Six Sensational Dots: Braille Literacy for Sighted Classmates

Abstract

Amid the din of indoor recess in Ms. Lemark's third-grade class, there is an undercurrent of crunching coming from the back table. Five children bend over their slates, punching dots with great concentration. I wrote my name! announces Stacey, pulling her paper out of the slate. Amanda, will you check it? Amanda runs her fingers over the dots. You did it! Both girls beam with pride. One has learned something new, and the other has used her special expertise to help a friend. From the moment sighted children see their first dot, we have found that they are fascinated by the code. If they are fortunate enough to have a classmate who reads braille, they have daily opportunities to observe used for a variety of purposes, from reading chapter books to solving problems with tactile graphics. Teachers of students with visual impairments can build on sighted students' natural curiosity about by designing activities that highlight different aspects of the code and provide hands-on practice in reading and writing braille. The result is a classroom environment in which print and are equally valued and accessible to all. As sighted children learn about from the teacher of students with visual impairments and their classmate who is blind, a variety of outcomes may occur. These outcomes may include the ability to * describe the life of Louis Braille and the invention of the code; * use a model to demonstrate the structure of the cell and the way that characters are formed; * recognize the range of low- and high-tech tools that are used to produce braille; * read letters, words, numbers, and punctuation marks; * write letters, words, numbers, and punctuation marks using a slate and stylus or a braillewriter; * tell how their classmate and other people who are blind use in everyday life; and * describe the job of a teacher of students with visual impairments and possibly consider a career working with people who are visually impaired. In addition, a focus on has social advantages for the student who reads braille. The student becomes the braille expert to whom classmates can turn with questions and work to check. Although braille-enrichment activities benefit both sighted children and their classmate who is blind, fitting them into an already-packed school day can be a challenge. One effective approach is to offer minilessons and follow-up activities that are spaced at intervals throughout the school year. These lessons and activities maintain children's motivation to use as they add new skills to the ones they have already learned. When possible, the student who reads assumes the important role of copresenter during these lessons. The teacher of students with visual impairments may choose to give a minilesson to the entire class or to a small group of students who provide turn-around training to classmates during free time. For example, four volunteers who have been trained to use the slate and stylus during indoor recess on a snowy day can train four more students during the next indoor recess. Braille-related centers in the classroom, such as a slate-and-stylus center or a transcribing center, allow interested students to choose as a free-time activity. Morning work time provides another opportunity for follow-up activities. Many classroom teachers appreciate the offer of a set of simulated worksheets for students to complete when they first arrive at school. Finally, a club that meets before or after school or at another convenient period during the day can offer stimulating, in-depth instruction. BRAILLE LITERACY ACTIVITIES FOR SIGHTED CLASSMATES Teachers of students with visual impairments can begin by creating a braille-rich environment in the general education classroom. …