Access Language Arts

TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC
​by Carmen Willings
Updated June 18, 2025
Creating a literacy-rich, accessible Language Arts environment is essential for students with visual impairments to develop critical reading, writing, and communication skills. It also supports their cognitive, social, and emotional development. This guide outlines effective strategies and considerations for classroom teams to ensure students have equitable access to Language Arts instruction.

​Key Considerations for Language Arts Instruction

Selection of Reading Materials

Choose texts that:
  • Do not rely heavily on visual imagery (e.g., picture-dependent books)
  • Are rich in descriptive language, sound patterns, and sensory-based vocabulary
  • Offer opportunities for tactile or auditory exploration of story elements
Examples:
  • “The Listening Walk” by Paul Showers
  • “Touch the Poem” by Arnold Adoff
  • Tactile adaptations of familiar nursery rhymes

Ensuring Material Accessibility

All students should have equal access to reading content, regardless of their visual needs. Materials should be provided in:
  • Print (with large print if needed)
  • Braille
  • Audio (MP3s, digital players, CDs)
  • Electronic/digital formats (with screen readers or refreshable braille)
Assistive Technology Supports:
  • Digital audio players (e.g., Victor Reader Stream)
  • Screen reading software (JAWS, VoiceOver)
  • Braille displays and embossers
  • Bookshare and Learning Ally access

Incorporation of Multisensory Activities

​Students with visual impairments learn best when multiple senses are engaged.
Multisensory Literacy Ideas:
  • Tactile letters and word-building tiles
  • Braille bingo with sight words or vocabulary
  • Story boxes with real objects representing story elements
  • Rhyme and rhythm games using drums, bells, or echo chants
These activities build phonological awareness, letter recognition, and story sequencing—essential foundations for early literacy.

Development of Reading Modes

​TVIs should assess and regularly revisit the student’s primary learning and reading mode, which may be:
  • Tactile (braille)
  • Visual (enlarged or regular print)
  • Auditory (listening-based literacy)
  • Or dual/multimodal
Instruction should:
  • Build tactile discrimination for braille learners
  • Support visual efficiency for low vision readers
  • Strengthen auditory comprehension for all students
💡 Note: Even if a student is an auditory learner, literacy instruction should never be limited to listening—they need active instruction in reading and writing through their most accessible mode.

Stocking the Language Arts Station

Create a tactile and auditory-rich literacy center with:
  • Adapted games and word-building kits
  • Braille books and tactile graphics
  • Real-world materials: menus, maps, business cards, grocery flyers, church bulletins
  • Homemade books or stories based on student interests or experiences
Include:
  • Object books: Use real objects attached to pages with accompanying braille or print
  • Tactile storyboards: Illustrate stories with raised-line images and matching textures
Sentence builders: Use braille or print word cards with Velcro to build sentences

Connecting Literacy to Real Life

​Reinforce literacy concepts across environments:
  • Label classroom, home, and community spaces with braille and print signs
  • Incorporate reading experiences from daily life: menus at restaurants, bus schedules, grocery lists, TV guides, or mail
  • Use field trips or virtual experiences to extend vocabulary and comprehension
Extension Idea: After visiting a zoo, create a tactile book with textures representing the animals and braille/print labels to reinforce key terms.

​Role of the TVI in Supporting Access

TVIs collaborate with general education teachers, paraprofessionals, and families to:
  • Adapt and create materials
  • Determine accessible reading formats
  • Assess literacy progress
  • Teach pre-braille, braille, or visual efficiency skills
  • Embed literacy instruction in daily routines and meaningful contexts
They also provide family coaching so literacy learning can be extended at home using common objects and shared reading time.

ECC Instruction

Teaching the ECC
Thematic units
Compensatory Skills
Concept Development Functional Skills
Alternative Communication Emergent Literacy Braille Slate & Stylus
Tactile Graphics Nemeth Braille Code
Access Classes Cranmer Abacus Organization & Study Skills Time Management Listening Skills Instruction 
VI Assistive Technology
Social Skills
Self Determination
Sensory Efficiency
Independent Living
Orientation & Mobility
Recreation & Leisure
Career & Vocational