Organizations & Study Skills

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
​Updated June 9, 2019

Students in school are expected to know and implement organizational strategies and skills in order to manage their materials and be able to retrieve assignments. For this reason, it is important for students who are blind or have visual impairments to organize and care for the special tools and materials that they use. Organization skills are important skills to work on early to best prepare the student for their academic career as well as their future job/career.

Obtain Own Belongings ​

It is important to encourage the student to obtain their own belongings and take responsibility for independently storing and retrieving personal items when prompted (e.g. books, lunch, gym shoes, coat, etc.). Although it may be tempting to want to speed up the process or help the student, it is important for the student to obtain their own belongings. This not only helps the student learn where items belong but also helps teach the student responsibility. Using a consistent and accessible labeling system throughout the classroom will assist students in locating materials.

Arrange and maintain personal spaces ​

It is important for all students, but particularly students with visual impairments to maintain the organization of their school materials. Maintaining an organized space will reduce visual clutter, keep materials from getting damaged, and will make the retrieval of materials easier. ​Encourage the student to arrange and maintain their own personal spaces (cubbies, lockers, backpacks, and desks). All students need to learn to keep their areas organized. This will help the student locate needed materials and will also prevent materials from getting damaged. Students will need to label and mark their materials in a system that works for them and is accessible (using large print, braille, or tactual/picture labels).

School Locker

Use adapted lock for securing school locker. A combination lock can be challenging even for sighted students. Using a key and lock is probably the easiest lock for students to manage, but others are available and the student's unique needs should be considered.

Maintain Notebooks, Binders, & Materials

Setup/maintain notebooks and binders by adding large print or braille labels. By labeling materials with labels, the student will be able to quickly locate the needed notebook or binder. A color coding system works well for some students, but not for all. Consider each student's unique visual and learning needs when helping the student set up a system.

It is also important for the student to organize and maintain their materials and supplies by adding large print and/or braille labels to them. Similar to labeling binders and notebooks, labeling containers that store materials will help ensure that things will be put back in the same spot. Also, placing the student's name on their items will help them stay on top of what belongs to them.

Maintain Personal Address, Directories & Passwords

Help the student maintain a personal address/phone directory and passwords. In this day and age, most people store their contacts in their smartphones, however, it is still ideal to have a back-up location for storing addresses and phone numbers. Whether a student uses electronic means or large print or braille, the student needs to create an organized system that they can easily retrieve information independently. Students will also need to have a location and system for storing usernames and passwords for any online accounts. ​

Care for Assistive Technology ​

Encourage the student to take care of equipment and assistive devices in personal possession. Assistive technology devices can be very expensive. Whether the materials have been purchased by the family or by the school, the student needs to learn the importance of taking care of the materials. This includes cleaning the materials when they get dirty, storing them properly, and transporting them safely. The student also needs to learn how to problem solve when something goes wrong with any equipment. Who should they contact? Can they fix it safely on their own?

Utilize tools for Organization

Utilize tools to organize papers (e.g., stapler, paper clips, notebook binders, pocket folders, index tabs, etc.). Students who are visually impaired or blind cannot casually observe how others may use tools to organize their supplies and may need direct instruction and practice in how to operate the tools in order to use them safely and effectively. Students also need to be instructed in which tool is the best to perform a specific job.

Access Reference/Resource Materials

Skills in reading resource materials should be practiced so the student will be prepared to use them in class.

• Older students, in particular, will need to demonstrate map, chart, and graph reading skills as presented in educational environments. Refer to the Social Studies page for suggestions for adapting maps, charts, and graphs.
• The student will need to access print information in the school library including reference materials (e.g., glossaries, dictionaries). These are especially difficult skills for braille readers to acquire. For this reason, specialized instruction and repeated practice will be especially important for braille readers. Students can also be instructed in locating resources online or by utilizing Siri on their iPad or iPhone.
• The student will need to practice and refine their skills, and may also need direct instruction in identifying key words, dates, definitions in textbooks and in lectures.

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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.

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