Thoughtful Choices: Literacy Instruction for Beginning Braille Readers

Anna SwensonBraille Literacy Consultant

Fairfax County Public Schools, VAannaswenson@cox.net

The Perfect Method

“The answer [to teaching reading] is not in the method; it is in the teacher. It has been repeatedly established that the best instruction results when combinations of methods are orchestrated by a teacher who decides what to do in light of children’s needs. … Hence, reading instruction effectiveness lies not with a single program or method but, rather, with a teacher who thoughtfully and analytically integrates various programs, materials, and methods as the situation demands.” Duffy, G. & Hoffman, J. (1999)

• Transitional stage between early literacy behaviors and full-fledged literacy instruction•Children learning to …• slow down and examine braille dots carefully• track using efficient hand and finger movements• read and write their name, letters, & numbers• match sounds and letters• read simple phrases and sentences with support

•New realities and caveats

Today’s Focus

1. Overview of commercial programs and resources

2. Closer look at four instructional strategies

Today’s Agenda

Curriculum Options

Commonalities

•Focus on teaching reading, not just the braille code•Explicit instruction and modeling•Word (& letter) study and connected text•Contracted braille•Emphasis on the alphabetic principle

• Basal reader format• Comprehensive• High quality read-aloud anchors each lesson• Appropriate for academically-oriented learners• Curriculum introduces all 26 letters, 11 alphabetic

wordsigns, 9 high frequency words, and the numbers 1-10 .

Building on Patterns Pre-K (BOP Pre-K)

Field test opportunities for Building on Patterns Pre-K, Fall 2016

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• Student-centered: Individualized and highly motivating• Appropriate for wide range of non-traditional learners•Whole word approach – Key words basis for instruction

(letter ID, phonics, spelling, reading connected text)• Initially, all materials are teacher-made• Requires careful, consistent data collection & evaluation• I-M-ABLE Practice Guide currently in field testing (APH)

I-M-ABLE (Wormsley, 2011)Individualized Meaning-centered Approach to Braille Literacy Education

I-M-ABLE and the "Language of Touch" HCBRL 1

• Focus - Foundational Literacy Skills: braille concepts; phonemic awareness & phonics; letter & word recognition; fluency• Braille literacy learning can be interwoven with

classroom language arts curriculum • Contractions learned as they appear in reading materials• Flexible balance between individualized & group

instruction

Three Steps to Beginning Braillefrom Beginning with Braille: Firsthand Experiences with a Balanced Approach to Literacy

The Three Steps

STEP 1Whole Words

Preschool

• Individualized key words

• Common alphabetic wordsigns (go, can)

• High frequency words (and, we)

• Phonemic awareness

STEP 2Letters & Sounds

Preschool-Kindergarten

• Letters & alphabetic wordsigns

• High frequency words

• Numbers 1-10+• Phonemic awareness

& phonics

STEP 3Guided Reading

Grades 1-2

• Commercial trade books

• Dolch words• All braille

contractions by the end of grade 2

• Numbers 0-100+• Phonics & fluency

iBook Introducing Braille by Laurel J. Hudson, Ph.D. "Make it fun. Make it meaningful. Make it developmental."

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES …

www.pathstoliteracy.org

Tracking Stories

The Three Billy Goats Gruff HCBRL 2

Thinking Creatively … HCBRL 3

School Bus Story p. 1 HCBRL 4

School Bus Story p. 2

School Bus Story p. 3

School Bus Story p. 4

School Bus Story p. 5

School Bus Story p. 6

School Bus Story p. 7

Five Little Monkeys p. 1 HCBRL 5

Individualized

Words … from the beginning

•Rationale • Concrete•Motivating• Ownership

•Types of words• Key vocabulary words• Alphabetic wordsigns (go, can, like) / HF words (and, we)

•Selecting words: the "Language of Touch"

Starting with Words

Anchor Letters HCBRL 6

Dot Density HCBRL 7

Joshua ,jo%ua

Mr./Mrs. Nobody =====

Joshua's First 10 Step 1 Words• *Joshua• (go) • *Mr. Nobody =====• (can)• *Kara• (you)• *microphone• *sing• (like)• a

*Key word ( ) alphabetic wordsign

Word Study

Simple Worksheets HCBRL 8

Teacher-madeStories

•Provide opportunities to read meaningful connected text from the beginning•Teach voice-to-braille match•Provide practice tracking multiple lines of meaningful text (across-back-down)•Motivating!

Teacher-made Stories

Voice-to-Braille Match

p. 1 go Anap. 2 go Ana gop. 3 go go Ana go go Andrewp. 4 go Ana go go go

Connected Text: Step 1 Story (UEB)

I can get a microphoneI can singI can get DaddyDaddy can singsing Daddy singsing sing Joshuasing sing sing

• Choose a topic of interest to the student• Use a repetitive sentence structure; predictable

text• Omit capital letters (except for names) and ending

punctuation at the very beginning• Start each phrase or sentence on a new line• Use occasional uncontrolled vocabulary words to

add interest.

Guidelines for Writing Stories

Connected Text: Step 2 Story (UEB)

Mommy said,"I see 3 dogs.Andrea has a fat dog.Ryan has a little dog.Eric has a black dog.Help! Help!I cannot have 3 dogs in my house."

•Begin with oral discussion• Scaffold reading support - Meaning is primary•Provide multiple opportunities to reread for

fluency •Consider making the story into a book

Teaching with Stories

Interactive Writing

1 • DRAWING AND SCRIBBLING 1af'l"1a

2 • LETTERS AND LETTER-LIKE FORMS ====== G L C

3 • SALIENT AND BEGINNING SOUNDS m (made) l(elevator)

4 • BEGINNING & ENDING SOUNDS KT (cat) me(Mommy)

Preschool Writing DevelopmentCabell, S.Q., Tortorelli, L.S., & Gerde, H.K. (2013). How do I write …? Scaffolding preschoolers' early writing skills. The Reading Teacher, 66(8), 650-659.

Matching Sounds and Letters

P d r s w

Interactive Writing

• Teacher and student share the brailler• Teacher models sound-symbol

associations & scaffolds process for the student• Resulting text has conventional

spelling and punctuation• Pete the Cat!

Interactive Writing Follow-up

• Creating pictures• Journals

Invented Spelling HCBRL 9

,I wgld m t?I wgld m t(th)