Braille Instruction
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 complementary 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 the paper. Determining how to teach braille including the frequency and intensity of instruction depends on a variety of factors. The age of the student needs to be considered and whether they have other options for a literacy medium. The student's intellectual capabilities will determine if the focus should be on functional braille or traditional braille. The student's tactile and perceptual abilities and skills are critical to learning to read braille. Students with a history of strokes may not have the finger sensitivity to discriminate the small differences in braille characters. The student's age and additional disabilities will also play a large part in determining the way to instruct the student in braille.
Teaching Tracking PatternsIt is important to teach correct finger and hand use when instructing a student in braille. Different students will use different types of hand movement patterns to read braille. The most efficient pattern is to use a scissor type pattern, moving both hands together. The left hand reads to the middle of the line, then the right hand takes over and reads to the end of the line while the left hand returns to the next line and begin to read independently of the right. The hands meet in the middle of the line of braille and then separate. Light finger touch is also critical for students to acquire.
When teaching a student tracking patterns, encourage the student to:
Material Positioning/ Stabilizing Tip: Keep braille paper from sliding on the table or desk by placing it on shelf liner, Dycem, or slip guard, Discourage Backtracking & ScrubbingIt is important as a student is learning braille to discourage regressive hand movements (vertical or horizontal). Regressive hand movements or scrubbing are those in which the hands and fingers move back and forth or up and down unnecessarily on the braille line and interfere with efficient tracking skills. In early literacy activities, these movements may indicate that the student needs additional practice in tracking lines while tactually discriminating likeness and differences between characters and words.
Backtracking is when the student returns to previously read characters if the text doesn't make sense. Although some backtracking is good and can be a positive strategy, excessive backtracking can be an indication that the student is reading at the frustration level and the reading level should be reevaluated. Encourage Light Finger TouchAnother mechanical skill a good braille reader should develop is to use very little pressure when touching the braille dots. A student should touch lightly along the top of the braille as they read it. If a child is observed to place too much pressure on the fingertips, remind the child to use a light finger touch. If a child is pressing more heavily on the braille characters to gain more tactile information, they may be compensating for a lack of discrimination skills.
Encourage Proper Finger & Hand PositionJust as it is important to learn early how to properly hold a pencil or to use the correct fingers when typing, it is important to learn proper finger and position when reading braille. Although it is acceptable to go between your right or left index finger, it is ideal to have a primary reading finger. Stabilizing the worksheet or book with shelf liner will keep the page from sliding around and promote proper form. The following are skills to encourage:
Dot Position in the Braille CellBegin instruction by teaching the braille cell. Learning the dot positions in the braille cell is helpful, but not essential, for discriminating letters, numbers, and punctuation. There are many strategies teachers have used to teach the spatial position and dot numbers of specific dots in the braille cell. One of the most widely used method is using a muffin tin with tennis balls. Half dozen egg cartons can also be used or you can find an egg/shape match game. APH provides several materials for instructing a student in the braille cell including the swing cell, pop-a-cell, and the Big Cell. Refer to the Tactual Books page for suggestions on creating a braille alphabet book.
Make It Fun!Write braille notes to the student and place them in unexpected places to create interest and a sense of excitement in using braille. Later, the student can be encouraged to write notes to the teacher of students with visual impairments and others.
Use braille access technology, such as computers and personal note takers, as a motivating factor as students can be motivated by the voice output. This is also a great way to for a more advanced braille reader who uses a personal note taker to have an opportunity to mentor and feel good about their braille skills! Give the student directions in braille to follow, such as the steps in a treasure hunt. Provide the student with a note that provides a clue to the first location to look. You can pair this with the theme such as hiding the next clue in an Easter egg (adapt to the current theme)! 
Game Kit
The Game Kit, available from APH, is a collection of common game parts designed for use by low vision or blind players. The handbook provides suggestions on adapting commercial games or creating new ones. Pre-Braille ActivitiesAnne McComiskey, former Director of Project BEGIN, an early childhood program at the Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta, Georgia, has developed this Braille Readiness Grid that is an excellent resource tool listing skills future braille learners will need to develop.
Motor Activities to Develop Pre-Braille Skills
You are welcome to print and use this list of motor activities that can help develop tactual skills and pre-braille skills. Braille Reference Literary Braille Checklist
I created this literary braille checklist as a "cheat sheet", located on the Printables page, and also as a means to document student progress in learning the braille code. You can locate this form in the Printables section and print it for your reference.
If you would like to produce ink print braille to create worksheets for students who are beginning to lose their vision or for parents, peers or others who want to learn braille, there is an easy solution! You will first need to download a braille font such as Duxbury. Once you have downloaded the font, use this ASCII keyboard handout to create worksheets!
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.
Braille Assessment & Challenges
Assessment of Braille Literacy Skills (ABLS) Provides educators with a meaningful assessment of Braille literacy skills.
The Braille Challenge® is the only national reading and writing contest in braille for blind and visually impaired students. Contests include reading comprehension, braille speed, and accuracy, proofreading, spelling and reading tactile charts and graphs.
Maryland's College and Career Ready Standards for Unified English Braille Checklist is a great checklist by grade and includes braille, formatting and tactile graphics. This is a great age-specific and sequential resource that can help write goals and objectives!
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! |
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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. NEW! Access to TVI's Guide Bonus Membership Pages Note: All products are digital pdf downloads. Once you make your purchase you will be directed to an order confirmation page where you will find the download link. This download will also be included on the receipt sent to the email address you provide. The pdf download can be found directly under the order number. If you encounter any difficulty, please let me know and I can assist you. Imagination Library ProgramVisit the APH site to sign children up for the Imagination Library program! APH and Dolly Parton's Dollywood Foundation have developed a partnership to expand the Imagination Library program to children who are blind and visually impaired by providing print/braille and audio books to children!
The Braille BugThe Braille Bug site from the American Foundation for the Blind, is a GREAT resource to expose sighted peers to braille. It provides fun facts as well as activities to help peers learn about braille. Encourage the student to help teach the braille code to his or her sighted classmates!
UEBOnlineUEBOnline is an online braille training program for sighted learners who want to learn Unified English Braille. Since Unified English Braille has been adopted by many countries and replaces standard English braille, teachers of students with visual impairments and parents will need to learn and practice the braille code.
UEBOT
If you're looking for professional development credits and need a refresher in Unified English Braille (UEB), consider taking the UEBOT course. The UEBOT Course will enable individuals familiar with EBAE to gain training with flexibility in scheduling and completion to become proficient in Unified English Braille (UEB). 10 ACVREP Professional Development credits will be issued upon completion of the course at no additional cost. Courses begin on the first and end on the last day of each month. |
