MOVIES & ASSEMBLIES

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
​Updated February 26, 2016

The student who is blind or visually impaired will need assistance to be included in all the school activities including movies and assemblies. Teachers will need to collaborate and communicate with guest speakers, principals, and other school personnel to ensure that the total school and educational environment are accessible.

​Guest Speakers

If the school is planning to have a guest speaker, contact the guest speaker well in advance to discuss the adaptations needed for the presentation. Let the speaker know that assistance will be provided to modify materials and decide on a date to gather the materials that need to be adapted. 

Ask the speaker to arrive a little early on the day of the presentation so the student can have the opportunity to examine any manipulative materials in advance of the speaker’s presentation.

​Assemblies & Movies

Students with visual impairments should be provided with preferential seating during assemblies and movies unless their behaviors are disruptive to the whole and would distract from the presentation. In order to help the student not feel isolated, allow the student to choose a friend or two to sit with them. 

It would also be helpful to arrange for someone to sit next to the student during movies, assemblies, or special events to explain what is happening. This will help the student make sense of the occasion, helps them stay focused, and also helps to discourage daydreaming.

If the class is watching television or movies within the classroom, in addition to preferential seating, it may help to leave a light on in the room. Low lighting will help to decrease the bright lights and flickering that may bother the student.

Audio Description

Audio Description (AD) may be required for some students. AD provides narration of the visual elements (action, costumes, settings, etc.) of theater, television/film, museum exhibitions, and other events. The technique allows those who are blind or have low vision the opportunity to experience the event more completely. In providing audio description it is important for the describer to observe what is seen but not verbalized and if it is important. The describer must edit from what they see and provide the rich language to describe what is happening. Additionally, it describes visuals (pictures, charts, graphs, etc.), actions, and settings not explained in the dialogue or existing narration.

Audio Description Associates professionals use their expertise with description fundamentals and the arts to create access for people who are blind or have low vision-and their families.

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​The Described and Captioned Media Program provides services designed to support and improve the academic achievement of students (early learning through grade 12) who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind. These services include (1) a library of free-loan described and captioned educational media, (2) a learning center of information related to educational media access, (3) a gateway to Internet resources related to accessibility, and (4) guidelines for adding descriptions and captions to media. There are no user registration or service fees. The DCMP is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and administered by the National Association of the Deaf.

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We have to do the best we can. This is our sacred human responsibility."
​-Albert Einstein

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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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