Tips for Promoting Braille Literacy Skills

Fun With Books
Early Experiences With Braille
Linking Braille With Other Classroom Activities
Tactual Efficiency
Checklist for Book Skills
Checklist for Beginning Braille Skills
Other Fun Things To Do
References

The ideas below are designed to give children early tactual experiences with books, objects, symbols or braille cells to represent elements of the story. There are also some pointers for teachers wanting to develop checklists to assess the most appropriate learning media for students.

Fun With Books/Early Experiences

• Encourage story reading at home. Reading to children promotes language skills such as vocabulary development and familarises children with the patterns and rhythms of language. Have a collection of books with braille and/or tactual pictures in them for children to take home for story time.
• Make books about what's happening in classroom or the student's interests. E.g. “At the Beach” with a few key words which encourage the student to make up a story. Get the student to share the story with others e.g.. parents, visiting teacher, grandparents etc.
• Book bags containing real objects can also be used to create interest in a story
• Create books using real objects e.g. bits of bark, leaves, feathers eg.for a story about a rainforest
• Play a matching game with various squares of differently textured fabrics
• Fill a large bowl with raw rice. Mix numerous coins in the rice. Tell the student he/she can keep whatever they find

• Make a ritual of each braille lesson by preparing the hands for braille. Have the student clean their hands using handiwipes or similar
• sprinkle talcum powder on the page for a soft touch
• which is different, braille a line of braille cells with one that's different, ask child to find the one that's different
• at Easter use the theme Easter eggs. e.g.. Ask the student to find the eggs on the pages of the book. Use a line of  braille cells to represent grass and eggs. Another version of this is to ask the child to find the rabbit in the grass.
• other similar ideas include: where's Mum and have the “M” in the braille, use student's name or first letter their name
• leap frog (pretend your fingers are a frog, leap frog over the gaps, land on the next braille cell). Pretend you are a computer make a noise when their is a gap
• ask the child to pretend they are a computer and make a noise when they find a different braille symbol
• poke a hole in the gap (with a pen) or stick something in the gap
• make a braille a wave using dots 3,2,1,4,5,6 and repeat or  dots 6,5,4,3,2,1 and repeat
• use a story map - this is where you make up a story to go with a braille picture or pattern  (e.g.. chicken going to the hen house) make up a story to go with the braille. The students fingers follow the chicken represented by braille cells to the hen house and make up a story as they go.
• after an excursion or special event at school, tape what they want to write and then create a story map to go with it.
• fiddle cards e.g.. Twinkle twinkle little star. Stick a star on a card and braille the word star on the card, child fiddles with the card when rhyme is being read. Make fiddle cards for other popular children's stories such as the 3 pigs.
• snap games e.g. find two of a kind ( shape / braille cell)
• braille trail e.g. braille cards, cut out and stick around the room (or on the child's clothing). If the student finds ten of  the cards they win a reward. You can braille child's name on card.
• egg carton game -throw dice move that number along egg carton, pick out the card in the egg carton if the child can say what it is they get to keep it. First to get three wins.
• create braille stickers using braille label for rewards or fun

• introduce words or letters starting with the first letter of the student's name
• letters most easily recognised tactually e.g.. b c l g k m p v and x
• letters most easily written in braille a b c l g p
• high frequency words
• keep a checklist of  known braille and give plenty of opportunity to use these
• braille whole words that student needs, create a “word book” where student can record words he/she knows
• use texts with lots of repetition, rhythm and or rhyme
• stick braille labels around the room e.g.. braille label  name on table, label computer
• braille alphabet with print equivalents for visitors in room. Attach to table within finger reach.

stick braille letters or words under table or other interesting places where the student might find them.

• link tactual input with auditory games or activities e.g. braille labels for tapes/CDs
• make a spinner with numbers in braille so that the child can choose a track number to be played from the tape or CD.
• build up a collection of games which can be played tactually e.g.. bingo or “beetle” using braille numbers \ words \ letters

The student:

• shows a preference for using his/her tactual sense to explore the environment
• demonstrates tactual searching ability by locating objects tactually and using tactual sense to identify objects. Some students may use residual vision to locate objects initially and then explore the objects tactually. It is important to note how effective the student's strategies are for locating and identifying objects.
• tactually identifies common objects of different sizes in the environment. e.g.. chair, table, toys
• responds positively to tasks or teaching situations involving fine motor skills e.g.. cutting, tracing, picking up small objects
• tactually identifies differences or similarities in geometric shapes
• tracks along a variety of lines, locating beginning and end points e.g.. spur wheel lines, sterocopied lines, lines made up of  braille cells
• tactually explores, without necessarily reading: own name, braille labels around classroom and home, braille numbers
• produces: own “scribble” using the broiler, lines of braille cells, patterns using braille cells.
• shows interest in braille in books when being read to by parent or teacher

• understands the importance of clean, dry and warm hands for reading braille or at least some of these!
• student uses light touch, even flow of left to right movement across the page.
• uses hand/s for testing predictions and movement between lines
• orientates self  to the book
• the student can find the front of the book (put something tactual on the front cover)
• student scans the whole page for quick initial feedback.
• student turns pages using top right corner of the page
• can find the top left corner of the page (spine side of the book)
• can find the braille on the page

• tracks smoothly across 5-8 lines of double spaced braille
• locates braille symbol that is different in a line of braille cells
• locates braille symbol that is the same in line of braille cells
• discriminates two braille cells to determine if they are different or the same
• matches and sorts braille symbols e.g. letters, numbers, own name
• can reproduce a braille cell on the broiler
• attempts to “read” or follow braille lines when being read a story

• Learn braille yourself
• Have a braille awareness week at the school. Play braille decoding games, learn about Louis Braille.
• Ask an experienced braille reader to the school to demonstrate and talk about braille

References

Koenig Alan and Holbrook M. Cay, Learning Media Assessment: of Students with Visual Impairments. A Resource Guide for Teachers. Texas School for the Blind, Texas, USA 1995

Lamb Gayle, Fingerprints-a whole language approach to braille literacy
Deakin University - Burwood Campus, Melbourne, Australia 1995

Mangold S, The Mangold Developmental Program of  Tactile Perception and Braille Letter  Recognition
Exceptional Teaching Aids 1996 California USA

Olson Myrna, Mangold Sally Guidelines and Games For Teaching Efficient Braille Reading
American Foundation for the Blind, New York USA 1981

Rex Evelyn, Koenig Alan and Wormsley Diane, Foundations of Braille Literacy
American Foundation for the Blind, New York  USA 1995

Troughton M. One is Fun: Guidelines for Better Braille Literacy
Canada National Institute for the Blind Canada 1992

Wormsley Diane and Mary D’Andrea Frances, Instructional Stategies for Braille Literacy
American Foundation for the Blind, New York USA 1996

Lyn Robinson
Statewide Vision Resource Centre and
Odette Budge
Visiting Teacher - Western Region

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