just looking at words on a page. By involving multiple senses, we can create a richer, more effective learning experience for every child, especially those who struggle with traditional reading instruction.

What It Is and Why It Matters

Multisensory instruction is a way of teaching that engages more than one sense at a time—specifically sight, hearing, touch, and movement. For children who find reading challenging, including those with dyslexia, this approach can be a game-changer. Instead of relying only on visual skills, it allows kids to use their other senses to build connections and understand concepts. It helps them tap into their natural learning strengths to support areas where they might struggle. When a child can see a letter, say its sound, and trace its shape all at once, the information sticks in a way that simply seeing it might not.

The Science Behind It

The effectiveness of multisensory learning isn’t just a theory; it’s backed by brain science. When a student uses multiple senses to learn, they activate different areas of the brain simultaneously. This creates stronger, more diverse neural pathways for information, making it easier to store and retrieve later. Think of it as building multiple roads to the same destination—if one is blocked, there are other ways to get there. This method directly supports working memory and language processing. It’s a core principle of the Science of Reading, which emphasizes explicit, systematic instruction that aligns with how the brain actually learns to read.

How Multisensory Reading Works

Multisensory reading instruction is a powerful way to help children build foundational literacy skills. Instead of relying on just one sense, like sight, this approach intentionally combines sight, sound, touch, and movement to create a richer, more memorable learning experience. By engaging different parts of the brain simultaneously, we can help students form stronger connections between letters and their sounds, making reading and spelling feel more intuitive. This is especially effective for children who find traditional reading methods challenging.

Engaging the Senses

At its core, multisensory reading is exactly what it sounds like: teaching that involves using more than one sense at a time. Instead of just looking at letters on a page, children learn by using their sight, hearing, touch, and even movement. Think of it as creating multiple pathways to the brain for information to travel. When a child connects a letter’s shape (sight), its sound (hearing), and the feeling of writing it (touch), the brain forms stronger, more lasting connections. This method is a cornerstone of structured literacy because it gives kids more tools to remember and recall information, which is especially helpful for those with reading challenges like dyslexia.

Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic-Tactile Methods

So, how does this look in practice? It’s all about combining different sensory inputs. A visual method involves seeing the letter ‘b’. An auditory method is hearing the /b/ sound. A kinesthetic-tactile method is feeling the shape of the letter by tracing it with a finger. The magic happens when you layer these methods together. For example, a student might trace a letter made of sandpaper (tactile) while saying its sound aloud (auditory) and looking at the letter (visual). This combination of seeing, hearing, and feeling helps cement the concept in the child’s mind. These are the kinds of multisensory techniques that make the Orton-Gillingham approach so effective for all learners.

Try These Multisensory Reading Activities

Putting multisensory theory into practice is easier than you might think. You don’t need a classroom full of special equipment—many effective activities use simple, everyday items and a bit of creativity. These hands-on methods are designed to be fun and engaging, helping to build strong neural pathways for reading that stick. By involving touch, movement, sight, and sound, you give your child more ways to connect with and remember information. This is a core principle of the Science of Reading, which emphasizes explicit, systematic instruction that works with how the brain learns.

The following activities are staples in effective, research-based approaches like the Orton-Gillingham method. They break down complex skills into manageable, physical actions that make abstract concepts like letter sounds feel concrete. Whether you’re working on phonemic awareness, blending, or understanding a story, there’s a multisensory technique that can help. The goal is to move beyond just looking at words on a page and instead create a rich, interactive experience with language. Try incorporating one or two of these ideas into your reading practice and watch your child’s confidence and skills grow.

Sand or Shaving Cream Writing

This activity is a classic for a reason—it’s fun, messy, and incredibly effective for teaching letter formation. Spread a thin layer of sand, salt, or shaving cream on a tray or plate. Ask your child to use their finger to write a letter in the cream while saying the letter’s sound out loud. For example, as they draw a “b,” they say the /b/ sound. This simple act connects the physical motion of writing the letter (tactile) with its shape (visual) and its sound (auditory). It’s a powerful way to reinforce letter-sound correspondence, especially for kids who learn best by doing.

Air Writing and Sandpaper Letters

For a less messy tactile option, sandpaper letters are fantastic. Have your child trace a letter cut from sandpaper with their finger while saying its sound. The rough texture provides strong sensory feedback that helps lock the letter’s shape into their memory. You can extend this by having them arrange the letters to spell words. Air writing uses the same principle but engages large muscle groups. Have your child use their whole arm to write a letter in the air as if they were writing on a giant chalkboard. This physical act helps children internalize the shape and flow of letters, making it a great tool for learners who struggle with the fine motor skills of handwriting.

Build Words with Tiles

Turn word-building into a concrete, hands-on game with letter tiles or magnets. Using physical letters helps children understand that words are made up of individual sounds that can be moved around and rearranged. Ask your child to build a word like “cat.” They should touch each tile, say its sound—/c/, /a/, /t/—and then slide their finger under the tiles from left to right to blend the sounds into the full word. Using color-coded tiles for vowels and consonants can add another helpful visual layer. This method is a cornerstone of any structured literacy approach because it makes blending tangible.

Tap Out Sounds on a Blending Board

This simple kinesthetic technique helps children isolate and blend the sounds in a word. Using their non-dominant hand, have your child tap each finger to their thumb for every sound they hear. For the word “ship,” they would tap their index finger for /sh/, their middle finger for /i/, and their ring finger for /p/. After tapping out each sound, they slide their thumb across their fingers while saying the whole word, “ship.” This activity directly supports phonemic awareness by giving a physical representation to each sound, helping kids feel the structure of a word.

Use Story Sticks and Interactive Games

Multisensory learning isn’t just for phonics; it’s also a great way to strengthen reading comprehension. Before reading a story, assign different story elements to different colored craft sticks. For example, blue could be for characters, green for the setting, and red for the problem. While you read a story from one of your child’s decodable books, have them hold up the correct stick when they hear a character mentioned or when you describe the setting. This keeps them actively engaged and helps them learn to identify and organize key parts of a narrative, turning passive listening into an interactive game.

Why Every Learner Benefits

While multisensory techniques are a game-changer for struggling readers, the truth is they benefit everyone. This approach isn’t a workaround or a special trick; it’s a method that aligns with how our brains are wired to learn best. By engaging multiple senses at once, we create stronger, more resilient pathways for information. This makes learning more efficient, effective, and frankly, more interesting for all students, whether they are just starting their reading journey or need extra support to overcome specific challenges. It transforms reading from a passive activity into an active, engaging experience.

Improve Comprehension and Recall

Have you ever noticed how a certain smell can instantly bring back a vivid memory? That’s because our senses and memory are deeply connected. Multisensory learning uses this link to its full advantage. When a child uses more than one sense to learn something—like seeing a letter, saying its sound, and tracing its shape—their brain creates stronger connections to that information. This process activates more areas of the brain, which supports working memory and critical thinking skills. Instead of one single path to the information, the brain has multiple routes, making it easier to recall letters and sounds, which is fundamental to the Science of Reading.

Support Different Learning Styles

Every child has a unique way of processing the world around them. Some are visual, others are auditory, and many learn best by doing. Multisensory instruction honors these differences by design. It’s a teaching method that intentionally combines sight, sound, movement, and touch to present information. This means you aren’t teaching to just one learning style. The visual learner sees the word tiles, the auditory learner hears the sounds being blended, and the kinesthetic learner feels the motion of writing in the air. This inclusive approach ensures every child can connect with the material in a way that makes sense for them, making it a powerful tool in any homeschool curriculum or classroom.

Address Specific Reading Challenges

For children who face reading difficulties like dyslexia, multisensory methods are not just helpful—they are essential. These challenges often stem from a disconnect in the brain’s ability to link sounds to letters. Multisensory activities directly target this by explicitly teaching those connections through sight, sound, and touch. This is a core principle of the Orton-Gillingham approach, which systematically builds the neural pathways needed for fluent reading. By making learning a physical and interactive experience, you help the brain forge the strong, lasting connections it needs to make sense of written language, turning a point of struggle into an opportunity for success.

How to Use Multisensory Strategies

In the Classroom

Bringing multisensory strategies into your classroom can make a world of difference, especially for students with reading challenges like dyslexia. The idea is simple: when students engage multiple senses—sight, sound, touch, and movement—they build stronger neural pathways for learning. This isn’t just about making lessons more fun; it’s about helping their brains store and retrieve information more effectively. By incorporating tactile activities like tracing letters in sand or kinesthetic ones like tapping out syllables, you’re giving every student more ways to connect with the material. This approach is a core component of the Orton-Gillingham method, which is designed to make literacy accessible for all learners through structured, hands-on instruction.

At Home for Parents

You don’t have to be a teacher to use these powerful reading strategies with your child. Bringing multisensory learning home is a fantastic way to support their literacy journey in a relaxed and playful environment. Simple activities, like forming letters out of play-doh or using magnetic letters on the fridge to build words, reinforce what they’re learning in a tangible way. These methods are especially helpful for children who struggle with traditional reading instruction. By making learning a hands-on experience, you can help build their confidence and strengthen their comprehension skills. Our Homeschool Curriculum is built around these principles, providing you with easy-to-follow, scripted lessons that make teaching at home feel intuitive and effective.

What You’ll Need

Getting started with multisensory reading doesn’t require a big budget or a classroom full of special equipment. You likely already have many of the necessary items at home. Think simple household materials like a shallow tray filled with salt or sand, shaving cream sprayed on a cookie sheet, or even play-doh. Letter tiles, magnetic letters, and sandpaper letters are also wonderful tools for hands-on practice. The goal is to give your child a way to physically interact with letters and sounds. As they progress, you can pair these activities with structured materials like Decodable Books, which allow them to apply their new skills by reading stories that are perfectly matched to the concepts they’ve just learned.

Adapt Activities for Every Student

One of the best things about a multisensory approach is that it’s not a one-size-fits-all method. You can and should tailor the activities to fit your student’s age, specific challenges, and current skill level. The goal is to meet them exactly where they are and provide the right support to help them move forward. Think of it as a flexible toolkit you can adapt as your learner grows in confidence and ability. This ensures the activities remain effective and engaging every step of the way.

For Early and Elementary Readers

For young learners just beginning their reading journey, multisensory activities make abstract concepts like letters and sounds tangible and fun. The focus here is on building foundational connections. An activity like writing letters in a sand tray or with shaving cream is perfect for this stage. As children trace a letter with their finger, they say its name and sound out loud, engaging their sense of touch, sight, and hearing all at once. This creates a strong, memorable link between the letter’s shape and its sound. These playful experiences are a powerful way to introduce the building blocks of literacy in a low-pressure environment, making learning feel like a game.

For Students with Reading Difficulties

Multisensory strategies are especially powerful for students who struggle with reading, including those with dyslexia. For these learners, the traditional way of learning to read can feel like hitting a wall. Multisensory methods offer a different path by helping the brain build stronger neural connections between sounds, letters, and their formation. By engaging multiple senses simultaneously, you reinforce learning pathways and support working memory. This approach is a core component of the Orton-Gillingham method because it directly addresses the processing challenges that can make reading so difficult, helping to wire the brain for literacy success.

Adjusting as Skills Grow

As a student’s skills develop, the multisensory activities you use should evolve, too. An activity that was helpful for learning letter sounds may not be the right tool for mastering multisyllabic words. It’s important to be intentional and ensure the strategies you use match your student’s progress. For example, once a child has mastered individual letter sounds with sandpaper letters, you might move on to using letter tiles to practice blending sounds into words. The key is to continuously assess their needs and adapt your approach. A structured program like the PRIDE Homeschool Curriculum is designed to guide this progression, introducing new skills and activities as the learner is ready for them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is multisensory reading only for children with dyslexia? Not at all. While these strategies are essential for children with dyslexia and other reading challenges, they are beneficial for every single learner. Think of it as good teaching that aligns with how all brains learn best. By engaging multiple senses, you create stronger, more durable pathways for information, which makes learning to read more efficient and effective for everyone, from the earliest readers to those who just need a little extra support.

Do I need to buy a lot of special supplies to get started? You can get started with items you likely already have around the house. A shallow tray with some salt or sugar, a bit of shaving cream on a cookie sheet, or even just using your finger to write in the air are all powerful multisensory tools. The focus isn’t on fancy equipment but on the simple, intentional act of combining touch, sight, sound, and movement to make learning concrete.

How is this different from just letting my child play with letter blocks? The key difference is intention. While free play is wonderful, multisensory instruction is systematic and explicit. When a child uses these techniques, they are guided to connect a specific action to a specific skill. For example, they don’t just feel a letter; they trace its shape while saying its sound aloud. This structured approach directly teaches the brain to link sounds and symbols, which is the foundation of reading.

My child is past the early reading stage. Can these strategies still help? Absolutely. Multisensory learning isn’t just for learning the alphabet. The principles can be adapted for more advanced skills. For instance, you can use tapping or color-coded blocks to help a student break down multisyllabic words or identify different parts of speech in a sentence. The core idea of making abstract language concepts physical and interactive is effective at any stage of the reading journey.

How do I know which multisensory activity is right for my child? The best activity is one that matches the specific skill you’re working on. If the goal is letter formation, tracing in sand or using sandpaper letters is a great fit. If you’re focused on blending sounds to read words, using letter tiles to physically push sounds together is more effective. Observe your child to see what engages them and tailor the activities to support the exact concept they are learning at that moment.