TACTILE GRAPHICS INSTRUCTION

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

The ability to read tactual graphics and charts is essential as part of a braille student’s literacy program. Explicit instruction in the reading and interpretation of tactile graphics is critical for students who are tactile learners. The following activities can be used to instruct students in learning how to read tactile graphics.

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For younger students and those with cognitive delays, it is essential to begin by providing concrete materials and opportunities for interaction with real materials in order to develop conceptual understanding of their world. For future braille readers, it is important to provide early and frequent exposure to braille. Suggestions on promoting literacy can be found in the Literacy Adaptations section of this site. Once the student has an understanding of the real material, it is important to then move toward models, 2D symbols and raised line drawings. These are referred to as tactual graphics. 

It is important to understand that tactile presentations are not automatically meaningful to a student who is blind. The student will need to be taught how to read tactual graphics. Preparation and foundations for reading tactual graphics should be included in the process of learning braille. The ability to read graphics, diagrams, graphs, and maps will be required for academic success.  Understanding of basic concepts is critical to reading tactual graphics. Some of these include: far, near, next to, beside, above, below, overlapping, crossing, intersecting, perpendicular, and parallel. It is also essential to have basic tactual perceptual skills: tracking, discrimination among similar symbols, and comparison.

The student must also be aware that diagrams can have different views including cross section, aerial, frontal view, perspective and distance, and imaginary lines used in 3-D drawings. The student must also be taught to systematically scan the graphic. The student should be encouraged to use a consistent pattern for exploring and to select a reference point within the graphic to determine when the entire graphic has been explored.

Activities to Develop Skills in Reading Tactual Graphics

​Encourage the student to recognize and interpret graphic information (2D object, solid embossed shapes, outlines of objects, raised lines, symbols/letters).

• Name an Item. ​When presented with a tactile graphic of a unit related item, the student will name the item.
• Match. Present the student with a group of tactile graphics to explore. Next, provide the student with a single tactile graphic and encourage them to scan the other graphics to locate a match.
• Mazes. Create a tactile graphic maze. Prompt the student to start at the beginning and follow the paths to locate the end.
• Sequence. Create rows of sequenced shapes in patterns. Encourage the student to identify what comes next in the sequence.
• Tactile Coloring Page. Present the student with a tactile drawing and encourage the student to color within the tactile graphic.
• Dot to Dot. Create a dot to dot activity with numbers or letters and encourage the student to connect the dots in order.
• Follow the Path. Create a tactile follow the path activity. Challenge the student to follow each path and determine on which tactile graphic or word the student would arrive on. Have the student follow other paths to determine where they would arrive.
• Spot the Difference. Present the student with two similar tactile graphics. Challenge the student to spot the differences between the two graphics.
• Object Hunt. Create a tactual graphic that includes a variety of unit related objects throughout. Encourage the student to search to locate all the items.
• ​​Tactile Puzzles. Create a tactile picture of a theme related picture. Cut the picture into several pieces (vary the complexity to make it challenging yet allows for success). Encourage the student to assemble the puzzle.

Ready Made Tactile Graphics Instruction Resources...

 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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TVI's Guide to Teaching the ECC: An Activities Based Curriculum for Teaching Students who are Blind or Visually Impaired

$50.00

Written specifically for fellow itinerant Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI’s), this book 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.

The core activities listed in the Activity section can be adapted to each thematic unit. These include:

• Object Characteristic Activities
• Quantity & Number Concepts
• Time Concept Activities
• Environment & Job Awareness Activities
• Listening Skills Activities
• Reading Foundation Activities
• Reading Fluency Activities
• Braille Basics Activities
• Writing Activities
• Tactual Efficiency Activities
• Developing Skillful Hands Activities
• Visual Efficiency Activities
• Optical Device Instruction Activities
• Recipe Activities

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.

Unique Concepts within the Units include:

• Self Advocacy Activities (e.g. advocating for safe classroom, presenting to class on visual impairment, requesting help and more)
• Social Skills Activities (e.g. Being bullied or teased, giving and receiving compliments, body language, "I" messages when upset and more)
• Recreation & Leisure Activities (e.g. exploring interest areas, getting involved in clubs and sports, playing games, and more)
• O&M Support Activities (e.g. Suggestions for community based experiences, dog guide information, locations in the school, bioptics, ride sharing, traffic signs, and more)
• Independent Living Skill Activities (e.g. chores, being responsible, using tools, recipe suggestions, hygiene, staying healthy, labeling foods and products, and more)
• Sensory Efficiency Activities (e.g. unique sensory experiences related to the unit, unique optical device activities, and more)
• Compensatory Activities (e.g. organizing materials, study habits, and many unique concepts related to the unit)
• Career & Vocational Activities (e.g. job awareness, completing applications, job task suggestions, and more)

Although the intended audience of this resource is fellow Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments, special education teachers may find these activities beneficial to the students in their classrooms as the activities are multisensory and include life skills and concepts needed by all students. This resource, however, is not intended to take the place of a Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI). Readers are advised to consult their own TVI’s regarding instruction in the ECC and the unique visual needs of the student’s served in their programs.

Note: This curriculum is a digital pdf download. 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.

Each download is intended for single instructor use per copyright. Thank you for helping me preserve the content and not distributing copies to third parties.

Product details

Digital pdf download: 364 pages (11 pt font)

Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

Author: Carmen Willings

Language: English

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Visual Efficiency & Magnifier Fluency Grab & Go ECC Supplements

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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 supplement 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.  

Visual Efficiency & Near Magnifier Fluency Worksheet Details:

Digital pdf download: 210 pages

Publisher: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments

Author: Carmen Willings

Language: English

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