BRAILLE INSTRUCTION MATERIALS

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
​Updated October 28, 2017

If a student cannot attain a functional reading speed using large print or low vision devices to read regular size print, then braille should be considered as a complimentary tool for literacy. Keep in mind, however, that not all students are good candidates for braille instruction. It is not only essential to have the cognitive abilities and foundational concepts, but it is important to have finger sensitivity and fine motor coordination to maintain sustained touch and systematically track across paper.

Flip-Over Concept Books: Line Paths This concept book, available from APH, encourages students to follow tactual lines and flip panels to find matching tactual lines in order to continue a line or pattern.

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Big Cell
This enlarged plastic cell model from APH is one of my favorite tools for teaching older students who are learning braille as a second mode, the positions of the dots. I use this with my students and they enjoy using marbles to create the braille characters.

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Swing Cell Compact
Although I tend to use some of the other methods more, the swing cell is a great tool to demonstrate the relationship between the braille cell and the keys on the braillewriter. It is more portable than the original swing cell.

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Pop-A-Cell
This braille cell, available from APH, is a fun and noisy way to learn braille. Students enjoy popping the cells to create the braille characters.

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Quick Pick Braille Contractions
This braille contraction flash card game, available from APH, provides students with another way to practice braille contractions. Each game card presents a question or other challenge with four possible answers. The student inserts the wooden stylus in one of four holes in the front of the case. If the answer is correct, the card will slide out.

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Peg Slate
This peg slate from APH is another favorite to use in teaching beginning users the braille code, but particularly the braille slate.

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I LOVE using the Braille Caravan jumbo manipulative braille cells from CAL-tac and so do my students! Unlike the peg slate, the pegs are smooth and glide easily to practice forming letters and contractions. Cells can be placed together (they have internal magnets) to form words.

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Expanded Dolch Word Cards
These braille/large print flashcards, available from APH, consists of 220 sight vocabulary words and 95 words with pictures. The cards can be used for reading practice or an informal assessment of a student's ability to read words in contracted braille and to spell words in uncontracted braille. ​If you don't have access to APH materials, obtain a package of card stock or index cards and cut it into smaller flashcards. Label the cards with print (either hand written, with a labeler, or on the computer) and place the card in a braillewriter or use a slate and stylus to add braille. If you are working with a student who still has useable vision, you may choose to not add the print to challenge the student to improve their braille reading skills.

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Braille Contraction Cards
These braille contraction flashcards in large print and braille, available from APH, includes alphabet, numbers, punctuation, composition signs, contractions and short-form words.

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Word Play House Kit
The Word PlayHouse kit., available from APH, is one of my favorite tools for teaching phonics activities. The durable Velcro tiles can be used to create a number of activities that focus on phonics, spelling, and phonemic awareness. I use this kit with the activities listed as the tiles are already made! If you don't have access to APH funds, you can create your own Letter Tiles with some minor adaptations. I've used these letter tiles prior to APH creating the Word PlayHouse Kit. I like them because they are made of virtually indestructible plastic. Clear braille labels can be added to the front of the tiles while Velcro can be added to the back. The problem of correct orientation remains for braille readers. A tactual dot can be placed in the top left hand corner of each tile to help students correctly orient the tile.

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If you don't have access to APH funds, you can create your own Letter Tiles with some minor adaptations. I've used these letter tiles prior to APH creating the Word PlayHouse Kit. I like them because they are made of virtually indestructible plastic. Clear braille labels can be added to the front of the tiles while Velcro can be added to the back. The problem of correct orientation remains for braille readers. A tactual dot can be placed in the top left hand corner of each tile to help students correctly orient the tile.

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Lots of Dots: Learning My ABC's and Counting 123
The Lots of Dots books, available from APH, are a coloring book series. They are designed for future large print and braille readers. The books are designed for sequential use; children develop character recognition, pre-literacy, pre-literacy, and pre-math skills, and eventually picture building and daily living skills. Accompanying each book are suggested enrichment exercises for each letter, number, or word, allowing a child to fully associate the print letter, the braille, the tactile graphic, and the object.

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A ​Califone CardMaster Card Reader is one of those "oldies but goodies"! In "Teacher Mode" you can record vocabulary words or simple sentences on cards (I prefer the blank cards that can have print/braille added).  The student can listen to the card and practice reading it on their own. This is a great device for building fluency and  allows the student to 

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Turbo Phonics Kit
The Turbo Phonics Kit, available from APH, is a computer based, phonemic awareness and phonics program for young students who are preparing to develop reading skills. Student performance is tracked in a self-contained database that identifies skills the student has and areas where the student needs further assistance.

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APH.SQUID Tactile Activities Magazine This activities magazines, available through APH, introduce a recreational approach to tactile literacy. SQUID Magazine is deceptively fun: while your child or student enjoys a variety of activities, he or she will acquire skills needed to become a more proficient tactile reader. These puzzles, games, and brainteasers will foster: Texture discrimination, Systematic searching, Shape identification, Tracking line paths, Pattern building and recognition, and Understanding symbols

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Braille Instruction Books 

Braille Connection
The Braille Connection: A Braille Reading and Writing Program, available from APH, is designed for former adult and teenage print readers how to read braille. This is a great program that I have used with teenage academic students who are learning braille as a secondary mode of learning.

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Becker, Roberta. Unified English Braille Practice Sentences. This book of practice sentences, available from ActualTactuals, was created by the co-author of Literary Braille Practice Sentences (with Phil Mangold). It is available in both print and braille and includes all UEB contractions. Sentences progress from simple to complex, making it easy to select appropriate exercises for individual students. The print book includes simulated braille on facing pages. The contractions are introduced one at a time where possible with sufficient repetition for mastery. The book progresses through all of the various types of braille contractions. 

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TVI's Guide Complete Set Bundle + BONUS Resources

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TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired
The TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC is a digital pdf available for download. It is designed specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), and consists of over 400 activities and topic areas of discussion for instructing students in the Expanded Core Curriculum. The activities are age-neutral and multi-sensory and therefore can meet the needs of the broad range of students served on an itinerant caseload serving. The activities can be individualized to the students various learning modalities and scaffold in order to challenge students but ensure success. Select those activities that align with the student’s learning objects based on the student’s unique visual needs and academic and developmental level. In addition to the core activity areas, each of the 32 Thematic Units incorporates additional unique ECC concepts and skills providing you with a years’ worth of activities. These units are cyclical and can be used repeatedly to help students build on prior knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of concepts. Each unit includes suggestions for activity adaptation associated with the unit. These include lists of objects, possible community-based experiences, environmental print, poems, children & young reader books, children's songs, pop culture songs, movies, and websites.


In addition to the book, the following two supplements are included:
·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Concept Checklist
·      TVI’s Guide to the ECC Activities Checklist


For complete product details and additional images, visit the TVI's Guide product page.


TVI's Guide to the ECC Product details
·      Digital pdf download: 346 pages (11 pt font)
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets: TVI's Guide to the ECC Grab and Go Supplements
The Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheets is a Grab and Go supplement to the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC. This workbook is a pdf download that can be printed on demand for use with students. It contains five different types of worksheets for developing visual motor skills and near magnifier fluency skills particularly with the use of a video magnifier. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to each of the 32 ECC Thematic units. The worksheets, along with a list of environmental print for each thematic unit, are designed to help students refine their visual motor skills while reinforcing ECC concepts presented in the thematic units.  


For complete product details and additional images, visit the Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Product Page.


Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheet Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 210 pages
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Worksheets: A TVI’s Guide to Teaching the ECC Grab & go Supplement
The Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency and Maintenance Grab and Go ECC worksheet packet is a print on demand workbook that contains worksheets in print and simulated braille to use for data collection. Present the student with a hard braille copy and use the worksheets to document accuracy and fluency in reading braille. As a companion to the TVI’s Guide to the ECC, the worksheets correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide. These word lists and sentences will help the student refine their keyboarding or braille reading skills while bridging ECC concepts presented in the thematic units. Although the lists and passages can be produced using a manual braillewriter, you may also copy and paste the passages into any braille translation software for quick production on an embosser. They may also be entered into a typing program such as APH’s Talking Typer to build keyboarding fluency.


For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency & Maintenance Product Page


Thematic Keyboarding & Braille Fluency Worksheet Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 338-page print and simulated braille worksheets
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists: Grab & Go ECC Supplement
The Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Grab and Go ECC supplement is a 446 page pdf downloadable print on demand workbook that includes 2940 vocabulary card on 3 1/2" x 2" templates divided by each of the 32 Thematic Units along with a checklist of each unit words in print and simulated braille. As a companion to the TVI's Guide to the ECC, the vocabulary cards correspond to the ECC Thematic activities presented in the curriculum guide. 


Additional Use:
Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments can have a extremely varied caseloads. It is possible to go several years without having a student on your caseload who requires braille instruction. Like other skills, if you do not practice your braille regularly, it is easy to lose those skills. Use these checklists and cards to maintain your braille skills. Fold the checklist along the line dividing the print from the braille. Choose to either read the print and produce the word in braille using a braillewriter or read the simulated braille and decode it. Finally, these vocabulary cards and checklists may be used with family members or peers who are interested in learning and practicing the braille code.


For complete product details and additional images, visit the Thematic Vocabulary Cards & Checklists Product Page


Thematic Vocabulary Cards and Checklists Details:
·      Digital pdf download: 446-page print on demand resource
·      Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
·      Author: Carmen Willings
·      Language: English


BONUS!
Lotto Cards
The LOTTO Cards Grab and Go Supplement includes 37 theme related unit cards along with activity suggestions that support activities within the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC.


On My Way File Folder Cards
Print and use these cards to represent locations the student may visit that are related to the current thematic unit. Use these with the On My Way File Folder Game outlined in the TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC p. 27.

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     Remember to store braille books in bookshelves sitting on their end. Do not stack them on top of each other or it will flatten the braille!