Misi kami Conservation Evidence adalah sumber informasi berwibawa yang berwibawa yang dirancang untuk mendukung keputusan tentang bagaimana memelihara dan memulihkan keanekaragaman hayati global. Kami merangkum bukti dari literatur ilmiah tentang dampak intervensi konservasi, seperti metode pengelolaan habitat atau spesies. Gunakan kotak pencarian di bagian atas halaman ini untuk mencari database lebih dari 4.700 makalah yang menentukan konsekuensi intervensi konservasi. Apa yang Bekerja di Konservasi menilai penelitian yang melihat apakah intervensi bermanfaat atau tidak. Hal ini didasarkan pada ringkasan rahasia di sinopsis. Pada topik seperti amfibi, kelelawar, keanekaragaman hayati di lahan pertanian Eropa, meningkatkan kesuburan tanah dan pengendalian spesies invasif air tawar. Lebih banyak tersedia dan sedang berlangsung. Kami juga menerbitkan bukti baru dalam jurnal online Conservation Evidence. Jurnal, Conservation Bukti Sebuah unik, bebas untuk menerbitkan penelitian penerbitan jurnal akses terbuka dan studi kasus yang mengukur dampak tindakan konservasi. Baca volume terbaru: Isu khusus: Koleksi virtual: Apa yang Bekerja di Konservasi 2017 sekarang tersedia untuk diunduh secara gratis Download PDF Beli (Penerbit Open Book) STRATEGI INSTRUKSIONAL UNTUK KELUARGA BRAILLE Mungkin ada sedikit keputusan yang dibuat atas nama siswa dengan gangguan penglihatan yang Lebih penting, namun tunduk pada kebingungan dan kontroversi lebih banyak, daripada keputusan mengenai media bacaan yang tepat. Membuat penentuan awal media bacaan yang tepat bukanlah perhatian bagi mereka yang tidak memiliki gangguan penglihatan (yaitu mereka akan belajar membaca cetak), juga bukan kekhawatiran bagi mereka yang benar-benar buta (yaitu mereka akan belajar membaca huruf braille) . Kesulitan mungkin timbul, bagaimanapun, dalam membuat keputusan bagi siswa yang mengalami gangguan penglihatan namun tidak sepenuhnya buta. Tujuan dari artikel ini adalah untuk mengatasi kesulitan-kesulitan ini dan mengusulkan panduan pengambilan keputusan yang tepat. Beberapa prosedur yang dipublikasikan telah tersedia bagi guru dan orang tua untuk mendapatkan bantuan dalam pengambilan keputusan mengenai pemilihan media baca untuk siswa tuna netra. Mungkin kurangnya perhatian dalam literatur yang menangani masalah yang sulit ini telah menyebabkan rasa bingung yang memicu kontroversi antara pengajaran membaca cetak atau pengajaran membaca braille. Sementara panduan umum untuk keputusan semacam itu dapat digunakan oleh para profesional di seluruh negeri, namun belum didokumentasikan secara menyeluruh. Di masa lalu, profesional percaya bahwa penggunaan penglihatan bisa mengganggu penglihatan lebih jauh (Irwin, 1920). Itu adalah praktik umum untuk penutup mata, dan mengajarkan pembacaan braille kepada semua siswa yang mengalami gangguan penglihatan dan, karena itu, selamatkan pandangan mereka untuk tugas-tugas lain. Keputusan untuk mengajarkan pembacaan braille dilakukan tanpa pertimbangan fungsi visual. Saat ini, praktik profesional terbaik dan undang-undang federal menentukan bahwa keputusan pendidikan harus dilakukan oleh tim multidisiplin sesuai dengan kebutuhan dan kemampuan masing-masing siswa. Keputusan ini harus didasarkan pada informasi yang diperoleh dari prosedur yang sistematis. Prosedur seperti itu harus digunakan untuk menentukan media bacaan yang paling tepat untuk setiap anak. Artikel ini akan berfokus pada siswa yang sedang memasuki program membaca perkembangan, yaitu siswa yang belajar membaca untuk pertama kalinya. Siswa dengan gangguan penglihatan yang memukau mempresentasikan keprihatinan terpisah bahwa, walaupun penting, tidak akan dipertimbangkan dalam lingkup makalah ini. Artikel ini akan: (a) mengeksplorasi kebutuhan, dan penggunaan, pendekatan pengajaran diagnostik untuk membantu menentukan keputusan awal tentang media baca yang sesuai untuk siswa dengan gangguan penglihatan (b) membahas empat bidang penting bagi pendidik dan Orang tua untuk mempertimbangkan dalam membuat keputusan awal dan (c) menjelaskan evaluasi lanjutan media awal di sejumlah area tertentu. Tahun-tahun awal kehidupan siswa merupakan periode kritis untuk pengembangan keterampilan yang akan memberi dasar bagi semua pembelajaran dan kehidupan di masa depan. Bagian penting dari periode kritis ini adalah peran yang dimiliki oleh para profesional dan orang tua dalam memastikan bahwa dasar yang kokoh disediakan untuk setiap siswa. Tidak ada yang bisa memprediksi masa depan dengan kepastian yang mutlak. Namun, para profesional dan orang tua diminta untuk membuat keputusan yang tepat sebagai sebuah tim untuk memastikan pendidikan yang sesuai bagi setiap siswa dengan gangguan penglihatan satu keputusan tim penting akan melibatkan media bacaan utama. Ajaran diagnostik dalam proses pengambilan keputusan Keputusan tentang media bacaan yang tepat tidak dapat dilakukan berdasarkan informasi sewenang-wenang, seperti definisi hukum tentang kebutaan, karena siswa dengan gangguan penglihatan menggunakan penglihatannya dengan tingkat efisiensi yang berbeda. Tahun-tahun awal pendidikan siswa harus digunakan sebagai fase pengajaran diagnostik dimana pilihan yang berbeda untuk membaca dan menulis dapat dieksplorasi. Periode kesiapan membaca menyajikan waktu yang ideal untuk menerapkan pendekatan pengajaran diagnostik, karena aktivitas kesiapan berusaha untuk merangsang semua indra dalam persiapan membaca formal. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan pengajaran diagnostik untuk instruksi membaca dini, guru dan orang tua dapat mengumpulkan informasi tentang preferensi siswa untuk mengumpulkan informasi sensorik. Dukungan untuk kebutuhan satu media baca atau lainnya dapat diturunkan dari data ini. Elemen utamanya adalah mengumpulkan informasi yang akan memberikan dasar pengambilan keputusan berdasarkan informasi, sebuah proses yang tidak dapat disangkal lebih unggul daripada keputusan berdasarkan informasi sewenang-wenang atau dangkal. Karakteristik pengajaran diagnostik Ajaran diagnostik menggabungkan dua praktik pendidikan penting untuk pengajaran dan penilaian dan dapat dicirikan dengan prinsip berikut: instruksi dan penilaian tidak dapat dipisahkan dalam pengajaran efektif siswa belajar dan berkembang sebagai individu, bukan sebagai informasi kelompok yang dikumpulkan dari penilaian harus Segera digunakan untuk mengubah instruksi agar pembelajaran teknik pemecahan masalah yang lebih efisien dan sistematis dapat digunakan untuk mengeksplorasi area dalam perkembangan anak yang tidak diketahui. Penggunaan praktik mengajar diagnostik sama sekali tidak baru. Meskipun pendekatan semacam itu biasanya terkait dengan diagnosis dan perbaikan masalah belajar, kasus ini dapat dilakukan karena memiliki nilai untuk aplikasi lain di mana diperlukan pendekatan pemecahan masalah. Pendekatan pengajaran diagnostik menyediakan cara yang sangat baik untuk mengumpulkan potongan-potongan teka-teki ketika satu bagian hilang atau tidak diketahui. Penentuan media bacaan yang tepat untuk anak kecil dengan gangguan penglihatan yang mulai dibaca dapat dicapai melalui penggunaan strategi ini. Proses pengumpulan informasi Proses pengajaran diagnostik menggunakan observasi insidental dan terstruktur, pengajaran tidak langsung dan langsung, dan penilaian berkelanjutan sebagai dasar untuk membimbing instruksi selanjutnya. Dengan mengumpulkan informasi tentang efisiensi visual dan taktis selama beberapa bulan atau bertahun-tahun pengajaran diagnostik yang cermat, gaya belajar siswa niscaya akan mulai muncul. Pada titik ini, pendidik seharusnya memperoleh beberapa indikasi awal apakah seorang siswa terutama adalah pelajar visual atau terutama pelajar taktual, serta informasi tentang tingkat pembelajaran dengan modalitas sensori yang disukai. Bagi beberapa siswa, keputusan tentang media bacaan yang tepat dapat dilakukan relatif cepat dalam tahap kesiapan, namun informasi tambahan mungkin diperlukan bagi orang lain. Kesiapan untuk membaca instruksi formal ditandai oleh pembentukan sejumlah keterampilan, seperti menunjukkan ketertarikan pada buku yang menunjukkan minat, dan bercerita dari, gambar yang membedakan kemiripan dan perbedaan dalam simbol abstrak, bentuk geometris, huruf, dan kata-kata sederhana yang menyalin huruf. Dan kata-kata yang mengidentifikasi nama sendiri dan mengidentifikasi nama surat dan kata-kata penglihatan sederhana. Saat keterampilan ini dibangun, banyak informasi dapat dikumpulkan untuk mendukung keputusan media membaca tertentu. Bagi siswa yang medium bacaan utamanya tidak terbentuk lebih awal, ketelitian ketrampilan kesiapan yang lebih formal akan diperlukan. Saat siswa memasuki tahap di mana mereka mempelajari keterampilan prasyarat untuk membaca, pendidik harus memberikan paparan bahan cetak dan bahan braille, secara bersamaan atau berurutan, untuk menentukan tingkat minat dan tingkat belajar keterampilan khusus dalam Setiap media. Misalnya, seorang siswa yang belajar mengenali namanya dapat disajikan dengan versi cetak dan versi braille yang dilapiskan sebagai label untuk barang-barang pribadi. Setelah jangka waktu pengajaran dan waktu untuk menghilangkan efek baru, penggunaan label cetak atau braille oleh siswa dapat ditentukan melalui pengamatan atau penilaian langsung. Bagi siswa yang belum menunjukkan pola pembelajaran visual atau taktis yang konsisten, data yang dikumpulkan selama periode waktu ini akan sangat penting untuk dipertimbangkan oleh tim multidisiplin dalam menentukan media membaca. Mungkin bagi siswa dengan gangguan penglihatan pada tahap ini dalam membaca perkembangan untuk menunjukkan preferensi yang hampir sama terhadap informasi visual dan taktual, dan pertimbangan tambahan perlu dilakukan oleh tim, seperti prognosis gangguan penglihatan dan penerapan masa depan dari Setiap media. Penting untuk memberi waktu yang cukup untuk mengumpulkan informasi guna mendukung keputusan penting dalam media baca. Anggota tim seharusnya tidak merasa terdorong untuk mengikuti praktik umum bahwa seorang anak harus mulai membaca pada usia tertentu, namun harus menunggu sampai kesiapan keterampilan ditetapkan oleh siswa dengan gangguan penglihatan mungkin memerlukan periode kesiapan yang diperpanjang sebelum instruksi membaca formal. Jika orang tua atau anggota tim lainnya enggan memperpanjang masa kesiapan, guru tuna netra harus bersiap untuk mendiskusikan konsekuensi negatif dari memindahkan anak ke dalam instruksi pembacaan formal sebelum kesiapan yang memadai ditetapkan. Evaluasi awal dan pertimbangan untuk menentukan media membaca Tahap evaluasi awal memberi tim multidisiplin dengan informasi awal yang diperlukan untuk membuat keputusan tentang media baca siswa. Bagian ini akan membahas bidang-bidang yang perlu dipertimbangkan dalam mengumpulkan informasi terkait melalui pengajaran diagnostik dan proses sintesis data-data ini dengan cara yang akan menghasilkan keputusan tim yang tepat. Empat bidang penting untuk dipertimbangkan selama fase pengajaran diagnostik dalam pengembangan membaca dini: 1) efisiensi dan potensi visual, 2) efisiensi dan potensi taktis, 3) prognosis gangguan penglihatan, dan 4) adanya hambatan tambahan. Sementara faktor-faktor seperti tingkat membaca dan pemahaman bacaan penting untuk dipertimbangkan, informasi semacam itu sulit didapat pada tingkat membaca yang membaca dan oleh karena itu, akan dibahas kemudian sebagai area untuk evaluasi lanjutan. Efisiensi visual Suatu periode pengajaran diagnostik sangat ideal dan penting untuk menilai secara akurat tingkat efisiensi dimana siswa menggunakan visi untuk mengumpulkan informasi tentang lingkungan. Sementara pendidik ingin memiliki pandangan total tentang fungsi visual pada siswa dengan gangguan penglihatan, diskusi ini akan berhubungan dengan area yang akan mendapatkan informasi yang berkontribusi pada keputusan tentang media baca primer. Anggota tim multidisiplin akan secara sistematis mengumpulkan informasi objektif dan kualitatif mengenai pertanyaan-pertanyaan seperti: Apakah siswa menggunakan visi untuk mengeksplorasi lingkungan Apakah siswa secara visual mengenali kehadiran orang-orang penting di lingkungan sebelum interaksi verbal Lakukan objek di lingkungan Menstimulasi respons motorik pada siswa (misalnya mencapai benda, merangkak ke benda) Apakah siswa menggunakan penglihatan untuk menemukan objek di lingkungan Pada jarak dekat (dalam 12-16 inci) Pada jarak menengah (dalam 16-24 inci) Jauh Jarak jauh (di luar 24 inci) Apakah siswa secara lisan memberi label objek sebelum eksplorasi taktual, sehingga menggunakan penglihatan sebagai indra pengaman Apakah siswa mengidentifikasi objek secara visual Apa ukuran objek dan sejauh mana Apakah siswa menunjukkan ketertarikan pada gambar Dapatkah siswa Mengidentifikasi gambar Dari ukuran apa Dengan tingkat akurasi apa Dengan tingkat latar belakang informat yang asing? Ion Pada jarak apa Apakah siswa menunjukkan ketertarikan untuk menulis tulisan dengan pensil atau Sihir Penanda Lukisan Pemotongan Apakah siswa membedakan kemiripan dan perbedaan objek dan bentuk geometris Pada jarak apa Dari ukuran apakah siswa tersebut secara visual membedakan dan mencocokkan kata-kata sederhana? Dan berapa ukurannya Dengan tingkat keakuratan apa Apakah siswa tersebut mengidentifikasi namanya dalam bentuk cetak Berapa ukuran seberapa jauh tingkat keberhasilan siswa menyelesaikan tugas visual sepenuhnya. Ada sejumlah skala pengamatan dan penilaian yang sangat baik yang memberikan fungsionalitas komprehensif. Evaluasi visi, seperti yang dikembangkan oleh American Printing House for Blind (APH) (Barraga amp Morris, 1980), Florida Department of Education (1983), Smith and Cote (1982), dan Roessing (1982). Selama periode waktu tertentu, mereka yang terlibat dalam program siswa harus meringkas dan membandingkan pengamatan untuk menentukan apakah siswa tersebut terutama menggunakan pengertian visual atau akal taktis untuk mengumpulkan informasi sensorik di lingkungan. Bagi siswa yang ditemukan sebagai pelajar visual, perhatian khusus harus difokuskan pada efisiensi visual pada titik dekat. Efisiensi visual untuk tugas jauh tidak menjamin atau bahkan menyiratkan efisiensi pada titik dekat dan sebaliknya. Selain itu, seorang siswa dengan kehilangan bidang pusat mungkin bisa menyelesaikan tugas jauh dengan efisiensi tinggi, namun tugas di dekat dengan sedikit atau tanpa efisiensi karena kesulitan dengan resolusi, membaca dengan penglihatan tepi akan lebih lambat daripada membaca dengan lapangan tengah yang utuh. Oleh karena itu, saat informasi dikumpulkan, pengamatan yang berkaitan dengan tugas visual yang dilakukan dalam jarak 16 inci dari mata harus diberikan pertimbangan utama dalam menentukan media baca, walaupun siswa dengan low vision umumnya memiliki jarak kerja yang lebih dekat pada titik yang dekat. Temuan Ophthalmological atau low vision harus diperiksa oleh anggota tim multidisiplin. Namun, informasi klinis yang diperoleh selama pemeriksaan oleh seorang profesional perawatan mata harus digunakan hanya sebagai satu sumber informasi yang akan berkontribusi pada keseluruhan keputusan. Informasi semacam itu diperoleh dalam setting yang tidak, dalam banyak kasus, paralel dengan lingkungan rumah atau sekolah di mana seorang siswa akan membaca. Umumnya, lingkungan klinis ideal (misalnya tidak ada silau, pencahayaan yang baik), tugas visualnya relatif singkat (misalnya membaca beberapa baris huruf, membaca beberapa baris teks), dan faktor-faktor asing tidak ada (misalnya kebisingan Dari siswa lain). Sebaliknya, siswa mungkin diintimidasi oleh setting klinis atau medis dan hasilnya mungkin tidak khas dari tingkat kinerja yang sebenarnya. Selain itu, pengukuran ketajaman seringkali terbatas pada jarak penglihatan, yang memberikan sedikit informasi tentang bagaimana seorang siswa akan berfungsi pada kebanyakan tugas yang berhubungan dengan sekolah. Oleh karena itu, pendidik harus mengumpulkan informasi yang berhubungan lebih dengan lingkungan belajar yang sebenarnya dan menggunakannya bersamaan dengan temuan klinis sebelum membuat keputusan mengenai media bacaan yang tepat. Selama tahap pengajaran diagnostik awal, informasi dapat dikumpulkan tidak hanya pada tingkat fungsi saat ini namun juga pada kemajuan dalam mengembangkan efisiensi visual. Setelah program stimulasi visi telah diimplementasikan selama beberapa bulan atau lebih, penting untuk memeriksa tingkat kemajuan siswa dibandingkan dengan potensi visualnya. Informasi ini dapat digunakan untuk memprediksi, secermat mungkin, tingkat keterampilan visual yang diharapkan diperoleh siswa pada saat program membaca formal akan dimulai seperti prediksi adalah sumber informasi yang sah untuk dipertimbangkan oleh multidisipliner. Tim dalam membuat keputusan awal. Efisiensi taktual Informasi yang berkaitan dengan efisiensi taktis juga harus dikumpulkan selama tahap pengajaran diagnostik awal. Beberapa pertanyaan yang tim multidisiplin mungkin ingin pertimbangkan meliputi: Apakah siswa terutama menggunakan akal taktisnya untuk mengeksplorasi lingkungan Apakah siswa menggunakan penglihatan untuk mencari dan pada awalnya mengidentifikasi benda-benda, dan kemudian menggunakan sentuhan untuk mengkonfirmasi pengamatan awal Berapa tingkat keakuratannya Untuk identifikasi awal melalui penggunaan visi Apa tingkat akurasi untuk identifikasi selanjutnya melalui pengertian taktis Apakah siswa menggunakan visi mereka untuk menemukan objek, tapi kemudian menggunakan informasi taktual untuk mengidentifikasi objek Apakah siswa hanya menggunakan informasi taktual untuk mencari dan mengidentifikasi Objek di lingkungan Apakah siswa secara taktis mengidentifikasi objek dengan ukuran yang berbeda dengan akurasi Benda besar (misalnya kursi, tempat tidur, meja kopi) Benda berukuran sedang (misalnya boneka beruang, mainan, baju, bola) Benda kecil (misalnya klip kertas, koin, Kelereng, kismis, sereal) Apakah siswa menanggapi pengajaran yang efektif dalam penggunaan keterampilan motorik halus (misalnya memotong, memegang sendok, Memungut benda kecil) Apakah siswa secara taktis membeda-bedakan kemiripan dan perbedaan benda dan bentuk geometris Apakah siswa menunjukkan ketertarikan pada buku yang timbul dalam bahasa braille saat dibaca oleh orang tua atau guru Apakah siswa tersebut mengidentifikasi nama baiknya dalam bahasa braille lebih mudah daripada di Cetak Tidak seperti bidang efisiensi visual, tidak ada instrumen formal atau skala observasi yang dapat digunakan oleh pendidik untuk membantu mengumpulkan informasi mengenai efisiensi taktis. Sementara Uji Diskriminasi Kekejaman dapat memberikan ukuran kepekaan taktis (Harley, Truan, amp Sanford, 1987), ini tidak menunjukkan bagaimana seorang siswa melakukan keterampilan penting yang melibatkan diskriminasi dan pengakuan huruf braille dan kata-kata. Pendekatan pengajaran diagnostik sesuai dengan penggunaan bahan ajar untuk pengajaran serta penilaian terus-menerus, dan sejumlah bahan dapat digunakan, seperti Lembar Kerja Diskriminasi Taktual APH, Seri Touch and Tell APH, lembar kerja dari Program Pengembangan Mangold ( Mangold, 1977), dan kriteria yang direferensikan dari Pola Membaca Braille Pratinjau Utama (APH, 1982). Seperti dengan memeriksa efisiensi visual, penting untuk mempertimbangkan tingkat siswa belajar dalam mengembangkan ketrampilan taktis yang diperlukan untuk pembacaan formal. Prognosis gangguan penglihatan Anggota tim multidisiplin harus mempertimbangkan apakah kondisi visual anak stabil dan tidak cenderung memburuk di masa depan (misalnya albinisme, atrofi optik) atau apakah kondisi visual anak mungkin tidak stabil (misalnya glaukoma yang tidak terkontrol, retina yang terlepas) atau progresif. (Misalnya retinitis pigmentosa, degenerasi makula) dan hilangnya penglihatan di masa depan mungkin terjadi. Kesulitan untuk anggota tim pada saat ini adalah salah satu kemungkinan kehilangan penglihatan di masa depan. Oleh karena itu, sangat tepat dan perlu untuk memperpanjang tim multidisipliner untuk melibatkan profesional perawatan mata yang telah memeriksa anak tersebut dan untuk mempertimbangkan informasi visionofthalmologis klinis yang sederhana dari file siswa. Jika informasi terkini tidak tersedia, rujukan harus segera diserahkan ke profesional perawatan mata yang sesuai. Seperti yang telah disebutkan sebelumnya, tidak ada satu anggota tim multidisipliner, termasuk profesional perawatan mata, harus membuat keputusan pendidikan untuk siswa. Jika seorang profesional perawatan mata membuat rekomendasi mengenai pemrograman pendidikan, harus diingat bahwa keputusan akhir dibuat oleh tim orang yang akrab dengan siswa. Oleh karena itu, penting untuk mempertimbangkan temuan dan rekomendasi klinis sebagai satu sumber informasi, namun bukan sebagai satu-satunya sumber. Informasi ini digunakan oleh tim multidisiplin, beserta informasi yang dikumpulkan dari sumber lain selama tahap pengajaran diagnostik, untuk membuat keputusan tentang media bacaan yang tepat bagi siswa dengan gangguan penglihatan. Keberadaan hambatan tambahan Dalam membuat keputusan pendidikan di bidang pengembangan keterampilan, tim multidisiplin harus mempertimbangkan pengaruh hambatan tambahan dalam pembelajaran. Pertimbangan utama adalah tingkat kemampuan kognitif. Keterlambatan kognitif atau ketidakmampuan membuat kemajuan belajar lebih lambat di semua bidang pembangunan. Di bidang membaca, keputusan yang harus dipertimbangkan oleh tim multidisiplin adalah apakah seorang siswa dengan kecacatan kognitif sedang sampai pro akan mendapatkan keuntungan dari semua jenis program membaca, terlepas dari apakah media itu bersifat braille atau cetak. Bagi siswa dengan kecacatan kognitif ringan sampai sedang, keputusan akan berpusat pada fungsi membaca (misalnya penggunaan bacaan untuk keterampilan hidup sehari-hari, kesenangan, dan keterampilan terkait pekerjaan) dan jenis program bacaan yang paling sesuai untuk menyelesaikan fungsi tersebut. Bagi siswa dengan tingkat kecacatan kognitif, pertimbangan harus diberikan pada nilai media membaca yang dicetak atau secara kasar dibandingkan dengan nilai readingauraurauran sebagai mode komunikasi. Kehadiran gangguan motor juga harus diperhatikan. Kelainan motorik dapat mempengaruhi penguasaan mata, meskipun gangguan tersebut dapat disesuaikan dengan pelatihan spesifik. Kerusakan motor juga dapat mempengaruhi gerakan tangan yang efisien, yang dapat membuat pembacaan braille lebih sulit atau, dalam beberapa kasus, secara fungsional tidak mungkin dilakukan. Terlepas dari cara di mana kerusakan motor memanifestasikan dirinya sendiri, implikasi untuk membaca semacam itu harus menjadi salah satu faktor yang dipertimbangkan dalam hubungan dengan implikasi faktor lain yang diidentifikasi dalam bagian ini. Menyimulasikan informasi dan membuat keputusan tim Setelah informasi mengenai efisiensi visual, efisiensi taktual, prognosis, dan pengaruh handicap tambahan telah dikumpulkan, sekarang saatnya untuk memulai proses sintesis informasi dan menentukan bagaimana hal itu akan mempengaruhi keputusan pada media membaca awal. . Penting untuk memeriksa temuan objektif dengan cermat, daripada mengandalkan dugaan, tebakan, dan dugaan. Setiap anggota tim multidisiplin yang telah bekerja dengan anak selama tahap pengajaran diagnostik, termasuk orang tua dan guru kelas reguler, harus mendiskusikan data pengamatan dan penilaian dan berkontribusi pada diskusi kelompok mengenai implikasinya. Diskusi tim harus berfokus pada karakteristik siswa yang ditampilkan selama fase kesiapan, serta informasi seperti prognosis dan adanya kecacatan lainnya, untuk menentukan apakah siswa akan memasuki program bacaan formal yang dicetak atau secara braille. Karakteristik seorang siswa yang mungkin merupakan calon kandidat untuk program membaca cetak dapat mencakup: menggunakan penglihatan secara efisien untuk menyelesaikan tugas pada jarak dekat menunjukkan ketertarikan pada gambar dan menunjukkan kemampuan untuk mengidentifikasi gambar dan atau elemen dalam gambar mengidentifikasi nama pada cetakan dan dan mengerti bahwa cetakan Memiliki makna menggunakan cetak untuk menyelesaikan kemampuan membaca prasyarat lainnya memiliki kondisi mata yang stabil memiliki lapangan visual sentral yang utuh menunjukkan kemajuan yang mantap dalam belajar menggunakan visi besarnya yang diperlukan untuk memastikan pembacaan cetak yang efisien bebas dari hambatan tambahan yang akan mengganggu kemajuan dalam perkembangan. Membaca program cetak Karakteristik seorang siswa yang mungkin merupakan calon kandidat untuk program membaca braille dapat mencakup: menunjukkan preferensi untuk menjelajahi lingkungan secara taktis secara efisien menggunakan rasa taktis untuk mengidentifikasi benda-benda kecil yang mengidentifikasi namanya dalam bahasa braille dan mengetahui bahwa braille memiliki arti menggunakan braille untuk memperoleh yang lain. Kemampuan membaca prasyarat memiliki kondisi mata yang tidak stabil atau prognosis buruk untuk mempertahankan tingkat penglihatan saat ini dalam waktu dekat memiliki lapangan tengah yang berkurang atau tidak fungsional sejauh bahwa pembacaan cetakan diharapkan tidak efisien menunjukkan kemajuan yang mantap dalam mengembangkan keterampilan taktis yang diperlukan untuk tindakan braille yang efisien. Membaca bebas dari rintangan tambahan yang akan mengganggu kemajuan dalam program membaca perkembangan secara braille. Untuk sejumlah kecil siswa yang belum menunjukkan karakteristik yang mendukung program bacaan cetak atau program membaca braille, tim multidisiplin mungkin ingin mempertimbangkan sejumlah pilihan: memberikan penekanan yang sama pada setiap media dan mengevaluasi ulang di beberapa titik di Masa depan (tidak lebih dari satu tahun sebagaimana disyaratkan oleh Hukum Publik 94-142) untuk menentukan media baca utama yang menempatkan penekanan instruksional hanya pada bacaan cetak yang menggunakan penekanan instruksional hanya pada pembacaan braille yang menempatkan penekanan instruksional utama pada bacaan cetak dan pengembangan kemampuan membaca braille sebagai Media pelengkap atau penempatan penekanan instruksional utama pada pembacaan braille dan pengembangan bacaan cetak sebagai media pelengkap. Efektivitas menempatkan penekanan yang sama pada kedua media, kecuali waktu tambahan akan tersedia di hari sekolah untuk mengajar keduanya secara efektif, patut dipertanyakan. Jika penekanan harus ditempatkan pada satu media dan siswa benar-benar efisien dalam pembelajaran visual dan taktis, tim multidisipliner mungkin ingin memberikan pertimbangan utama pada program membaca cetak, dengan instruksi membaca braille yang diperuntukkan sebagai pilihan masa depan tergantung pada perubahan Kebutuhan siswa Apa pun keputusan awal yang disepakati, tim harus ingat bahwa ini belum tentu keputusan akhir dan penilaian kembali harus terus berlanjut. Evaluasi lanjutan Saat anak tumbuh, kebutuhan dan kemampuan mereka berubah. Keputusan awal untuk mengajar membaca melalui cetak atau braille sangat penting sama pentingnya adalah evaluasi kemajuan yang berlanjut berdasarkan keputusan awal dan perubahan kebutuhan siswa. Pendidikan adalah proses cairan. Guru harus selalu mempertimbangkan pilihan baru dan berbeda bagi siswa karena mereka sesuai. Dalam arti tertentu, kita mengisi kotak peralatan siswa dengan alat yang sesuai untuk menyelesaikan berbagai tugas. Kebutuhan alat yang berbeda ditentukan oleh tugas yang harus diselesaikan siswa sekarang dan di masa depan. Dalam beberapa kasus mungkin tepat untuk mengajarkan bahasa braille untuk melengkapi tugas membaca dan menulis bagi pembaca cetak, sementara dalam kasus lain mungkin tepat untuk mengajarkan penulisan tulis cetak untuk aktivitas fungsional bagi pembaca braille. Saran tambahan untuk mengirim dan menerima informasi (misalnya materi yang tercatat, komputer, telekomunikasi) harus dipertimbangkan untuk semua siswa tanpa memandang media bacaan utamanya. Sekali lagi, penekanannya harus ditempatkan pada pilihan pengembangan bagi siswa untuk penggunaan segera dan masa depan. Ada sejumlah area yang harus dipantau untuk menentukan kebutuhan akan instruksi pembacaan tambahan atau tambahan. Ini termasuk informasi tentang fungsi visual, prestasi akademik, pemahaman dan tingkat pembacaan, tulisan tangan, arahan kejuruan, penggunaan teknologi, kemampuan membaca fungsional untuk siswa penyandang cacat ganda, dan penggunaan penglihatan yang sangat terbatas. Informasi tambahan tentang fungsi visual Informasi tambahan apa yang tersedia dari evaluasi visi fungsional dan dari evaluasi low vision oftalmologis yang memiliki implikasi untuk meninjau media baca primer siswa Keputusan awal mengenai media bacaan primer sebagian didasarkan pada fungsi sensorik seorang siswa pada muda. Sepanjang program pendidikan, siswa dengan low vision harus menerima instruksi yang dirancang untuk meningkatkan fungsi visual. Adalah penting bahwa tim multidisiplin terus mengevaluasi kinerja penglihatan fungsional siswa untuk menentukan apakah perubahan harus dilakukan dalam media membaca. Jika ada peningkatan fungsi visual, seperti yang diharapkan, perubahan dalam media bacaan dapat mencakup peningkatan pilihan cetak yang tersedia bagi siswa (misalnya cetak besar, cetak biasa, cetak biasa dengan penggunaan perangkat penglihatan rendah) . Penting juga untuk terus-menerus memeriksa tuntutan pendidikan yang berubah yang ditempatkan pada siswa dengan gangguan penglihatan. Pada tahun-tahun awal sekolah, bahan bacaan sudah dalam tipe besar dan tugas membaca berdurasi cukup singkat. Sebagai siswa berkembang melalui sekolah, buku teks dicetak dalam ukuran tipe yang lebih kecil dan durasi tugas membaca meningkat secara signifikan. Tim multidisiplin harus mengantisipasi kesulitan dengan ukuran tipe yang lebih kecil dan kelelahan yang meningkat yang mengindikasikan bahwa keputusan awal harus dipertimbangkan kembali dengan mengubah media bacaan utama atau, lebih mungkin, dengan menambahkan alat tambahan untuk membantu menyelesaikan tugas yang tidak praktis. Anggota tim harus terus-menerus meninjau informasi low visionologis dan klinis yang baru dan terkini dan menentukan implikasi untuk kemungkinan perubahan atau penambahan media baca siswa. Pembacaan Braille merupakan pilihan penting bagi siswa yang visanya memburuk, dan perangkat low vision baru atau berbeda mungkin menjadi lebih sesuai untuk siswa saat mereka dewasa atau karena perubahan fungsi visual mereka. Perhatian hati-hati harus selalu diberikan pada prognosis visual siswa. Prestasi akademik Apakah siswa mampu menyelesaikan tugas akademik dengan media saat ini dengan tingkat keberhasilan yang cukup Sementara prestasi akademik itu penting, guru juga harus memeriksa jumlah waktu yang dihabiskan seorang siswa untuk berhasil menyelesaikan tugas akademik. Seorang siswa yang harus menghabiskan sebagian besar jam kerja di sekolah perlu memiliki pilihan untuk memperlancar pekerjaan. Terlepas dari keputusan awal, kemungkinan seorang siswa yang mengalami gangguan tatap muka akan menyelesaikan tugas akademik dengan kecepatan lebih lambat daripada siswa yang tidak mengalami gangguan penglihatan. Penting untuk diingat bahwa membaca braille atau membaca cetak bukanlah satu-satunya pilihan untuk komunikasi. Ada cara lain untuk mengekspresikan dan menerima informasi yang mungkin membuat proses akademik lebih efisien bagi siswa, seperti mengetik, pengolah kata, pembaca, buku teks yang direkam, cetakan yang diperbesar melalui perangkat CCTV atau low vision, dan perangkat sintesis suara untuk komputer. Kuncinya adalah mengeksplorasi berbagai pilihan yang tersedia, mengidentifikasi kekuatan dan kelemahan masing-masing, dan memberikan instruksi untuk hal-hal yang paling berharga bagi siswa yang diberikan kebutuhan segera dan masa depan. Reading braille and reading print for students who are visually impaired are both relatively slow and the teaching of one after the other has been learned (e. g. teaching print after braille has been learned) is time-consuming. A student who is primarily a print reader might benefit from supplemental braille instruction and a braille reader might benefit from supplemental print instruction. However, it is unlikely that a student who is having trouble in academic areas would benefit from instruction designed to teach complete proficiency in an alternate reading medium. The alternate medium should be used as a tool to supplement the primary reading medium when such a supplement can streamline a task. Comprehension and rate of reading Does the student read with adequate comprehension in the reading medium initially selected A comprehension level of at least 75 accuracy is necessary on instructional material (Harley et al. 1987). If a student does not reach this level of comprehension during reading instruction, the teacher must examine closely any factors that might contribute to the problem. In addition to possible explanations that would be considered for any student, teachers of students with visual impairments must examine two factors more closely. First, specific reading skills that influence comprehension may not have been adequately developed even though the reading medium is appropriate. Second, the reading medium selected for the student may be inappropriate and therefore adversely affect comprehension. The first factor will require thorough diagnostic assessment to determine the cause of the reading problem and subsequent implementation of an appropriate remediation program. A complete discussion of remediation of reading problems for students with visual impairments is presented by Harley et al. (1987). The second factor requires reevaluation of the initial decision on the students reading medium through additional diagnostic teaching. Comprehension is related to rate of reading. A reading rate of 10 words per minute is necessary for adequate comprehension (Harley et al. 1987). If the student is not reading at this rate, the multidisciplinary team should consider strategies for increasing reading rate or other options for a primary reading medium. In some instances, difficulties will occur because of a combination of inadequate comprehensionrate of reading and inappropriate primary reading medium. Professional evaluation and diagnosis will help to determine if one or both represent the significant reason for a lack of comprehension. Handwriting Is the student able to read hisher own handwriting It is important that a person have the ability to communicate with himself (S. Mangold, personal communication, September, 1988). Grocery lists, telephone and address lists, and checkbook registers are examples of things that adults write and must later read. If a student cannot read what heshe has written, a first step is to provide remedial handwriting instruction. If the student is still unable to read hisher own handwriting after sufficient instruction, other options should be systematically explored. Such options may include supplemental instruction in braille writing, typing, computer word processing programs, and use of a tape recorder for note writing. Again, the key element is exploring options and developing appropriate ones given the students needs. Vocational direction Given the students vocational interests and aptitude, what are the specific demands for expressive and receptive written communication Does the student have the repertoire of reading and writing skills necessary to achieve projected vocational goals Consideration of these factors must be ongoing, given the changing nature of developing vocational interests. The multidisciplinary team, including the parents and student, is faced with the dilemma of projecting a likely vocational goal. Considerations for reading and writing options can be safely explored during job exploration and transition activities as part of the secondary school experience. These can be developed prior to leaving the educational system. For a number of students, the demands of a vocation or profession will be preceded by attendance at a post-secondary vocational school or college program. These students will need to acquire a repertoire of reading and writing skills that will allow them to progress successfully through their course of instruction as well as to have the skills necessary to ultimately accomplish the job tasks when they graduate. Among options to explore are computer word processing skills, use of reader services, use of recorded textbooks, note-taking skills with the slate and stylus, and use of cassette braille devices. Availability of technology What, if any, available technology will increase the students options for efficiently completing reading and writing tasks The current and future range of computer and related technology has the potential for increasing a students level of independence by providing more immediate and efficient access to information. The multidisciplinary team must keep abreast of technological advances and have sufficient knowledge of their potential impact in order to evaluate the effectiveness for each student with a visual impairment. As computer courses become more and more widespread throughout the educational system, it is likely that students will have exposure to them when appropriate access devices are available. However, if such is not the case, it is the responsibility of the teacher of students with visual impairments to provide this exposure, given the relative value of the technology to the students immediate and future needs. While the options are expensive, some to consider include voice-accessible word processors large-print word processors cassette braille devices portable computer systems Optacon systems telecommunications and optical recognition scanners with conversion to speech, braille, or print, as well as new devices as they become available. Functional reading skills for students with multiple disabilities If a student has an additional disability that prevents entering a traditional developmental reading program, would heshe benefit from instruction in reading for functional purposes Some students with additional handicaps may benefit from learning to read signs, labels, and other words in order to complete functional tasks related to daily living. For example, a student may learn to read Men and Women in order to locate the correct restroom in a public building or to read common food names to facilitate preparation of simple meals. Other functional words may be learned to facilitate integration into a work setting. If a multidisciplinary team determines that teaching functional reading will be beneficial to the student, procedures outlined earlier should be used to determine whether reading print or reading braille is most appropriate. Educators should guard against teaching reading just because it is possible to do so unless it will serve a functional purpose in the life of a student with multiple disabilities, instructional time may best be used for teaching other essential life skills. Use of extremely limited vision Could a student who uses braille as a primary reading and writing medium but who retains any level of visual functioning benefit from a rudimentary level of print reading skill Even limited skill in reading print, regardless of how tedious, has the potential to increase ones independence by accomplishing functional activities of daily living, such as reading the amount due on bill statements, reading the amount of a paycheck, sorting junk mail from valuable mail, reading short messages, and identifying signs in the environment. Multidisciplinary teams must evaluate results of functional vision assessments and data collected as part of the ongoing diagnostic teaching procedure to determine the potential for developing a functional level of print reading skill. A further consideration is whether or not this would have sufficient long-term value to justify the instructional time relative to all other priority areas. In order for a multidisciplinary team to make informed decisions on the appropriate reading medium for each student with a visual impairment, systematic procedures must be implemented over a period of time to collect needed information. The authors of this article proposed the early implementation of diagnostic teaching practices as a means of collecting the wide range of objective and qualitative data necessary to guide the decision making process. A continuing process It was further proposed that decisions be made in two somewhat distinct phases: 1) an initial phase in which the first decision is made on the primary reading medium, and 2) a second phase in which continued evaluation of the initial decision is considered as an ongoing process. During the initial phase, a period of diagnostic teaching begins at the readiness stage and continues into the early part of formal reading instruction in order to consider the following factors: the students demonstrated preference for, and efficiency with, use of the visual sense as a primary source of gathering information the students demonstrated preference for, and efficiency with, use of the tactual sense as a primary source-gathering information the prognosis and stability of the visual condition and the possible influences of additional disabilities on learning to read. The second phase confirms or adjusts the initial team decision and examines a number of factors over the period of years which spans the students educational career. Multidisciplinary team members consider the range of options necessary to meet the students current and future needs in college, vocational school, or employment and living situation. These considerations include: the availability of additional information on visual functioning from an educator of students with visual impairments and from eye care professionals the students ability to maintain academic progress in the initially selected reading medium the efficiency of reading in the selected medium, i. e. the level of comprehension relative to the rate of reading the students effectiveness in reading hisher own handwriting the students vocational interests and goals and the related reading and writing requirements for receptive and expressive communication the use of available technology to increase andor expand options for communication the usefulness of teaching functional reading skills to a student with multiple disabilities and the usefulness of teaching a rudimentary level of print reading skill to a student with extremely limited vision. If properly implemented, this two-phase approach assures that instruction in the appropriate reading medium or combination of media is implemented for each student with a visual impairment. The value of initial diagnostic teaching and subsequent continued evaluation provides the multidisciplinary team with a comprehensive process of making an informed decision. An example of an annotated passage from an adapted book to help parents understand the vagaries of braille code. Conclusion In conclusion, we wish to reiterate the essential elements and guiding principles we believe provide the foundation for making decisions on establishing the reading medium for students with visual impairments: Decisions are made on the basis of identified, individual needs of students, not on arbitrary criteria such as the legal definition of blindness. Decisions on establishing the reading medium reflect the input from each member of the multidisciplinary team. Information on which to base decisions is collected over a period of time through systematic, diagnostic teaching. Decisions take into account individual sensory abilities and capabilities of each student, as well as immediate and future needs. Decisions to provide additional instruction in other reading media are remade through continuous evaluation as a students needs change or expand, thereby filling a students toolbox with the appropriate tools. Many significant and positive changes have been made in educating students with visual impairments since the days of sight-saving classes. The eventual success of students in achieving independent living and employment status to the greatest extent of their abilities must undoubtedly be attributed, at least in part, to the decisions that are made on their behalf during their school years. Therefore, professionals and parents must jointly endeavor to make a decision as critical as establishing the appropriate reading medium in a climate of reason and professionalism guided by consistent procedures that examine the students unique abilities as well as immediate and future needs. References American Printing House for the Blind (1982). Patterns, the primary braille reading program: Readiness level. Louisville, KY: Author. Barraga, N. C. amp Morris, J. E. (1980). Program to develop efficiency in visual functioning. Louisville, KY: American Printing House for the Blind. Harley, R. K. Truan, M. B. amp Sanford, L. D. (1987). Communication skills for visually impaired learners. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas. Irwin, R. B. (1920). Sight-saving classes in the public schools. Harvard Bulletins in Education, Number 7. Mangold, S. (1977). The Mangold developmental program of tactile perception and braille letter recognition. Castro Valley, CA: Exceptional Teaching Aids. Roessing, L. J. (1982). Functional vision: Criterion-referenced checklists. In S. S. Mangold (ed.), A teachers guide to the special educational needs of blind and visually handicapped children. New York: American Foundation for the Blind. Smith, A. J. amp Cote, K. S. (1982). Look at me: A resource manual for the development of residual vision in multiply impaired children. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania College of Optometry Press. State of Florida (1983). Project IVEY: Increasing visual efficiency, (Volume VE). Tallahassee, FL: Author. Braille was a mystery at the elementary school I was assigned to in 1987 as a teacher of students with visual impairments, as were the students who were blind. My students were not as enthusiastic about braille as I, and avoided using it in class. One day I saw a braille book drop out of the arms of one of my students as he crossed campus, and watched in amazement as at least 20 students cautiously and carefully walked around it. When a beginning braille reader enrolled in our school that year, I saw her begin to develop some subtle, negative attitudes toward braille and decided I needed to become part of my students classroom activities to act as a resource to inform and encourage developing social skills and positive attitudes toward braille. I taught small groups of students in reading, social studies and science, and found the students were bright, sensitive, and curious. The second-grade children watched in fascination as I worked with my younger student using a variety of braille and tactile materials. They were spellbound by the braillewriter and begged me to teach them how to write their names. One student in second grade, Abby, took a special interest in braille and decided to learn as much about it and the student who was blind as she could. Abby learned a few braille letters every daysome from me, some from the blind student. She learned the basics of using a braillewriter and was also very interested in creating tactile designs using braille dots. The braille wave was one of our favorites, originally tapped out by her 4-year-old sister when she came to visit the classroom. It can be made by brailling dots 3, 2, 1, 4, 5, 6 one by one across the page, creating a curving, tactile line. We designed an independent study class in braille, with the encouragement of her classroom teacher. The blind student blossomed over the next months with the attention she received from her classmates as they came to know her and her special materials better. She was frequently called on to give impromptu demonstrations of her special tools, and gained confidence and status. The following school year, the blind student, Abby, and another friend asked me to start a braille class. This weekly class of three students quickly grew into two classes of 12 students, thanks to Abbys word-of-mouth publicity. The teachers and staff were extremely patient as our class struggled to get organized. Teachers invited me to their classes to speak about braille. I developed cartoon storyboards that helped tell the story of Louis Braille, explaining the various systems blind people have used before and since the development of braille. Students were fascinated by the knotted string and wooden letter alphabets, as well as the talking electronic braille keyboard my sixth-grade student used to take notes in class. They stopped me in hallways to ask me when they could take braille classes. Classes soon turned into everyday events, with students coming in after school and during their lunch recess to learn braille. Approximately 125 students have attended braille classes over the past three years. The blind students and two of my first braille students were student teachers in the Braille Club, but students learned the basics from anyone who knew them. It was not uncommon to see a first grader teaching a fourth grader how to put paper in the braillewriter and braille the alphabet. Now that the school seemed more comfortable with braille, and the blind students were more relaxed and communicative, we directed our efforts in Braille Club toward helping strengthen the sense of belonging that was developing. Cooperative learning techniques were used to develop team projects students would work on at Braille Club. Bina (1986) feels that cooperative learning techniques help students with special needs improve social skills, and allows them to develop friendships. Students learn strategies for thinking critically and working together toward common goals, to communicate their ideas effectively, and to fairly evaluate the contributions of others. After learning the basics of braille, students were asked to work in teams to develop projects that would be interesting, informative, or helpful to other people. Flexibility was the key to helping teams develop projects. For example, when students were studying Eastern cultures in social studies, discussions of these cultures in Braille Club led to the idea of designing a project about the abacus. Teams have done research on guide dogs for the blind and made presentations to interested classes, and have designed braille alphabet cards for teachers to give students when reading about or discussing blindness. They wrote print-braille storybookswonderfully imaginative stories in print and braille, made by using ink stamp setsfor the teachers of primary-age children to keep in their reading centers, and have copied tactile concept books designed for preschool blind children by a volunteer group in California, donating them to our local preschool for blind children. We have developed presentations and gone to other schools and towns to talk about braille. The students in Braille Club enjoyed competitions, so children were frequently put in teams to compete against each other in language games for slate and stylus contests. The principal has given certificates of achievement in braille at honors assemblies so that outstanding success can be acknowledged. Students who completed ten projects during the school year received a Braille Club t-shirt decorated with their name in fabric paint and a braillewriter made of silver fabric. The third year of Braille Club saw more literary projects being completed by students. A team of younger students developed three books, in the style of the Wheres Waldo books, where the reader has to locate paw prints made of fabric paint hidden on a page of tactile items. Students also worked in teams to make the campus more accessible to visitors who were blind one team put braille labels on campus doors, while another created a large tactile map of the campus. Im not able to relate all the activities and outcomes of our club here. We have undertaken a wide variety of subjects and projects in Braille Club, from social etiquette to how to write a talking computer program. What I hope to relate is the uniquely positive effect Braille Club had on the integration of blind students. One day a student left a sign on my door that read Braille is cool I realized then how the schools attitude toward braille had altered over the months. Students and teachers asked me questions about braille and blindness with ease, and people were talking more to the blind students, giving friendly greetings in the halls, stopping to talk. Because we were in a relaxed, cooperative learning situation, we observed the growth of positive social interactions between blind and sighted students. When misunderstandings occurred, students felt comfortable asking for clarification of someone elses actions or words. All students learned how to work in teams to complete projects, learning respect for others ideas and the art of compromise. We all began to understand one another better, and students developed satisfying friendships. In Braille Club, we have increased sighted students contact with blind students and the things they use. We have increased awareness, acceptance, and status of blindness on campus, as well as sighted students level of comfort with blind students. Sighted students have developed empathy because of their close contact with students who are blind, but also have learned to see past the uniqueness of being blind, to view these students as unique in other ways. Blind students have gained sighted peer advocates, but, more important, are beginning to be their own advocates, taking pride in their special school materials and tools. Teaching Specific Concepts to Visually Handicapped Students Chapter headings Students without detailed vision often lack basic concepts and fail to unify integral components in their environment. These concepts must be taught to visually handicapped students so that they can increase their knowledge base and participate equally with sighted peers whenever possible. It is important to develop systematic methods for teaching concepts in order to determine which concepts to consider for instruction how to assess these crucial concepts with individual students what verbal and manipulative procedures best clarify specific concepts for a particular student and how to reinforce and generalize conceptual understanding once a concept is learned in a specific instructional setting. The purpose of this chapter is to describe one approach to the systematic teaching of specific concepts. This approach considers logical ways of thinking about concepts that provide direction for the instructional process. Flexibility is the key to the application of the instructional methods described here, since the design of actual lessons will vary with the needs of particular students, the time available for lesson preparation and instruction, and the specific situations in which a concept must be taught. Selecting specific concepts for instruction In order to begin the teaching of conceptual skills, it is necessary to identify crucial concepts that a visually handicapped student must understand for full participation in activities and daily life in and out of school. A list of these concepts was developed as a class project in a concept development course for teachers and orientation and mobility instructors of the visually handicapped at San Francisco State University. This list is not exhaustive of all the critical concepts that a visually handicapped student should know, but represents an initial step in the identification of crucial concepts. Additions to this list are encouraged. List of crucial concepts Body Awareness (concepts pertaining to the body) top, bottom back, front left, right middle wholeness of body names of major body parts waist-high relationship of body parts lower part of body upper part of body Kinesthetic Awareness turning direction of motion moving, still gravity in relation to body Proprioceptive Awareness bending parts head up closed fingers feet together posture Sensations feelings smell taste touch hearing sight Facial Expressions smile frown Gestures nod yes shake no shrug point to object shake hands Environmental Awareness (crucial objects in the environment and specific relationships among elements in the environment) divided highway median strip crosswalk intersection street sidewalk driveway block pedestrian yard, back yard stairs doorbell landmark shoreline boundaries traffic patterns weatherrain, snow traffic light street signs fire hydrant lamp post mail box trash can curb gutter corner crib, bed table, chair doorway stove sink refrigerator bathtub truck, car, bus, wagon tricycle, bicycle train airplane store house porch tree, grass toilet hallway desk closet dresser Awareness of Object Characteristics (general properties of objects) Size dry, wet big, little, small, large, medium fat, thin, narrow, wide long, short, medium length deep, shallow Color clear, opaque dark, light specific colors hue, tint Shape square, rectangle round, oval triangle diamond straight, curved, crooked shapes of specific objects configuration of words Sound high, low pitch loud, soft intensity long, short duration rhythm Texture smooth, rough, flat, hard, soft, sticky, coarse, fine, bumpy, fuzzy, etc. Comparative Characteristics larger, smaller fatter, warmer, deeper, etc. same, different Time Awareness (concepts pertaining to time) begin, end before, after first, next, last during always, never old, new, young time-distance relationships today, yesterday, tomorrow morning, noon, night, afternoon, evening sunrise, sunset day, week, month, year second, minute, hour future, past, present, now clock concepts Spatial Awareness (concepts related to position in space) parallel perpendicular round arc plane middle, center, between diagonal opposite straight, crooked, curved to, from high, low top, bottom front, back left, right forward, backward degrees of circle or turn half turn, whole turn about face grid pattern up, down inside, outside on, off separated, together far, rear, distant, close wide, narrow clockwise, counterclock-wise maintaining direction maintaining distance next, to, beside around in, out first, last toward, away from behind in order closed, open Directions north, south east, west northeast northwest southeast southwest veering reference point incline, decline orientation, disorientation sound localization under, over underneath, beneath overhead above, below upside down, right side up across, across from past, beyond through here, there Actions (concepts pertaining to movement) writing, typing butto ning, zipping, snapping eating, drinking skip, run jump, hop climb, crawl stand, sit step throw, catch push, pull swing duck, bend kick slide roll stop, start lock, unlock circle follow on, off veer turn imitate forward, reverse backward sideways slow, fast Quantity (concepts associated with numbers and number combinations) specific whole numbers half, third, quarter fractions least, less (than) most, more (than) enough, only several, few, many equal pair zero increase, decrease with, without place, value all, some, none infinity Operations addition subtraction multiplication division Measurement inch, foot, yard, mile square inch, etc. cubic inches, etc. pound, ounce, ton cup, pint, quart, gallon teaspoon, tablespoon miles per hour metric measurements for distance, volume, weight Symbol Awareness (crucial symbolic concepts) compass directions map reading lettersprint, cursive, braille punctuation signs numbers, zero signsshape and design pictures colors (red stop green go) Pronouns I, me, mine you, yours he, she, his, hers we, they, theirs, ours it, its Emotional and Social Awareness (concepts associated with psychosocial adjustment) distinguish I from You discriminate parent from stranger self-concept human sexuality concepts manners grooming body language nonverbal communication voice pitch and intensity asking assistance, accepting help initiating questioning acceptance and rejection of others and by others values sad, happy, angry scared, fear, afraid worried, excited Reasoning (thought processes in which concepts are used) traffic patterns right of way detour pedestrian traffic one-way street lanes of traffic route route reversal patterns in the environment decision-making real and make-believe realistic expectations for self making judgmentsright, wrong, good, bad, fair, unfair orientation, disorientation estimation time-distance relationships functioning of objects and parts of objects objects with similar parts all, some, none any, every only, either, or sorting sequencing (patterns, numbers, sounds) categorizing, classification comparing, same, different conservation (volume, mass, weight, quantity) use of visual memory common visual terminology Assessing conceptual understanding After determining the concepts to be examined with a particular student by examining the list of concepts, determining curricular needs, and observing the student, it is necessary to assess a students understanding of these concepts systematically. Both verbal and performance responses should be elicited from the student in the assessment of concrete concepts whenever possible. This serves to clarify the relationship between a students language ability and performance skills. Students with little or no language ability must be assessed through the use of their available skills, though this makes the assessment process more difficult. The assessment of concepts requires an examination of the breadth and depth of a students conceptual understanding. The levels at which concepts are assessed varies with the functioning of the student and the type of concept under consideration. With any concept, the teacher must use his or her judgment to determine which conceptual levels a student can be expected to master, taking into account such factors as past experience and instruction, language ability, visual functioning, and general developmental level. Examples of concept assessment shown in Tables 3.1 3.6 demonstrate different levels at which some basic concepts can be assessed. Since concepts are so varied, these examples cannot cover all types of concepts that must be taught. They can, however, be used as models for developing assessment protocols for other types of concepts. Students must be able to identify concrete objects represented by concepts before they can be expected to describe functions or relationships (see Table 3.1 ). Thus the identification of familiar objects represented by a concept is the first level of assessment for concepts of concrete objects. This is followed by the identification of unfamiliar objects represented by a concept. Important for gaining insight into the understanding of very young or low-functioning students, the latter procedure clarifies, for example, whether a student understands the word table to signify only one table in a corner of the classroom or whether it signifies all objects with legs and horizontally positioned, flat tops. A description of the function of objects represented by a concept should be the next step in the assessment of concepts of concrete objects. A table, for example, is used as a place to put things. It is then necessary to assess the environmental contexts in which the objects represented by a concept are found. This level of assessment is important because it clarifies the conceptual relationships that a student understands. For example, tables are commonly found in homes, schools, restaurants they are often located in kitchens or dining rooms chairs are often associated with tables. Methods for assessing other types of concepts have been summarized in Tables 3.2. 3.3. 3.4. 3.5. 3.6 . Clarifying specific concepts for the teaching process Many concepts appear obvious, but this cannot be taken for granted. Take, for example, the concept front. Imagine yourself facing a table with a chair in between your body and the table. The chair is pushed under the table. You are facing the back of the chair, but you are facing the front of the table. This is so because the chair has a front and a back which are inherent in the definition of chair. Your position in relation to the chair does not determine its front and back, which never change. On the other hand, the front or back of the table is determined by the position of an observer in relation to the table. The front or back of the table changes as the observer changes position. These distinctions could be quite confusing to a student and must be clarified in the instructional process. To be certain that a concept is presented in a precise manner to a student, a conceptual analysis is performed. This involves two steps. First, a definition of the concept as it will be used in the teaching process is developed. This definition may be different from a dictionary definition since its purpose is to simplify or break down a concept for instruction. The definition helps formulate the conceptual goal of the lesson. For some students, front would be defined as part of an object directly facing the front of a persons body, when that object does not have a front or a back. This precision in the definition makes it easier to teach, and as a consequence, makes it easier for a student to learn. The second step in the conceptual analysis process is to identify all the concepts that must be understood in order to achieve the conceptual goal of the lesson. The conceptual goal is determined by the definition of the concept adopted for instruction. Here is an example for the concept front. Conceptual Goal: Front The student will be able to indicate (verbally or by pointing or touching) the front of objects that have no designated front or back, either when the student changes position by moving around the objects while facing them, or when the objects are turned while they are in front of the student (Figure 3.1 ). Strategies should be devised that teach concepts from the bottom of the conceptual analysis, working upward in the hierarchy. It is not necessary to teach those concepts in the hierarchy that the student already understands. Thus it is important to determine the students entry level for each conceptual analysis. A student may have more than one entry level in an analysis, depending on the complexity of the analysis. Concepts should be broken down at least one step below a students entry level. Reinforcing and generalizing conceptual understanding Concepts must be carefully taught to students using both manipulative materials and verbal explanations whenever possible. In addition, it is important to devise methods that help the student transfer his or her understanding of a concept from the specific teaching situation to other situations in the course of a normal day. Cooperation is needed at this point from parents and other professionals. They can be informed of a specific concept that has just been learned by a student and can, in turn, emphasize that concept with the student as relevant situations arise. This procedure reinforces specific concepts and also makes them more meaningful to the student since he or she becomes increasingly aware that certain concepts represent different aspects of daily life. Examples of teaching specific concepts Two examples of conceptual analysis follow. One example deals with the deceptively simple concept first, the other deals with the concept neighborhood. There are other ways to teach these concepts, but the methods used here worked well for the particular students for whom they were devised. The subject in this case was a six-year-old student whose visual impairment, due to retrolental fibroplasia, left her with minimal light perception. Upon initial observation, the child appeared to lack three important conceptsfirst, middle, and last. The need to locate things or persons in ones environment necessitates an understanding of order and positioning. Because of the students age, attention span, and the complexity of each of the three concepts, it was decided to begin with one conceptfirst. Conceptual Analysis Definition of first: The position or order of an object or person, such that it is preceding all others in space. Conceptual Goal Given the directional arrangement of a set (front to back, left to right, top to bottom), the student will demonstrate an understanding of the spatial concept first by tactually or verbally identifying the first object or person in the set. (See Figure 3.2 .) In order to determine the entry level of this six-year-old student, the game Simon Says was played. The student knew the left and the top of her body, but did not know the front of her body. She did not know left, top, or front of objects. To understand the concept first, it was necessary to clarify the concepts left, top, and front for this particular student. Neighborhood In this case a 16-year-old blind student was to be taught the concept of city block. This later grew into the concept of neighborhood, which is essentially only one step further: it is an area of many city blocks. From observations of this student, it appeared that she was not familiar with the concept, as she came from a rural environment. This concept is extremely useful in connection with orientation and mobility, and is a challenge which this student was capable of understanding. Conceptual Analysis Two definitions are needed for this analysis, since neighborhood is closely related to city block. Definition of city block: A rectangular unit immediately bounded by four streets or the length of one side of such a rectangle. Definition of neighborhood: A district or section of a number of city blocks with people of similar condition and type of habitation living near one another. Two definitions of city block based upon rectangular units were used in this analysis and taught to the student. Some city blocks are not rectangular in shape, but are irregular. This type of city block was not covered in the analysis. Ideally, it should be taught after a student has mastered the more simple (and common) definitions associated with rectangular city blocks. The original definition of neighborhood did not include commercial districts, but the definition was expanded to include commercial districts during the course of the lesson because this particular student was able to make this transition easily. Conceptual Goal The student will demonstrate understanding of neighborhood in relation to the city block concept. (See Figure 3.3 .) From a discussion with the student, it was determined that she was not familiar with the components of a city block, so the lessons began with that point in the analysis. Reading Comes Naturally: A Mother and Her Blind Childs Experiences Chapter headings I use the word reading in exactly the same sense as when a sighted child picks up a favorite book and thumbs through retelling the story in his or her own words. The child is obviously aware of the meaning and the wholeness of that book. Although the child is not actually reading the words, there is an awareness of the fact that the story comes from these printed words on the page. This activity of retelling a story, dismissed by most as memorization, is actually a very important first step in learning to read. When a child discovers a broom for the first time and then proceeds to wreck the kitchen while sweeping, mastery begins. But if we do not support and encourage these early approximations, the final skill will never be accomplished. In the same way, a child flips through a book and retells the story, perhaps filling in familiar words for others not yet in his or her vocabulary but retaining the original meaning of the story. The enjoyment and success of these early experiences with books will carry the child through the steps from approximations to final success in deciphering the printwhat most people consider real reading. Blindness, and Bridging Concepts Jamaica was born at home within a close circle of family and friends. Shortly after her birth someone gently said, You may find out that she is blind. It was true. She was born anophthalmic, or without eyes. Feelings flowed deeply, sadness true, but also good feelings. We were given the unique opportunity to witness the depths of love and understanding unlocked in others by her specialness. It was a time of change, a time of growth, a time of acceptance. And then it was time to get on with making Jamaicas life as full and complete as possible. Jamaicas brother, Lucky, was only a year-and-a-half old at the time, but already we had spent many hours reading and sharing books. Those were some of our most special times together, times I didnt want to miss with Jamaica. Lucky, like most very young children, spent most of his time looking at and talking about the pictures. What could possibly replace this lure into books for Jamaica I began to realize that tactual pictures could easily be based on visual representation but also that these would have very little meaning to Jamaica based on her own special kinds of experiences. What could a little piece of fur with four thin strips sticking out of the bottom and pasted on a page have to do with that warm, wiggling, panting mass of fur that she would know as a dog Putting my background in graphic design to work, I set out to make Jamaicas first book. She had a little circle puzzle that she liked, so I chose a circle theme. First of all the book had to be durable, able to withstand lots of handling. I used cardboard with fabric cover and filled it with many different textures and sizes of circles, repeating patterns. Most of all I wanted it to feel good my only mistake was to use sandpaper as one of the textures. Ill never use it again. It sets your teeth on edge. not something that encourages tactual exploration. The book was a success. Jamaica and I would read, tactually following the patterns and saying the same verses each time. On one page we would say Ring Around the Roses on another Round and Round the Mulberry Bush. Then surprise What is that square doing in our Circle Book Jamaica seemed to enjoy these activities, but I saw a definite increase in her enthusiasm when with big Elmers Glue dots I added the braille words Jamaicas Circle Book to the cover. (Lucky was equally fascinated with picking the new dots off and eating them) So at eight months, Jamaica and I had begun the process that would eventually lead her into the exciting world of books. As a mother of two young children, I had very little time to spend making books. So I was constantly searching for appropriate commercially produced books. Golden Books publishes a Touch and Feel Series. These books offer activities such as patting the fuzzy bunny or snapping Santa Claus rubber band suspenders. We purchased several of these but Jamaica soon lost interest in the activities because the stories were not exciting. I also found that several publishers offer Scratch and Sniff books. These contain stories about children favorites like Bambi and Winnie the Pooh, but with the addition of fragrance labels to the pages. They provided some involvement for Jamaica, as she searched the pages to find the stickers. She even began to recognize some of the books by their general fragrance. We enjoyed the stories and Jamaica often requested these books by name. Sees Special Need However, I felt a need for books made especially for a child living in a tactual world. I found Whats That by Jensen and Haller. The characters in this book, Little Rough, Little Shaggy, Little Spot, Little Stripe and Little Smooth, all really feel like their names sound. They live in triangles and squares and travel along paths made tactual through a method of printing using thick ink. The book is graphically pleasing, visually as well as tactually. The story is fascinating and includes a fun surprise ending. It is excellent in every respect. Philomel Books in New York publishes this and other books designed especially for blind children. All share similar qualities. We were excited to find these books but wanted more. My search continued. Due to the scarcity of specially designed books, we spent most of our time reading regular inkprint books. I was always trying different ways to make this reading exciting and meaningful to Jamaica. Whenever we all sat down to read together (including little sister Dixie now), Jamaicas part was to turn the pages. This helped to keep her alert and involved in the process, otherwise she had a tendency to fall asleep. I encouraged Lucky and Dixie to describe to Jamaica what was happening in the pictures, also hoping that this would expand their understanding of her blindness. While reading I would leave words off of the ends of sentences for them to fill in the blanks. I hoped this would help them all to develop the important reading skill of prediction. This was just another way to keep Jamaica actively involved. It was working. She was listening. She could answer questions about what we read. She had favorite books, and would ask for them to be read over and over again. The bookshelf was one of Jamaicas first landmarks in the house. She would sit on the floor and pull down all of the books. She would hold one in her lap and just flip through feeling the pages. She liked the slick ones best. Books have their own particular smell, a special feel about them, qualities that I seemed to destroy if I did too much pasting and gluing. So I settled for adapting covers only, that left the pages smooth and booklike but still gave Jamaica some independence in choosing which book she wanted at the bookshelf. On the cover of Pinocchio, the puppet is holding a match to light the fire inside the whale. I glued a match on that book. There were beans on the cover of Jack and the Beanstalk. One day I found Lucky squeezing glue all over the cover of one book. Im fixing it so Mai-Mai will know which one it is, Mama. She did indeed learn to recognize that book by its special glue configurations. Since Jamaica didnt like lumpy books, ones that didnt feel like real books, an alternative was to make book bags. The book was placed in a paper sack along with as many of the objects mentioned in the story as possible. Why have a picture if you can have the real thing In Jamaicas favorite story, Mickey n Donald, the doorbell rang so we had a bell on hand. Robbers stole money from a bank. So we had handcuffs from ropes and money bags with coins tied up in handkerchiefs. Larger items such as a stepladder and a laundry basket were gathered together just before reading. Then with all of our props ready, the family would act out the story as I read. We would tape record the whole performance. The book bag with its contents was returned to the shelf, ready for the next reading. A Search for Brailled Books But in spite of all my efforts, Jamaica was still missing some very important pre-reading experiences. First a child grasps the wholeness of the book and its meaning. But gradually the pieces begin to emerge, sentences, words, letters. Dixie would be listening to a story and interrupt to say, Theres my letter, as she pointed to a D in the text. I could see that Jamaica needed books with braille so she could find her letter too. When I went to look, I had difficulty finding appropriate brailled books for Jamaica. Although there were a few braille readiness materials such as the ones prepared by the American Printing House for the Blind, very few actual books were available. I did locate some sources of braille books. The American Brotherhood for the Blind offers, without charge, a lending library of Twin Vision books. These are selected books with print and braille text side by side. In other words, the book is unbound, brailled pages are inserted beside the printed text and then the book is re-bound. Now, with these books Jamaica could follow along as I read, or could she I was reading the print on one side and there was a whole page of braille beside it. But I didnt even know where to put her hand. How could she possibly follow along With much time and effort I could maybe pick out a J or was it a J I wasnt ever sure about where one letter ended and another began. I can remember once trying to decipher a very short sentence using my A. P.H. braille alphabet card. Try as I might, I just couldnt figure what it said. I later learned about contractions and whole word signs, special braille configurations representing frequently used words and letter combinations. You wont find them on an alphabet card. I imagine that many other parents are also unaware of these special characteristics of the code. Other print-braille books are offered by the Library of Congress and Howe Press. But the same problems exist here and are often compounded by the fact that the braille is embossed on clear overlays. This makes the pictures in the book more visible, but the braille is even harder to see than ever. Jamaica and I still preferred our regular ink-print books. Later on I would have Jamaicas teacher take home some of the books and hand copy the text into each book so we could really begin to use them. Another teacher, upon hearing this said, I did that too. Why so much duplication of effort Perhaps, with just a little bit more planning and thought good ready-to-use material could be produced. If quality braille books appropriate for preschool children were accessible, then parents and teachers could spend their time reading with their children. When Jamaica was three years old, I returned to school seeking my masters degree in Visual Disabilities. As part of my course work I learned to write braille and read it, not tactually but by sight. This was when I learned why I previously had so much trouble figuring out the code. Knowing how to read braille didnt really make it much easier to use available materials. But now I at least knew that the braille word that matched the word I was reading might not even be on the same page. Jamaica was now in a homebound vision program so we were given a braille writer to use at home. This was very exciting to me. I knew how important paper and pencil experiences were for sighted children in the process of learning to read. Lucky had invented an ingenious way of making pictures for Jamaica. With the point of a pencil, he would punch holes in a sheet of paper laying on the carpet. The reverse side had nice braille dots. Whenever Lucky and Dixie drew or painted, Jamaica did too. Sometimes we used a screen board or raised line drawing kit, so she could feel her marks. But more often than not, Jamaica preferred plain paper and pencil. This is probably because these materials were much more accessible. Also, I was not as likely to try to direct or teach her as she worked. She was allowed more freedom. She would tell me about what she was making. Then, hand-over-hand, we would always sign her name on her work. She continued to love these activities. But now with the braillewriter, she could also begin to make marks in the medium she would eventually use. Jamaica would clunk away on the brailler and dictate letters or stories which I could write down and then read back to her. This activity was similar to a sighted childs scribbling. Gradually lines take on familiar shapes and forms and are refined into letters and words. Jamaica could become familiar with the braillewriter. She pushed the levers and then felt the paper, getting immediate feedback from her actions. Look Jamaica. You made an A Home-Made Books Now with knowledge of the braille code and access to a braillewriter I could begin to braille materials myself, titles to books and tapes, favorite passages in books. On special occasions I would always try to make a new book for Jamaica. These books would have braille text with the corresponding hand-printed word directly above the braille, the perfect format. As Jamaicas hands moved across the page, I followed reading each word as she touched. We were together at last. I brailled make-believe stories about Jamaica and her best friend. I wrote about familiar things that she talked about often, our two cats and the dog next door. The picture of the dog, instead of a complicated confusing outline, was simply two bumps for eyes and two floppy pieces of fur for ears. Now our experiences like Making Banana Bread became stories and Jamaica had her own braille copy. Jamaica put white flour in her mouth. She looks like a clown. Dixie poured eggs but missed. Lucky, please put the bananas in. Yuk These were very special stories and the children loved to read them over and over again. Here also we began a journal for Jamaica. In a special notebook we would record her experiences, brailling the most important parts of each story in her exact words. Her journal also included letters, newspaper articles, and pictures. One of Jamaicas most prized possessions was her photo album. Like all children she wanted to know all about when she was a tiny baby. In addition, our collection of personal tapes, recordings of places we had visited and people we had met, served as an auditory experience album. These tapes became Jamaicas favorite bedtime stories. Although she was unable to actually read the braille titles, she would find a tape with no label, Mama, this one needs braille. Yes, for everything I brailled, there were 20 other things waiting to be brailled. In efforts to increase the number of books available to Jamaica, I contacted the state center providing instructional materials for the visually impaired. I asked if they would be willing to braille some of Jamaicas favorite books. They found a volunteer who was more than willing. She returned the completed books with a note saying she would be glad to do more whenever we wanted. Suddenly I had 10 or 12 new braille books piled on my desk, pages and pages of braille and no inkprint. Yes, I could read braille but very slowly and painfully. I struggled with each word, sounding like a first grader just beginning to read. So before we could really use our new books I had to hand copy the text into each one. Of course I used the previously described format where the print word was directly above the braille word. It was a slow process. Six months later I had finished only a couple. Then another volunteer offered to do this transcribing for me. Finally Jamaicas library began to grow. We had already explored the materials available which were developed to promote braille reading readiness. The Tactual Road to Reading has books with yarn and stick designs for practicing tracking skills. But Jamaica had to be coaxed to use them. One difficult afternoon I put them away and pulled out one of our new braille books instead. I told Jamaica that I would read while she tracked lines. If her hands stopped, I stopped reading. The next day she came home from school and said, Mama, dont you think we should practice tracking those words in that book again She had never asked to practice on readiness materials. The motivation is intrinsic in the words that tell a story, a whole book. We learned so much as each new batch of books was made. The first books were brailled horizontally onto whole sheets of braille paper and then bound. The format was wrong. The books were just too big to handle comfortably. The next books we made were smaller. These were much better for Jamaicas little hands and lap. We learned to hand copy in indelible ink so wet fingers wouldnt smear all the words. I found that I was really missing the pictures and the other children showed little excitement over reading in a pictureless book. One of the original books that we had copied was coming unbound, so I cut it up and pasted the pictures into our new braille book. It worked very nicely. Books thrown away by libraries became an incredible resource for producing braille materials with illustrations. Our braillist had another good idea. She xeroxed the pictures from original books and had her own children color and paste them into the new braille books before sending them to us. They were beautiful. Now Jamaica and I had braille inkprint in a format which allowed us to read together and the other children had pictures too. The books were coming together at last. A Literate Environment What of all the time and effort that had gone into developing a pre-reading literary environment for Jamaica How important is this to reading skills And could my experiences with Jamaica benefit more than one blind child Reading and writing are natural extensions of the literacy learning which begins with the acquisition of language. Holdaway (1979) suggests that for a better understanding of the developmental processes involved we should look closely at the ways in which children learn to read (as opposed to the ways in which we teach them). Some children have been observed to learn completely on their own, without any formal instruction. The common element in the lives of these early readers is described as a literate environment. Kenneth Goodman (1976) explains this is a place where kids are constantly exposed to print, made aware of its functions, how it works, its subtle differences and similarities (p. 2). According to Goodman, children learn to read in much the same way as they learn to talk and to listen: That is, they become aware first of wholes and their relationship to specific messages. And then with teachers help they begin to develop a sense of the structure and of the relationship of part to whole (p. 4). If we take reading and break it up into letters and words separate from the context of the story, we offer the child the most complex element first. And we expect children to be able to make sense of these abstractions. Conversely, if we offer them a whole book and then proceed to the parts, we are going from the simple to the complex, a logical approach. If a blind childs experiences have led to adequate and meaningful language development, this will form a sound basis for learning to read and write. However, the literate environment so important in encouraging development of these new skills will not occur naturally for the blind child. Sighted children enter school with five years of experiences with print and books behind them. By the time school starts many children are ready to learn to read, if they havent done so already. On the other hand, the blind child might come with very few similar braille reading experiences. Is it fair to send these children to school with a five-year deficit and expect them to learn something twice as hard There are many readily available and untapped resources that lend themselves to our print above the braille format, the format which allows the parent to read with the child. For example, childrens Easy-to-Read books can be adapted by inserting braille copy produced on sticky contact paper directly beneath existing text. These books contain only one or two lines of large print text per page. Thus, the one or two lines of braille will be easier to track than a page full of print lines, but still give the child practice in moving left to right, turning pages, recognizing the top and bottom of the page. conventions of print which are prerequisites to reading. More importantly, this offers the blind child a chance to tactually discover the patterns of words and sentences in the context of a whole story as the parent reads aloud. With so many good childrens books being published, there are probably many which could be inexpensively and easily adapted. In addition to adapting books, perhaps a method can be devised to make it easier for sighted parents to easily recognize letter configurations in braille. Here there is the possibility of brailling books on specifically prepared pages of printed squares where each braille configuration falls into its own square. This gives a relationship of the raised dots to the whole braille cell and delineates each character. If parents could begin to recognize certain letters they could point these out to their child as they read. In addition notes and helpful hints to parents about braille code could be printed in the margins or between lines. Conclusion Jamaica is now five years old. She is in a regular kindergarten class with itinerant vision services. She is learning braille letters and tactual print letters both. Its not easy. I know itll probably take longer for her to learn to read than it will for many of her sighted peers. But Im not worried. She walks around the house and finds the bookshelf, still one of her favorite spots. She pulls down a few books (many of them slick inkprint only). She opens one and says What is this I answer, Wolfie. Do you know what Wolfie is Oh yes, hes a spider. And I know she knows what a spider is because Ive let one crawl on her leg. She might even talk about Wolfie or make up a story of her own as she flips through the book. Shes got the basics. the meaning of the story, that the story comes from the book and that braille forms the words in the book. She loves books. Shes on her way. References Goodman, K. (1976). Reading: A conversation with Kenneth Goodman coauthor of Reading Unlimited. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman amp Company. Holdaway, D. (1979). The foundations of literacy. Sydney, Australia: Ashton Scholastic. Jensen amp Haller (1978). Whats That New York: Philomel Books. Using an Integrated Literacy Curriculum with Beginning Braille Readers Chapter headings Braille literacy is being reaffirmed by many in the field as an educational priority for children with severely limited vision (Schroeder, 1989 Stephens, 1989). The ability to read and write braille maximizes students chances of educational and vocational success and lays the foundation that they need to benefit from many new technological advances (Stephens, 1989). Those who advocate braille literacy, however, should be aware that traditional approaches to teaching literary skills in regular education are being abandoned as a result of extensive research into the way sighted children achieve literacy. Key components of the new approach to teaching language arts include immersing students in print, giving students greater responsibility for learning, and integrating literary skills with all areas of the curriculum (County School Board of Fairfax County, 1987). Classes following this approach are sometimes referred to as reading-writing classrooms (Butler amp Turbill, 1987). Many of the ideas and strategies that characterize instruction in these classrooms may be applied to teaching braille writing at the primary level. Writing: A process approach Teaching writing is approached differently in a reading-writing classroom than it is in traditional writing instruction. Rote skill-development exercises from reading, spelling, grammar, and handwriting workbooks are replaced by the students extensive daily writing on topics they select. This change reflects the belief that children learn to write only by actually writing, not by filling in blanks or copying exercises (Hansen, 1987). Teachers are less concerned with the final product than with the students involvement in the process of writinga process that includes the phases of drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing that are familiar to adult writers. Writing can be thought of as a craft, a long, painstaking, patient process. to learn how to shape material to a level where it is satisfying to the person doing the crafting (Graves, 1983, p. 6). When writing drafts, students learn to use invented spelling, a nonconventional but logical system of sounding out words (Teale, 1985), that enables them to compose freely using any words in their expressive vocabulary. One or more revisions of selected pieces are undertaken as the writers receive constructive feedback from their audience of peers and teachers. The message, not the mechanics, is the focus for discussion and revision until the work is prepared for publication by its student-author. Process approach to braille writing Young children who read braille can also benefit from this approach when the writing process is modified. Because the text should be immediately accessible to both the teacher and the child throughout the drafting and revision stages (Ely, 1989), a teacher who knows braille must assume the major role in teaching writing to a primary-grade child who is blind. When the child has a good understanding of the writing process and is able to transfer writing skills to a talking computer, regular education teachers may become more involved in writing instruction. The writing samples included in this article are taken from the work of primary grade students who are enrolled in a combination self-contained-resource room for children with severe visual impairments. For part of each day, the children are mainstreamed into regular classes, in which a literature-based, process approach to teaching language arts is used. The vision teacher works closely with the regular education teachers to design a language arts program for each child that includes both mainstream experiences and individual instruction in the resource room. The work samples are exact transcriptions of the invented spelling written by the children on their first drafts. Parentheses indicate a childs use of Grade 2 braille contractions. The writing program continues to evolve as it is adapted to meet specific students needs and is expanded to include strategies used in the regular education classrooms. However, a number of key components form the basis for instruction: 1. Because reading and writing influence each other in positive ways (Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, amp Wilkinson, 1984), the children are exposed to a wide variety of excellent childrens literature, both fiction and nonfiction. They are read to frequently and have access to an expanding classroom library of easy braille books that are suitable for independent reading in the primary grades. The goal is to develop a feel for the rhythm and pattern of language that the children will transfer to their writing. Most traditional basal reading series do not provide the rich linguistic experiences necessary for developing writers because of their controlled vocabulary and emphasis on rote skills. In the reading-writing classroom, these series have been replaced by a whole language, literature-based language arts program that fully integrates braille reading and writing experiences. 2. Just as students who are sighted are immersed in print in a reading-writing classroom, students who are blind are surrounded by braille to the greatest extent possible. The children are given many functional opportunities to practice their braille reading and writing skills every daythrough messages, assignment lists, mainstream schedules, job lists, and letters to read and homework lists, reading logs, journals, thank-you letters, birthday cards, and cassette-tape labels to write. Teachers often leave braille messages for students, and the children quickly imitate this form of communication: De(ar) Miss Sw(en)son, I ne(ed) (some) (more) (braille) pap(er) (and) (some) big (one)s (and) (some) skene ltskinnygt De(ar) miss weil, I am (so) soreey (th)et I (for) got to wride (you) a bir(th)(day) c(ar)d 3. Reading and writing strategies are modeled before the children are expected to attempt them on their own. The teacher talks through her thinking process as she demonstrates such skills as selecting a topic, using invented spelling, crossing out and inserting words on a draft, note taking, sequencing ideas, and expanding sentences. The children participate actively, contributing suggestions as the teacher struggles to make choices and examining the braille draft as it takes shape. It is important that the children view the teacher as a fellow writer who requires feedback from the audience to clarify her message (Graves, 1983). 4. Materials for writing are readily available to the children. They include braille paper in various sizes (such as half sheets for short messages and long skinny sheets for lists), braillewriters, a stapler, envelopes, three-ring notebooks for journal entries, and pocket writing folders for each childs current writing project. 5. The writers message always takes precedence over mechanical considerations during the drafting phase of the process. The braille code, with its special characters for consonant digraphs and common words, is well suited to the invented spelling process. In the following journal entry, invented spelling enabled the kindergarten student to relate an entire experience and then read it back to his teacher using phonetic and contextual clues: my mommy took me to (the) dr (and) (the)n I w(en)t to (the) dnst I (had) a kvey (in) my t(th) my dr gv me a (sh)t My dr (was) ns dr hz nm (was) dr frk I (was) a bzey (ch)d My mommy took me to the doctor and then I went to the dentist. I had a cavity in my tooth. My doctor gave me a shot. My doctor was a nice doctor. His name was Dr. Frank. I was a busy child. 6. Conferences of individual children with the vision teacher are the most common means of revising and proofreading braille drafts. However, opportunities are also provided for the children to share their writing with both sighted and blind peers. 7. Grade 2 braille is used from the beginning of reading and writing instruction. Children are motivated to learn to read and spell words that are of interest to them, regardless of the difficulty of the contractions they may contain. Writing in kindergarten Kindergarteners who are blind need to develop the physical skills necessary to operate the braillewriter, the cognitive skills required for independent creative writing, and an awareness of the many purposes of reading and writing braille. If they have been introduced to braille books and the braillewriter as preschoolers, they may already have the concept that spoken language can be written in the form of braille and read back with the fingers. This concept is expanded as they observe their classmates and teachers using braille in a variety of functional ways. Developing the muscular strength and coordination required to use a braillewriter may take several years. Initially, short daily practice sessions are supplemented with many opportunities to improve fine motor skills through finger plays, art projects, and free play with assembly toys (such as Legos and Tinker Toys). Correct posture should be encouraged, with back support and a footstool provided, if necessary. Children who are unable to press the braillewriter keys without rocking their whole bodies back and forth may benefit from standing and writing at a counter of appropriate height to give them increased leverage. Mechanical skills that they need before they begin to write creatively on the braillewriter include the ability to insert and remove the paper, write a line of full cells using even pressure and correct finger position, isolate the fingers and press each key separately with the correct fingers, and press a combination of keys when the dot numbers for a particular letter or contraction are given. The cognitive aspects of the writing process should be introduced at the same time as are the drills for the braillewriter, so the children understand that the mastery of mechanical skills is not an end in itself, but a necessary foundation for independent writing. Journal writing is an ideal activity to introduce young children to the pleasure of written expression. The following sequence of learning skills and concepts has been successful in developing independent writing abilities by the end of the kindergarten year. Dictated writingtalking writing During this first stage, the student dictates one or more sentences about a personal experience to the teacher, who writes the entry in braille. The teacher uses conventional spelling and Grade 2 braille, but models the process of invented spelling by verbally accenting the dominant consonant sounds in words and stating the name of the letter to be written for each sound. Gradually, the student is able to recognize the sounds made by the different consonant letters and to tell the teacher which letters to write. When the entry is complete, the student and teacher may make a simple tactile picture together, and the student reads the sentence with help from the teacher. The teacher points out easy-to-recognize consonant letters, braille contractions, and punctuation marks, and the student searches for other examples. In the second part of the lesson, the child is encouraged to write freely on the braillewriter. Invariably, children will speak their message as they write, imitating the behavior modeled by their teacher. The result is often a line of seemingly random dots that are equivalent to the scribbles and marks made by sighted children of the same age. It is important to recognize that this talking writing represents a valid literary behavior, just as sighted childrens first efforts with crayons and paper are crucial steps in the development of literacy (Teale, 1985). Young children who are blind should be permitted to use the braillewriter as much as they like during free time, as long as they treat it with care. As the children read their teachers writing and their own talking writing, they become aware of differences between the two. The teacher explains that talking writing is an acceptable form of writing, but it can be read only by the writer. The writing done by the teacher is referred to as book writing and can be read by anyone who knows braille. At this point, the children are eager to be shown how to make some of the letters they see in the teachers book writing, and these letters begin to appear in their own talking writing. The teacher conducts frequent informal assessments to determine how many letters the children are able to recognize and write. The children help to choose the next letters to be learned, often by the association of these letters with favorite words or names. Guided writing During this stage, the children begin to write words and phrases using invented spelling and conventional braille characters, but still benefit from the teachers assistance with the formation of characters on the braillewriter. Children who read braille become increasingly aware that characters with special shapescontractionsmay hide the sounds they hear in words or have sounds of their own. For example, the letter r does not appear in the word her where the er contraction is used, and the contraction sh makes a new sound altogether. As the children encounter common contractions in their reading, they begin to use them naturally in their writing. Independent writing Sighted children can begin to compose independently when they know about six consonants (Graves, 1983). Children who are learning braille often achieve independence in writing on the braillewriter at about the same time as do their sighted peers. The following sequence of journal entries shows one childs movement toward independence during his kindergarten year: November: I (know) h(ow) to (do) buttons. Sentence dictated to the teacher followed by a line of talking writing and a glued on button March: I tk n (the) mkfn I talked on the microphone. Sentence written by the child using consonant letters some help was given with spacing and the contraction the (Dear Dad, I hope you have a very nice Fathers Day. Love,. Sentence written independently by the child during free time some contractions and vowels were used, but no spaces between words.) The invented spelling technique allows young children complete freedom in choosing topics to write about and gives them early confidence in their abilities as independent writers. The developing writer As the children move into first grade, they become familiar with the basic steps in the writing process and begin to use the words draft, revise, proofread, and publish to describe where they are in their work on a particular piece. Children who are blind often write drafts as fluently as do their sighted classmates, using invented spelling to express their ideas. However, during the revision stage, when the students confer with their teachers or classmates and work to improve the clarity of their writing, young children who are blind require additional assistance from a teacher who knows braille. The goal is to maintain the childrens lead in revising text while making the concrete part of the process (substituting words, moving text) as easy as possible. For primary-grade children who are blind, this goal can be achieved at several levels of difficulty: 1. The teacher writes in braille while the student revises the piece orally. The student and teacher then read the completed revision (the second draft) together and summarize the reasons for the changes. 2. The teacher and student revise the piece together and make changes directly on the draft. Sentences can be eliminated or rewritten by sticking a long piece of masking tape over the words and writing on top of it if a new version is needed. The sequence of events can also be changed by cutting the draft into separate sentences, placing the sentences in order, and stapling them to a new paper. A similar technique may be used to create space for additional information. Students enjoy helping the teacher manipulate the parts of the text to produce a satisfactory revision. 3. If the piece requires major revisions, the student and teacher may work together, with the student doing the writing. Several drafts may be necessary. 4. Depending on the difficulty and length of the piece and the maturity of the writer, the piece may be revised independently by the student after conferring with the teacher. Like revision, proofreading can be accomplished most effectively during an individual conference between the student and the teacher. Often the student is asked to mark capitalization, punctuation, and spelling errors on the draft with a crayon before meeting with the teacher. The teacher then helps the student to make corrections using the braillewriter or tactile editing marks. Suggested editing symbols include the following: Capital letter: A small piece of Formaline Charting and Graphic Art Tape. Period: A small self-adhesive dot label. New paragraph: A star. Corrected spelling: Brailled on a rectangular file-folder label and stuck over the misspelled word. Space needed: A long, thin piece of Formaline tape. Once the written piece has been revised and proofread, a final copy is prepared for publication. Whether the children copy from a teacher-made draft (as in Level 1) or a draft containing editing marks, they are expected to use correct capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and Grade 2 braille. The children have invested a great deal of effort in their writing by the time it reaches this stage and are so familiar with the text that they can focus carefully on small details. The completed copy is often published as a book, with a title page, dedication, biographical sketch of the author, and tactile pictures, and becomes part of the classroom library for the remainder of the year. Young children in reading-writing classrooms write daily, but publish only about a fifth of their draftsone every 10 days to two weeks (Graves, 1983). The learning involved in the revision and proofreading stages is supplemented by minilessons related to their writing style or mechanical skills. During each lesson, the teacher focuses on a specific skill or aspect of writing, often using the students work to illustrate the problem and possible solutions. The first-grade author of the following draft was asked to think critically about his work by finding the three sentences that said the same thing, choosing the best one, and justifying his decision. (the) guiea pig is my fbrt I (like) (the) guiea pig (so) (much) (the) guiea pig my fvrt anml I w(sh)t I (had) a guiea pig I (would) tk kv (of) a gu(in)ea pig Other examples of minilessons that are taught to visually impaired writers at the primary level include grouping like ideas choosing interesting words composing a main-idea sentence, followed by support statements providing more specific information using quotation marks in dialogue differentiating between the questions and telling sentences maintaining the agreement of the subject and the verb in a sentence and using the contracted form of the word to. The process approach to writing does not ignore the importance of teaching children to spell or use Grade 2 braille correctly. Children understand that conventional book spelling, not invented spelling, must be used in published pieces. Keeping a running list of words a child misspells during daily writing provides the teacher with a source of weekly spelling lists that are composed of words the student actually uses. In making up a spelling list, the vision teacher can group words to maximize the practice of specific contractions or to introduce new ones. Children enjoy helping to choose the words for their lists and demonstrate significant improvement in spelling on their written drafts. Correct spelling can also be encouraged by teaching students to use small three-ring notebook word banks to record the spelling of words they use frequently or need for a specific topic. The word bank contains one page for each letter and three tabsF, M, and Tto help the children locate words quickly. Diversity in writing The wide variety of childrens literature that developing writers hear and read in a reading-writing classroom leads naturally to diversity in their writing. A favorite literary form is the imitation of rhythms and patterns found in traditional chants like The More We Get Together, a selection from an early first-grade reading lesson: The more we get together, together, together, The more we get together, the happier well be. Braille variation using the students favorite food: (The) (more) we eat (the) pizza, (the) pizza, (the) pizza, (The) (more) we eat (the) pizza, (the) fatt(er) well be Primary-grade students can also be introduced to nonfiction, or information writing, and the techniques of interviewing, developing categories, taking notes, and constructing sentences from notes. A resource-room class project entitled Frogs: A Search for Information contained two major parts: How We Found and Organized Our Information and What We Learned about Frogs. The first part was composed in a group as the children recalled the procedures used in researching and writing about frogs: When Miss Swenson was reading, we helped her make notes about important information. She used one paper for each kind of information: one paper for body, one for home, one for babies, one for enemies, one for noises, and one for food. We each chose one kind of information to write about. We made the notes into sentences. Then we revised and proofread our writing. In the second part, each child wrote one chapter. The entire project was published in braille and used for reading instruction before each child took a copy home. Assessment The vision teacher should be responsible for the continuous assessment of a young students progress in braille reading and writing (Rex, 1989). A file of all written drafts for the school year should be maintained, along with records of the minilessons taught, spelling tests administered, revision conferences held, and books published. It is helpful to summarize the information from these records periodically by listing the writing skills a child has mastered (citing specific writing pieces as evidence) and those that are being worked on. This list can be shared with the child and used in parent-teacher conferences along with writing samples. Regular education teachers can also provide useful informal assessment tools that are specifically designed to measure progress in the writing process. Three times a yearin September, January, and Junea more structured evaluation is suggested. Students can be asked to summarize in writing the content of a short paragraph they have read silently to write a letter from dictation, paying special attention to the mechanics to write selected Grade 2 braille contractions that are checked off on a summary sheet and to write selected Dolch words (220 high-frequency words that make a basic sight vocabulary) that are also checked off on a list. A comparison of data from the three structured assessments provides further information that can be used to plan a childs writing program. Children who learn to write braille using a process approach develop positive attitudes toward writing. Their attitudes are apparent in the quantity and quality of writing they produce, both at school and at home. They consider the writing not as a type of work assigned a few times each week, but as a useful tool to be employed for many functions throughout the day. The children feel in control of their learning because they are allowed to make important decisionswhat topics to write about, which words to learn to spell, what revisions to make, and which pieces to publish. Because they are not constrained by the need to produce a perfect paper during the drafting stage, they are more willing to take risks in choosing topics, vocabulary, and ideas to express. They accept revision as a natural part of the writing process and begin to think critically about their writing as they interact with their text in a variety of ways. Writing samples and periodic structured assessments confirm that the conventions of written expressionspelling, capitalization, and punctuation are mastered when the process approach to writing is used. Children who write frequently and publish their work learn to make connections between reading and writing. A first grader, writing about a book he read, explained: (It) made me (th)ik (of) (some) (of) my books (that) I wrote to (because) I (know) I am a au(th)or to (and) I (know) I wrote lot (of) books (with) pictures (in)side (the)m (and) (ou)tside (the)m. Authorship sparks childrens interest in the adult authors of the books they read and hear read to them. The children develop preferences for the work of particular authors and enjoy discussing the books they read in the same way that they discuss their own writing (Hansen, 1987). Conclusion The process approach is a highly effective way of teaching writing to children who are blind. Although it demands additional time from a teacher who knows braille, this method provides young children with a means of creating and thinking about writing that is both pleasurable and challenging. The writing process used in the primary grades establishes a foundation for the development of future literacy skills, including the use of a talking word processor. Its immediate success, however, is reflected in the enthusiasm and confidence with which young children approach the complex task of braille writing. References Anderson, R. C. Hiebert, E. H. Scott, J A. amp Wilkinson, I. A.G. (1984). Becoming a nation of readers: The report of the Commission on Reading. Washington, DC: National Institute of Education. Butler, A. amp Turbill, J. (1987). Towards a reading-writing classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational Books. County School Board of Fairfax County, Virginia (1987). Elementary program of studies language arts. Fairfax County, VA: Author. Ely, R. (1989). Writing, computers, and visual impairment. Journal of Visual Impairment amp Blindness, 83, 248252. Graves, D. H. (1983). Writing: Teachers amp children at work. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational Books. Hansen, J. (1987). When writers read. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational Books. Rex, E. J. (1989). Issues related to literacy of legally blind learners. Journal of Visual Impairment amp Blindness, 83, 306313. Schroeder, F. (1989). Literacy: The key to opportunity. Journal of Visual Impairment amp Blindness, 83, 290293. Stephens, O. (1989). BrailleImplications for living. Journal of Visual Impairment amp Blindness, 83, 288289. Teale, W. (1985). The beginnings of literacy. Dimensions, 13, 58. Teaching Braille Reading to Students with Low Vision M. Cay Holbrook and Alan J. Koenig Chapter headings It is critical that the present and future reading needs of students with visual impairments are identified and addressed throughout their school years. Koenig and Holbrook (1989) referred to this as filling a students toolbox with tools appropriate to accomplish a variety of tasks (p. 300). The process of determining the appropriate reading medium for students with visual impairments may be divided into two phases (Koenig amp Holbrook, 1989, 1991). In Phase I, an initial decision is made about the primary reading medium for a student who has not received formal reading instruction. When a students vision is limited, the decision may be difficult and the multidisciplinary team may go through many steps in the process to make the initial decision. Eventually, the team may decide that the student will use either print or braille as his or her only reading medium or that the student will learn to read in both media with equal emphasis. Ongoing evaluations must be made to determine if a student who is being instructed in one medium will receive supplemental instruction in an alternative medium. In Phase II, the team reviews the appropriateness of the initial decision and the need to supplement the initial reading medium with a second medium on the basis of diagnostic information collected in this phase. The reading medium may be changed because the initial decision was incorrect or new information indicates that a change is warranted, or it may be decided that the student should continue to receive instruction in the initial medium with supplemental instruction in a second medium. This article focuses on teaching braille reading to students with low vision who have the following characteristics: Students in Phase I who will learn braille and print reading at the same time with equal intensity. Students in Phase II who have a background of formal instruction in print reading but for whom the multidisciplinary team has decided that continued emphasis on print is inappropriate. These students will learn braille reading as a secondary medium that may eventually become the primary reading medium. Students in Phase II who will use print as the primary medium and simultaneously learn braille reading as a supplementary tool because braille is needed for particular tasks or print reading may not be effective as the exclusive medium in the long term. Students in Phase I with some degree of vision may be able to accomplish some distance tasks visually, but cannot complete tasks visually at near point. Braille reading instruction for these students will be similar to that for students who are totally blind and will not be addressed in this article, since these students are considered functionally blind, not students with low vision. This article explores some aspects of teaching braille reading to students with low vision. First, it discusses the motivation of students to learn braille reading and parents acceptance of braille and involvement in the process. It then covers instructional approaches and factors to be considered in choosing a program and the phasing in of braille reading throughout the curriculum. Motivation Some students with low vision present a dilemma for educators and parents. Although they must be encouraged to develop and use vision as much as possible, they must also be taught to rely on their other senses, including the tactual sense for reading. Several factors may influence both parents and childrens acceptance of braille reading instruction. Acceptance of visual impairment It is essential for the parents and child to understand the clinical and functional aspects of the childs visual impairment, so appropriate educational decisions can be made and supported. Parents understanding and acceptance may be increased by the following: Teachers explanations of the educational implications of their childs eye condition. Parents inclusion in the assessment of their childs functional vision to help them understand how their child uses visual information. Parents participation in controlled, appropriate exercises with simulators representing their childs visual impairment and the provision of accurate information during these experiences. Parents and students ongoing contact with successful adults with a similar type of visual impairment. Understanding braille Most people do not know or understand braille as a code for reading and writing and may consider braille a symbol of total blindness. Therefore, parents of a child with low vision may be reluctant to accept braille as a learning medium, since their child has useful vision. These suggestions may help parents to understand and accept braille: The most effective route to understanding and acceptance is for parents to learn to read and write in braille through such instructional programs as Just Enough to Know Better (Curran, 1988) and New Programmed Instruction in Braille (Ashcroft, Henderson, Sanford, amp Koenig, 1991). Teachers can provide feedback, reinforcement, and direct instruction. Educators can inform parents of the variety of ways that braille can be used by efficient braille users, including note taking, using braille notes in public speaking, and reading braille menus. Parents can be encouraged to talk with other parents or to attend parental meetings on the subject. Parent involvement The involvement of parents and other family members not only decreases the childs isolation in learning something that most people do not know, but provides an opportunity for increased communication between parents and their child. In addition to learning the braille code, parents can do the following: Help the child with his or her homework in braille. Show their pride in their childs work by displaying braille homework papers on the refrigerator or placing selected papers in a scrapbook. Become involved with their child in public library reading programs. Teachers of students with visual impairments and librarians can facilitate this involvement by establishing a link between the public library and the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Along with educators, advocate for the provision of braille materials in public and private places (such as church bulletins and menus) where the child may need them. Motivational reading material Learning braille reading may become tedious if students rely on vision for other activities. It is not enough to use standard, commercially produced reading instructional materials. Students must also be given the opportunity to read material in braille that they want to read for enjoyment or for gaining information on topics they are learning in school or that pertain to their special interests and hobbies. For example, important school materials, such as schedules and menus, can be transcribed and posted beside the print versions, and items, such as records and tapes, can be labeled in braille at home. In addition, children and parents can be encouraged to read twin-version books and educational materials together, and the child can communicate with a pen pal who also reads and writes in braille. Sleep shades Some students with low vision will try to use their vision to read braille, rather than learn to decode braille tactually. Decoding braille visually is slow and laborious, since there is little or no contrast between the braille dots and the surrounding paper. If a student consistently reads braille visually over a long period (past the introductory stage) and is reluctant or even refuses to attempt to read braille tactually, the student is demonstrating a high level of visual ability, which may indicate that braille should not be the primary reading medium. Students who have used their vision for exploration may feel more comfortable using their vision for confirmation during the beginning stages of braille reading instruction. Some educators discourage this use of vision by blindfolding the student during instruction. However, the use of sleep shades should be avoided. Instead, tactual exploration of braille can be encouraged by providing situations, such as these, in which visual examination is not possible: The teacher could teach young children to use a Super Spy Box (J. Snider, personal communication, January 1991)a box cut so the student can slip his or her hands into it to find a cluewhile the teacher watches for the proper techniques and supplies clues through a hole on the opposite side of the box. The teacher should place a screen or ledge so it blocks the students hands from his or her eyes, but is arranged so the teacher can see hand-finger positioning. The teacher should encourage proper body positioning (sitting with the back straight and arms parallel to the floor at right angles from the body), so the student cannot view the braille dots. Instructional approaches The choice of an instructional approach in teaching braille reading to a student with low vision depends largely on two factors. First, the educator must consider the point at which skill in one reading medium is being developed relative to skill in the other medium. A student in Phase I who is beginning to read in both print and braille will learn readiness skills, word-identification strategies, comprehension skills, and so forth in both media at the same timean approach we call parallel instruction. Parallel instruction implies the equal concentration on reading skills in both print and braille, the only difference being the code used to teach these skills. Students in Phase II have already acquired basic reading skills in print, so they will be able to apply those skills in braille. We call this approach nonparallel instruction, since the student is not acquiring similar skills in both media. The student will continue to develop basic reading skills in print, while instruction in braille will focus on cracking a new code. Eventually, the level of braille reading skills will match the level of print reading skills. Second, the educator must consider the approach with which he or she feels most comfortable and that is consistent with his or her philosophy of teaching reading. Some approaches are more structured and provide specific guidelines for teaching reading, while others are less structured and require the educator to construct a reading program to meet the specific needs of a student. An educator may choose from a variety of approaches, including 1) a basal reading series, 2) language experience, 3) whole language, 4) Patterns, and 5) Read Again. Basal reader approach In the basal reader approach, the educator makes use of a commercial basal reading series (usually the series adopted by the school district) that is designed for teaching reading in print. In most cases, this approach is most appropriate for parallel instruction. It could also be used in nonparallel instruction if it is followed by introductory lessons in essential braille prereading skills and letter-contraction recognition, but a protracted series of introductory lessons may not provide the motivation necessary to sustain interest in reading in braille. (The language experience approach may be used as an alternative or to provide the introductory experiences before using the basal reader approach.) The primary advantage of the basal reader approach in parallel instruction is that instructional time is used efficiently. Since the child will complete the lessons in print anyway, applying the same skills in braille will extend instructional time only minimally (about 25) because there are more shared similarities than differences in reading in print and in braille. Another general advantage is that this approach is comprehensive all essential reading skills are included in carefully sequenced lessons. The teacher of students with visual impairments needs only to supplement it with materials, either teacher made or commercially available, to teach skills that are specific to reading in braille. Some educators believe that the primary disadvantage of this approach is the lack of control over the introduction of braille contractions, which makes the level of difficulty for vocabulary in braille different from that of print. However, we believe this concern is exaggerated. With adequate readiness, appropriate introductory lessons, and sequential instruction, a student can learn to read efficiently in braille using this approach, as did the generations of students who learned to read in braille before Patterns was introduced. Another commonly stated disadvantage of this approach is that stories are often dependent on pictures for meaning. However, for a student with low vision, this disadvantage is greatly minimized or eliminated, since the student can use pictures as part of the process, perhaps learning the crucial visual skill of scanning in conjunction with reading. In parallel instruction, the teacher of students with visual impairments will introduce new words in both print and braille before reading the story or selection. New contractions in braille should be introduced in meaningful contexts (as they appear in words), since there is little value drilling lists of contractions before they are actually used in reading. The extensive drilling of contractions may cause a student to think that reading in braille is an exercise in calling out isolated bits and pieces of words, rather than in gaining meaning from connected discourse. After appropriate introduction, the student may read the story in print and then in braille or read part of the story in one medium and the rest in the other medium. In reading-strategy lessons following the story, the same options can be applied. Since the student is developing the same reading skills (such as phonics, using context clues, and identifying the main idea) in both print and braille, it makes little difference which reading medium is selected. The essential factor is to maintain a balance, so equal skills are developed in both media. The basal reader approach offers the educator a great deal of flexibility. If the student is integrated in a reading program, the regular classroom teacher could teach print reading and the teacher of students with visual impairments could teach braille reading using the same materials. Another alternative would be to teach one unit in braille and the next in print. Also, reading in other subjects or for enjoyment could be balanced between print and braille. If the educator chooses to use a basal reading approach in nonparallel instruction, the sequential presentation of stories in increasing difficulty will be the basis for instruction. It may be desirable to choose a previous grade level from the series (even one the student has already completed) because the student can focus on developing and applying skills in a new code, rather than concentrate on both code skills and reading skills. The teaching of reading-readiness skills in braille before the introduction of stories from a basal reading series will require careful balancing to sustain the childs interest in braille reading while preparing him or her to read in connected discourse in this new medium. Language-experience approach The language-experience approach uses the students actual experiences as the basis for instruction. The student dictates a story about an experience to the teacher, who writes it down while the student observes. The story is then used to develop reading skills (as is done with a basal reading series). Such an approach could be used effectively in either parallel or nonparallel instruction. There are many advantages to using this approach. First, since the students actual experiences are used as the basis for reading instruction, the educator is assured that the child has the background needed for comprehending the story. Second, it is a highly motivating approach for a student, since the student dictates the story, knows the content, and can reread the story in a meaningful manner. Because of the high motivational value, teachers may choose to use this approach as a supplement to others. Third, it is a flexible approach that can be used in conjunction with other instructional approaches and in parallel or nonparallel instruction to teach reading-comprehension skills in print, braille, or both. There are few, if any, disadvantages to this approach. Since the stories are dictated by the student, there can be no control over the presence of difficult words or words with contractions. (In reality, this is a strength of this approachif the student can say a word, he or she can also read it.) This lack of control is not a significant concern if adequate, and sequential instruction is provided in the introduction of words. Second, this approach is unstructured. Because there is no prescribed sequence of reading skills, the educator may choose to use this approach in conjunction with a basal reader approach to ensure that all essential reading skills are taught. The basic instructional procedures are straightforward. First, an experience must take placeone that is either arranged specifically for this purpose (such as a trip to the local firehouse) or that occurs naturally (for example, what happened during recess today). However, educators should keep in mind that students with visual impairments often lack basic experiences, so arranged ones are important. Second, as soon as the experience has occurred, the student dictates a story about it and the teacher writes exactly what the student says using a braillewriter or slate and stylus. Third, the student and teacher read the story together immediately afterward. Fourth, the student and teacher continue to reread the story for a few days. It will be more crucial as this process continues for the teacher to say words only as the student tracks over them, since this is the process by which the student associates certain configurations with the words they represent. Fifth, the teacher can arrange any number of reading strategy lessons using the story as the basis for developing targeted skills. For example, contextual clues can be fostered through the cloze procedure, in which every fifth word is replaced by a blank and the student fills in a word that makes sense as the story is read, or phonics skills can be developed from words present in the story. Hall (1981) is an excellent source of suggestions for reading-strategy lessons to be used with this approach. Whole-language approach The whole-language approach is a comprehensive program that integrates reading and writing into the entire curriculum of a classroom, including such activities as choral reading, language experience, journal writing, and uninterrupted sustained silent reading. This approach lends itself to situations in which the classroom teacher works closely with the teacher of students with visual impairments to ensure that the students are fully involved in all aspects of instruction. A residential school classroom in which the teacher knows braille and modifies his or her own materials would be an ideal setting for this approach. In a mainstream classroom, students with low vision are most likely to participate in this approach if the entire curriculum is set up in this type of program. This decision is made by the regular classroom teacher or a school official the teacher of students with visual impairments will not decide to use this approach, but will respond to the curriculum needs of the mainstream classroom. There are several advantages to this approach for students who have low vision. First, it uses motivating reading materials and activities. Second, since students participate with their sighted peers in both reading and writing activities, appropriate materials must be provided for all activities. Third, because of the wide variety of activities involving reading and writing, this approach provides opportunities for students with low vision to choose the most effective tool for a particular task. The disadvantages of this approach are that many materials may need to be adapted or transcribed into braille. The production and adaptation of materials for whole-language classrooms must be ongoing, and options must be available to fulfill the immediate need for spontaneous activities. Finally, the approach is difficult to use in an itinerant teaching model, since constant communication between the classroom teacher and the itinerant teacher is essential for success. In both parallel and nonparallel instruction, students receive individual instruction in braille reading or the braille code, respectively. In parallel instruction, as much material as possible must be provided in both braille and print and a balance must be maintained between the two media. In nonparallel instruction, the braille code is taught separately from whole-language class, and students continue to use their vision for a majority of tasks until their reading skills in braille are adequate for daily classroom assignments. The whole-language approach to teaching reading is a new system in the United States and requires extensive exploration to determine the most effective way to include students who are learning to read braille. Patterns: The Primary Braille Reading Program is a specially designed basal reading program for young students who are blind. It is intended to introduce basic reading skills through the third-grade level and, by the end of the program, to have introduced all the contractions and short form words in the Grade II braille code. After the third grade, the student is prepared to enter a standard basal reading program or some other approach used by sighted students. This series has recently added the Patterns Prebraille Program, which introduces the early concepts and language skills necessary for reading. One of the primary advantages of Patterns is that it is a comprehensive program containing readers, work sheets, a teachers guide, and criterion tests and is specifically designed to meet the early reading needs of students who are blind. The introduction of new vocabulary and contractions is carefully controlled according to factors known to influence the difficulty of reading in braille. Stories were written to reflect the experiences of young students who are blind and are not dependent on pictures for understanding the content. Finally, beginning teachers may find Patterns appealing because it is a structured approach with a complete teachers guide. For students with low vision who are learning to read braille, the major disadvantage of using Patterns its incompatibility with other approacheslargely overshadows its advantages. Since Patterns was intended to be used as a stand-alone program for young students who are learning to read in braille, it is difficult to combine it with other approaches in a systematic and meaningful manner. Also, its use will prevent integrated reading instruction with sighted peers and will further prevent the use of supplementary and recreational reading materials in braille outside the Patterns Library Series. In parallel instruction, the teacher of students with visual impairments delivers a separate reading program in braille apart from the instructional program in print reading. Therefore, if this approach is used, it will double the amount of instructional time, and multidisciplinary teams must guarantee that this time is set aside for the student. In nonparallel instruction, the teacher may use Patterns only to introduce the unique aspects of reading in braille and eliminate some or all the skills lessons that accompany the series, except for the vocabulary and comprehension skills specific to each story. This strategy assumes that essential reading skills are being taught and acquired in the print reading program. In nonparallel instruction, the amount of instructional time depends on the amount of time devoted to teaching reading skills that are not unique to the braille code. Read Again Read Again (Caton, Pester, amp Bradley, 1990) is a series of instructional materials that are designed to teach the braille code to individuals with adventitious blindness. It does not purport to teach reading skills per se because it was developed specifically for individuals with established basic reading skills in print who are being introduced to reading in braille. Therefore, it is appropriate only for nonparallel instruction. An advantage of Read Again is that it was designed specifically to teach the braille code to individuals with adventitious blindness who are learning to read in another medium. Therefore, it would meet the similar need for instruction in an alternative reading medium for students with low vision in nonparallel instruction. Also, it is a comprehensive set of materials with practice materials, criterion tests, and a teachers manual. A disadvantage of Read Again is that since the program was targeted to the vocabulary of teenagers and young adults, it is not appropriate for many younger students. In addition, the contrived reading materials may not sustain the interest of older students. In nonparallel instruction with older students, the educator will use Read Again as a stand-alone program, supplementing the practice exercises with reading materials of importance to the student. These materials may include such items as their class schedule for the upcoming semester and telephone numbers and addresses of friends. It is essential to show the student how braille reading can be useful in completing essential tasks, rather than isolating these skills from day-to-day activities. Supplementary materials With all the approaches just discussed and with either parallel or nonparallel instruction, some supplementary materials will be necessary to teach students the unique aspects of reading in braille, including hand movements, tactual discrimination, and braille character recognition. One of the most valuable programs is the Mangold Program of Tactile Perception and Braille Letter Recognition (Mangold, 1977)a carefully sequenced set of materials that teaches efficient and independent hand-movement skills, combined with the quick discrimination and recognition of braille letters. The Mangold program is a valuable tool for teaching reading in braille to students with low vision when it is used for its intended purpose. It is not a reading program per se (and was never intended to be), since it does not teach a student to gain meaning from connected text. It teaches some basic, essential skills that are needed for reading in braille, but does not teach higher-level reading skills, such as vocabulary, word recognition, and comprehension. Other supplementary materials that may be used as part of a total reading program include the APH Tactual Discrimination Worksheets, Touch and Tell, and the Patterns Prebraille Program. Also, teacher-made materials that pinpoint specific skills are valuable. Harley, Truan, and Sanford (1987) offer some excellent ideas for teacher-made materials and activities for teaching reading in braille. Integrating braille into the curriculum The purpose of reading instruction is not just to teach reading for the sake of reading, but to teach students to use reading to accomplish a variety of daily tasks. The same is true for learning to use braille for reading and writing. If students are to become truly efficient braille users, they must have intensive and extensive experience with braille in all areas of schoolwork. In parallel instruction, the student must maintain a balance in the use of both print and braille to become effective in both media. Braille reading will not be mastered if braille is used only during reading instruction. Rather, the practice of reading in braille throughout the day and evening is critical to its development. Since the premise of parallel instruction is that both print and braille will be taught at the same time with equal intensity, opportunities must be provided for applied and sustained practice. Print and braille should be integrated into the curriculum with equal frequency, and the student should be encouraged in the early stages to help decide which medium to use for a particular task. In nonparallel instruction, the focus is on maintaining academic achievement in print reading while developing braille reading skills. It is unreasonable to expect that a child will be able to use braille immediately to achieve academic goals, since in the beginning, braille reading will be slower and less efficient than will print reading. Braille should be phased into the curriculum at various points, while always keeping in mind the time it takes for students to complete the task efficiently in print or in braille. Print reading will continue to be an important tool for students as long as they have sufficient functional vision. References Ashcroft, S. C. Henderson, F, Sanford, L. amp Koenig, A. (1991). New programmed instruction in braille. Nashville, TN: SCALARS Publishing. Caton, H. Pester, E. amp Bradley, E. J. (1990). Read again. Louisville, KY: American Printing House for the Blind. Curran, E. P (1988). Just enough to know better. Boston: National Braille Press. Hall, M. A. (1981). Teaching reading as a language experience (3rd ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill Publishing Co. Harley, R. K. Truan, M. B. amp Sanford, L. D. (1987). Communication skills for visually impaired learners. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas. Koenig, A. J. amp Holbrook, M. C. (1989). Determining the reading medium for students with visual impairments: A diagnostic teaching approach. Journal of Visual Impairment amp Blindness, 83, 296302. Koenig, A. J. amp Holbrook, M. C. (1991). Determining the reading medium for visually impaired students via diagnostic teaching. Journal of Visual Impairment amp Blindness, 85, 6168. Mangold, S. (1977). The Mangold developmental program of tactile perception and braille letter recognition. Castro Valley, CA: Exceptional Teaching Aids. Table 3.1 Concepts of Concrete Objects Familiar Object Exemplifying ConceptKagan Publishing amp Professional Development Teach smarter with SmartCards These colorful, glossy, quick reference cards are terrific resources youll want to keep within arms reach youll turn to these SmartCards time and time again These 8.5quot x 11quot SmartCards unfold to 17quot x 11quot. Each card is loaded with ideas, activities, strategies, theory, and rationale to keep your classroom and your teaching on the cutting edge. A treasure chest of invaluable ideas at an unbeatable low price. 4 each Brain-Based Learning SmartCard Teach smarter using powerful principles derived from brain science. Ignite your studentsrsquo natural love for learning by delivering brain-compatible lessons. Stimulate studentsrsquo brains by crafting a challenging, enriched curriculum. Increase motivation and comprehension with active learning. Boost studentsrsquo memory through multiple channels. Uncover patterns in learning to help students make connections. Create an inclusive, nonthreatening environment to skyrocket learning. This SmartCard translates brain research into practical, easy-to-understand principles so you can teach with the brain in mind. TBB bull 4 Character Education SmartCard Help your students develop character virtues In this SmartCard, you will find the answers to some frequently asked questions relating to character education: What is character education Why should schools teach for character Shouldnrsquot parents teach for character Wonrsquot teaching character virtues interfere with academics You will find an A to Z list of nearly 100 virtues to choose from in developing your own character development program. Share with your students the descriptions of the dozen core virtues. And use the wealth of ideas and activities to develop character in your class and school, including how to integrate character into your curriculum. This quick-reference card is another great SmartCard yoursquoll want to keep within armrsquos reach. TCE bull 4 Classbuilding SmartCard Hold the power and simplicity of classbuilding in your hands Create a caring, cooperative classroom using energizing, classbuilding strategies. Students get out of their seats and have the opportunity to interact with their classmates in a positive way. This SmartCard provides the rationale for classbuilding, and a step-by-step description of 11 fun and practical classbuilding strategies for your class, including: Corners, Find Someone Who, Inside-Outside Circle, Mix-N-Match, Similarity Groups, Stir-the-Class, and Who Am I. TCB bull 4 Communication Boosters SmartCard Boost your studentsrsquo communication skills. Build interpersonal relations. Transform your class into a more caring community. Do it all with gambitsmdashfunctional phrases that empower students to say just the right thing. Whether theyrsquore saying hello or goodbye to teammates, disagreeing politely, asking for clarification, building creativity, or keeping the team on task, theyrsquoll know how to say it with style. In this SmartCard, you will find over 200 gambits designed to stretch your studentsrsquo verballinguistic intelligence. Plus, yoursquoll find structures for generating, using, and sharing gambits. Watch as your students work together more harmoniously. Listen as your students become more caring, respectful, and positive. TCO bull 4 Cooperative Learning SmartCard Kaganrsquos approach to cooperative learning is summarized on this colorful, laminated SmartCard. We highly recommend this handy little quick-reference card to anyone purchasing the book, Kagan Cooperative Learning. On the front of the card, yoursquoll pick up tips on how to tighten up your cooperative learning lessons using PIES. On the center spread yoursquoll find Kaganrsquos 6 Key Concepts to successful cooperative learning. It includes the answers to the most frequently asked questions about using Kagan. On the back of the card, therersquos a list of Kagan Structures to assist you in lesson planning. Need a structure for introducing your lesson Or how about one that engages the visualspatial intelligence Or want a teambuilding or classbuilding structure idea Kagan Structures are categorized for you to make lesson planning a snap. TKC bull 4 Save on the Cooperative Learning Teachers Kit Differentiated Instruction SmartCard Meet your studentsrsquo unique learning needs with a differentiated approach to teaching. This SmartCard addresses common questions about Differentiated Instruction, outlines the many ways in which students differ, and provides practical tips for managing the DI classroom. It features strategies and insights on how to differentiate the various aspects of instruction including: flexible grouping, assessment and evaluation, instructional materials, student support, products and presentations, instructional strategies, time and workload, difficulty, curriculum, and recognition. Use differentiated practices to help students reach their potentials TDI bull 4 Emotional Intelligence SmartCard Boost your studentsrsquo Emotional Intelligence with this SmartCard. In this colorful 11quot x 17quot quick-reference card, you will find everything you need to get started with emotional intelligence. It includes an understandable synopsis of valuable information yoursquoll be ldquohappyrdquo to know about including the origin of EQ, Emotional Intelligence defined, the 5 dimensions of EQ, the rationale for building studentsrsquo EQ and the most important implications for teachers. Inside, the 5 dimensions are described in detail, and practical classroom suggestions are provided. On the back, you will find 17 emotion activity ideas that you can use with the hundreds of emotions listed from A to Z You and your students will be ecstatic, elated, empowered, enthralled, excited, exhilarated, and exuberant as you explore the world of emotions with this little gem. TEI bull 4 Graphic Organizers SmartCard Transform your classroom into a visual think tank with graphic organizers This colorful SmartCard describes the rationale for using graphic organizers, provides ideas and activities across the curriculum, and illustrates over 30 graphic organizers including: Chains, Ladder, Cycle Graph, Mind Map, Venn Diagrams, Word Web, Concept Map, Concept Charts, CompareContrast Charts, PMI, Target, Pie Chart, Fish Bone, Categories, Tree, Pyramid, Matrix, and Plot. Yoursquoll find loads of ideas to use graphic organizers in your class: have students graph the seasons with a Cycle Graph, compare and contrast the branches of government or story characters with a Venn Diagram, Mind Map any important concepts, draw the events of a story or historical event with a Picture Strip, and analyze cause and effect with a Fish Bone. An excellent, quick-reference card for all types of graphic organizers. TGO bull 4 Memory amp Mnemonics SmartCard Enhance studentsrsquo memory Learn classical and innovative memory strategies to promote retention of academic content. In this SmartCard, learn the best mnemonic devices to use with your students. Students will make dramatic improvements in remembering that difficult-to-remember information. Master Acronyms, Acrostics, Keyword Mnemonic, Loci Mnemonics, Roman Room, Processing Mnemonics, Rhymes and Jingles, VocabToons, Link and Story Mnemonics, Letter Substitution Mnemonic, and the various Peg Mnemonics. TMN bull 4 Memory Systems SmartCard Boost studentsrsquo memory skills and watch test scores soar. The ability to remembermdashwhether it be facts, skills, events, steps, or locationsmdashis essential for classroom success. In this SmartCard, learn about five major memory systems: Semantic, Procedural, Episodic, Working, and Spatial memory. Each memory system is a passport to a different type of academic success. Understand what memories really are in order to transform classroom learning. Go with the flow by engaging studentsrsquo natural memory systems that recall information with ease. Make learning unforgettable by engaging multiple memory systems. TMS bull 4 Mind Mapping SmartCard Mind mapping is a fast and fun way for students to take visual notes and for you to present concepts to students. Use mind mapping in your class to foster creativity, boost comprehension and retention of what you teach, and simultaneously engage multiple intelligences This colorful SmartCard describes the rationale for using mind maps in the classroom provides ideas and activities to introduce and use mind mapping in your class describes how to create mind maps step-by-step offers many helpful hints illustrates sample mind maps provides mind mapping ideas for mathematics, language arts, social studies, and science and illustrates how to use mind maps for lesson, theme, and unit planning. A great resource yoursquoll turn to time and time again. TMM bull 4 Multiple Intelligences SmartCard This colorful 11quot x 17quot SmartCard is a terrific, quick reference for multiple intelligences. It describes MI theory in a nutshell, the eight intelligences (including the naturalist intelligence) in plain, easy-to-understand language, and provides a long list of activities for you to do with your students to develop each of the eight intelligences. A great teacher reference to turn to time and time again. TMI bull 4 Save on the MI Teachers Combo Kit RTI-Response to Intervention SmartCard Help students who struggle in school with this systematic approach. Identify students with learning challenges and respond with effective interventions. This SmartCard introduces you to RTI and overviews three basic components of RTI: 1) Screening for Struggling Students, 2) Tiered Intervention Strategies, and 3) Progress Monitoring. This SmartCard provides suggestions for forming an RTI team in your school and special considerations for your team. It offers ideas for informing and involving parents. Provide support to students who need help in school with RTI TRT bull 4 Second Language Learning SmartCard Whether learning English as a Second Language or a World Language, having multiple opportunities to practice the target language allows for increased retention and acquisition. With this Kagan SmartCard you will have some of the best strategies to organize communication for all learners, at all levels of language acquisition. These simple, yet innovative Kagan Structures promote communication and increase language production. In the traditional classroom, students practice language only when called upon to produce language. In the classroom where the teacher uses Kagan Structures, the frequency of student communication and language practice is increased significantly. With these structures language is being practiced all over the room from the voices of the learners and not just from the teacher. Language learning becomes functional, communicative, and meaningful TSL bull 4 Teambuilding SmartCard Have all the wonders of teambuilding at your fingertips Build students will to work together and their cooperative teamwork skills using empowering teambuilding strategies. Give students the opportunity to interact with their teammates in a positive way. Build teams in which Together Everyone Achieves More This SmartCard provides the rationale for teambuilding and a step-by-step description of 14 fun and practical teambuilding strategies for your class, including: 4S Brainstorming, Find-the-Fiction, Match Mine, Pairs Compare, Team Interview, and Team Project. TTB bull 4 Thinking Questions SmartCard Skyrocket critical and creative questions in your classroom with carefully crafted questions. One of the most frequent and important thing a teacher does is ask questions. In fact, teachers ask up to hundreds of questions per day. This easy-reference card is designed to help you ensure that your questions engage and develop your studentsrsquo multifaceted thinking skills. It includes a discussion of fat vs. skinny questions, high-consensus vs. low-consensus questions, and true vs. review questions. It overviews the importance of critical and creative questions, and links classroom questions to developing thinking skills. Inside, you will find over 100 reusable question starters for 36 types of thinking. The question starters are great to enrich your questions and theyrsquore terrific for the student-generated questioning activities described on the back. Keep this little SmartCard handy and remember Einsteinrsquos advice, ldquoThe important thing is to never stop questioning. rdquo TTQ bull 4 Watch Video Demo Think-Pair-Share SmartCard This is your userrsquos guide to one of the most simple, yet most powerful cooperative learning structures out there. With this SmartCard in your hands, you will have a world of options to get your students thinking, pairing, and sharing. Therersquos so much more to thinking than just saying, ldquoThink about it. rdquo And this card will give you plenty of thinking strategies: From ldquoFree Seerdquo to ldquoMindhoprdquo to ldquoThink Link. rdquo Yoursquoll have your students thinking about the content from all angles. Actively engage pairs with strategies such as: ldquoUnpack, rdquo ldquoSpin Off, rdquo and ldquoReadDig. rdquo And, of course, a Think-Pair-Share SmartCard wouldnrsquot be complete without a variety of techniques for students to share their learning or responses. Use ldquoMask, rdquo ldquoSecret Show, rdquo and ldquoSculpturerdquo to transform your classroom into an information super-sharing highway. TPS bull 4 ThinkTrix SmartCard ThinkTrix is a simple strategy to create powerful thinking questions that enhance studentsrsquo thinking about any subject. Use the ldquoThinking Matrixrdquo to develop questions, worksheets, and tests that promote seven fundamental types of thinking: Recall, CauseEffect, Similarity, Difference, Idea to Example, Example to Idea, and Evaluation. Students can also use ThinkTrix to come up with their own higher-level thinking questions to ask teammates and classmates. Teach your students the seven fundamental types of thinking with definitions, question starters, and curriculum examples. Help your students know how their minds should work to answer questions, and promote metacognitive thinking. ThinkTrix is a wonderfully simple way for you and your students to step your classroom questions up a notch. With ThinkTrix, your students will think more critically and creatively about the subject matter than you ever imagined. TTT bull 4 Rationale for Using ThinkTrix in the Classroom 7 Classroom Management SmartCards This series of seven SmartCards covers the most important techniques for effective classroom management. Make the most of your teaching day with well-sequenced, well-established daily routines. Reduce discipline problems and maximize learning with effective classroom procedures. Empower your students and keep your class in control with class meetings. Get the series and have the most effective classroom management techniques at your fingertips. 4 Each Class Meetings Classroom Management SmartCard All aspects of classroom life improve through class meetings. Students become more invested in the class, one another, and learning. The classroom becomes more caring, cooperative, and democratic. This SmartCard is your blueprint for class meetings where students share announcements, solve class problems, make important decisions, evaluate progress, and plan events. Yoursquoll find everything you need to know and do to lead successful class meetings. TME bull 4 Classroom Procedures Classroom Management SmartCard Effective classroom procedures reduce disruptions and discipline problems, and maximize learning. Expectations are clear and the class is a safe place where everyone knows how to behave. In this SmartCard, you will find time-honored classroom procedures. Start the year off right. Discover quick tips for roll-taking. Manage classroom supplies like a pro. Maintain an acceptable noise level. And keep students orderly when going places. Learn veteran strategies to establish and maintain a smooth-running class. TCP bull 4 Daily Routines Classroom Management SmartCard Make the most of your teaching day with well-sequenced, well-established daily routines. Predictable routines create order in the classroom. We reduce studentsrsquo anxiety and establish a sense of security when students know the class schedule and sequence of classroom procedures. Discover tips to create or improve your daily routines. Optimize your learning environment by balancing routine with novelty. Set your morning routine on autopilot. Create a brain-friendly daily sequence of instruction time, snacks, breaks, lunch, and recess to maximize learning and minimize discipline problems. TDR bull 4 Cooperative Learning Classroom Management SmartCard Multiply the effectiveness of cooperative learning with powerful and proven classroom management strategies. This SmartCard gives you the tools you need to make cooperative learning run smoothly. Get teams attention back on you. Keep the noise level down. Arrange your room for teamwork. Expedite collecting and distributing materials. Form solid base teams. Add novelty with random teams. Take advantage of teammates as support. Finish team tasks at the same time, every time, to reduce downtime and disruptions. Learn cooperative management tips and tricks from the pros. TMC bull 4 Save on the Combo Save on the SmartCard Teacher Toolbox Classroom Signals Classroom Management SmartCard Signals are simple, nonverbal messages, such as hand or body gestures between the teacher and students. Classroom signals communicate volumes without saying one word. Use signals to manage your students. Use signals to relay instructions. Have your students communicate with you via signals to avoid disruptions. Signals save you time and energy, and improve the lines of communication in your classroom. This SmartCard offers dozens of popular classroom signals, steps for establishing signals in your classroom, and ideas for developing your own signal system. TCS bull 4 Cooperative Roles Classroom Management SmartCard Make cooperative projects more fun and run more smoothly with roles. Avoid hogs and logs during open-ended team discussions. Develop students teamwork skills and repertoire of social competencies. This SmartCard presents the 12 most essential cooperative roles, and answers critical questions relating to cooperative roles: What is a cooperative role When do I use roles How do I assign roles How do students learn their roles Minimize management problems and maximize students performance with cooperative learning roles. TCR bull 4 Student Jobs Classroom Management SmartCard Develop students responsibility and self-esteem by empowering them with important duties in the classroom. Save time and energy by enlisting students help to perform essential classroom management tasks. Student jobs are terrific management tools that reduce the teachers workload and improve students teamwork skills. Have each student contribute to a smooth-running classroom, and create an our class community. Promote classroom democracy and leadership with student government and student committees. TSJ bull 4
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