Walking into the gymnasium at Northlands Job Corps Academy in Vergennes, Vermont, you might be surprised to find a reading class in progress. Not only is it an odd place for a reading class, it doesn’t look like one, either.

That’s because reading instructors Emily Quinn and Randy Stewart invited guest speaker Joanne Moriaritry to lead the classes incorporating an educational method called kinesthetic learning. This method of teaching utilizes a learning style in which learning takes place by the student actually carrying out a physical activity, rather than listening to a lecture or merely watching a demonstration.

“It attaches movement to the language they need to learn,” Mr. Stewart said. “It engages students in a different way. They may not even realize that they’re learning, but they are.”

Ms. Moriaritry was a newspaper reporter for 34 years, and worked to develop ways to help people struggling with dyslexia. She found that working with words, grammar and movement helped students overcome obstacles that other learning methods couldn’t.

“Many of our students welcomed this opportunity to learn outside of the classroom,” Ms. Quinn said. “Based on today’s success, I think we’ll be looking at incorporating this kind of learning as a regular part of our program.”