A study examined the effect of a kinesthetic component in instruction on the performances of 16 5- and 6-year-old public school students on a cognitive development test. Eight boys and eight girls were randomly selected and assigned in equal numbers to a treatment group and a control group. The kinesthetic elements consisted of drawing, coloring, making a collage, using pantomime, dramatization, acting out action words, rhythm clapping, and sculpting with clay. It was hypothesized that a kinesthetic form of active engagement would lead to stronger cognitive development. A series of five language arts lessons were taught. The treatment group's lessons included a kinesthetic element. The goals for the five lessons were to help both groups to learn (1) story structure, (2) new concepts through building vocabulary, and (3) the concepts of synonyms and antonyms. Both groups used the same format. The TONI-2 Test of Nonverbal Intelligence: A Language-Free Measure of Cognitive Ability was administered individually to all subjects before and after the series of lessons. The results indicated no statistically significant difference between the two groups. However, there was a slight improvement of cognitive skills when the kinesthetic element was present. Contains 28 references. (WP)