Beginning Braille

 Beginning Braille©  Supplemental Braille Instructional Materials

Success for Beginning Braille Readers

Of All Ages

Karen Carl, M.Ed. Copyright 2009

Available from Exceptional Teaching, Inc. https://exceptionalteaching.com/beginning-braille-supplemental-program/

 Beginning Braille is a supplemental program with multiple levels that I have developed over the course of years to help present braille in a meaningful, incremental fashion. As a teacher of braille, I have had the honor of teaching a variety of students of differing ages and reading levels the joy of braille. I have used the various programs available: Tactile Discrimination Worksheets (Caton, et. al., APH) and Mangold Developmental Program of Tactile Perception and Braille Letter Recognition (Mangold, ETA), Read Again (APH), Braille Fundamentals (TSBVI), and Patterns: The Primary Braille Reading Program (Caton, et. al., APH).

I have found all of these programs to be helpful. However, I rarely have a student who is ready to read at the same level. I often find myself and my students frustrated by how slow or fast material is presented to them. My struggling readers do not get enough discrimination practice and my advanced readers are bored with how long it takes to learn the basics. Older students trying to learn for the first time are overwhelmed by the amount of material given and expected of them. Some students are trying to learn braille with impaired sensory systems and hyposensitivity in their hands. This makes tactual learning very difficult and time intensive. 

Due to Least Restrictive Environment, many of my students are trying to learn braille alongside their sighted peers in the regular classroom. I have found that trying to work concurrently with the classroom instruction of letters is difficult with existing programs. Beginning Braille allows the Teacher of Braille to pull out individual instruction in each letter as it is presented by the classroom teacher.

Record keeping and assessment has been time consuming and frustrating, since programs I have used have not kept a consistent number of assessed items. Neither have they listed for the instructor how many items that are on the page. 

So Beginning Braille offers a variety of levels, consistent types of practice, consistent amount of practice, and lots of it! Teachers can utilize one at a time in sequence or jump to the level their student needs. They can also work on any individual letter or groups of letters without worrying that there will be contractions or letters their student hasn't learned yet. It is easy to use as a supplement to your regular reading curriculum or braille specific curriculum. 

Level A:Track & Find                                                                       “Appetizers”

This is the easiest introduction to discriminating braille letters and developing tracking skills, for early and ease of success. This level can also be used as a warmup before continuing to Level B within the same lesson.

Level B: Letter Discrimination                                                     “Meat”

This level includes intensive study for each letter to develop discrimination.

Level C: Seek and Find Letters in a Growing Field              “Potatoes”

This level includes showing competence in discriminating each letter in fields of 2 to 5 letters. This can be taught after Level B within the same lesson or following a letter study in Level B. Or you may choose to use it after Level B is entirely completed.

Level D: Building Sentences with Letter Words                   “Vegetables”

This level develops reading skills of letter words. This can be used along side Levels A-C to provide meaningful reading experience. This level provides easy early success in reading. Students may utilize their memory to help them discriminate the sentences. The ending sentences may be used in the Writing Application.

Level E: Braille Alphabet and Numbers in a sequential and expedient fashion                                                                                   “Fast Food”

This level is for students who have good tactile discrimination skills and are ready to learn the entire alphabet. For other students who have needed intensive instruction, this will be their final level. At the end of this level students should show their highest level of braille letter and letter word competence. From this level the student can progress into classroom curriculum, Patterns, or other reading instruction.

Level F: Confounding Confusers                                               

This level helps students at even a proficient level of reading, decrease difficulties with confusers. Be sure students are involved in reading authentic literature or reading curriculum texts in braille. This experience in itself can help provide valuable context to help students discriminate confusers appropriately.