Hi Sharon- You shared some great ideas on building background knowledge and vocabulary skills and have incorporated all your points into my instruction. I’d love to share an experience I had last spring with a group of 4 teens ranging in visual abilities. I am in Massachusetts and the Boston Science Musuem offered a one day interactive exhibit celebrating the Right Whale Day. This was geared towards individuals with visual impairments, as it paired live music with the locomotion and feeding behaviors of the Humpback and North Atlantic Right Whales. Particpantants moved their hands over and created the movement of 3D sculpture models, while musicians paired the movement with music. Prior to this field trip, I studied whales with my students to provide with some background knowledge. We discussed what they know, think they know, and what they want to learn. Real life, hands -on experience is so important to our students understanding of the world in which they live. First hand experience is not always feasible, so creating opportunities such as this whale exhibit can be so impactful.
- How can educators incorporate real-life experiences and tactile learning activities to help students with visual impairments build their background knowledge and vocabulary skills, thus enhancing their reading comprehension abilities?
Some ways to expand background knowledge and vocabulary include:
Field Trips and Community-Based Learning: Organize visits to places related to the curriculum, such as museums, parks, farms, or historical sites. Hands-on experiences and direct interaction with the environment help students build contextual knowledge.
Tactile Books and Objects: Use books with braille and tactile images or objects. Provide real items or textured models related to the content, allowing students to explore and understand concepts through touch. APH has great resources!
Interactive Lessons: Design lessons that involve physical activities, such as role-playing, building models, cooking, or conducting experiments. This multisensory approach reinforces learning through experience.
Sensory/Nature Walks: Take students on sensory walks where they can touch, smell, and listen to their surroundings. Describing these experiences can help build their vocabulary and contextual understanding.
Hands-On Science Experiments: Conduct science experiments that involve tactile and auditory elements. Activities like mixing substances, handling materials, or listening to reactions can make abstract concepts more tangible.
Cooking Classes: Organize cooking sessions where students can measure ingredients, feel textures, and taste their creations. Cooking integrates multiple senses and teaches practical vocabulary related to food and cooking processes.
Art Projects: Use art activities involving different textures and materials. Projects like clay modeling, collage making, or fabric art help students explore creativity while learning new descriptive words.
Nature Exploration: Set up a small garden or indoor plant area where students can feel the soil, smell the plants, and hear the rustling leaves. This interaction with nature can enrich their understanding of the environment and related vocabulary.
Interactive Story Mapping: After reading a story, create a tactile map of the story’s setting using materials like clay or fabric. Let students build parts of the setting (houses, rivers, trees) and label them. Use this map to retell the story, reinforcing spatial and descriptive vocabulary.
Interactive History Lessons: Use tactile maps and 3D models to teach historical events and locations. Then let students handle replicas of historical artifacts, such as coins, tools, and clothing.
I agree with you. Collaboration is key here because knowing themes can support the classroom teacher. I think the classroom teacher may not think about background knowledge and vocabulary the way we think of it because those who are sighted can simply see pictures even though they may like to have the hands on items as well. I’ve noticed a lot of students want to participate and use the “fun” things brought it which is great and inclusive. The video descriptions are so important. I had a teacher pick classroom movies with audio description so my student could enjoy the classroom movie. I love the idea of a word wall binder. It can be so hard to see it because of visual clutter, distance, or they can’t see it. Having it at their desk allows them to access it.
I think your post is important. It brought me to think about the ECC. That’s what we teach but exposing our students to topics they have not experienced helps in so many areas. Imagine now that your student experienced the light bulb and lamp, they can now participate in a conversation and even have awareness in the event it’s brought up in a job interview or with coworker. Helping our students with the missing 80% that vision provides can help with self-esteem in so many ways! Your post just makes me excited to find other areas or concepts my students do not understand to help begin to build that bridge.
I would agree on incorporating the other students in the class in the activity as mentioned on sharing the quilt. Would some students perceive the quilt as a blanket?
I remember in one kindergarten class the students would bring in an object that started with the letter they were learning that week. I found the different items amazing and then they could share their object with the other students. Not all of them got the letter and item to match, but a good lesson in what the student is taking in from the lesson.
Hi, Ashley!
Your approach to teaching visually impaired students vocabulary and reading comprehension through real-world experiences is truly inspiring! The TVI, general education teacher, and family must collaborate to build background knowledge for these students, as they miss out on the incidental learning that sighted children often take for granted.
Your story about Keeleigh beautifully illustrates the power of sensory experiences in education. By working together with her second-grade teacher and her parents, you created a rich, multisensory learning environment that helped Keeleigh understand and articulate concepts she couldn’t see. The hands-on experiences with tactile representations of lobsters, listening to articles, reading in Braille, and even visiting Red Lobster to touch and taste a real lobster, were brilliant ways to bring her learning to life!
These kinds of experiences are essential for visually impaired students, allowing them to use their other senses to explore and understand the world. They not only help build vocabulary but also enhance reading comprehension and make learning more meaningful and engaging. Your dedication to providing Keeleigh with these opportunities demonstrates the incredible impact that a collaborative, hands-on approach can have on a student’s education.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful example! It highlights the importance of teamwork and creativity in education, especially for students who rely on their other senses to learn about the world around them.
Hi, Shannon! I wanted to respond to your comment: “When identifying whether a student is having difficulty with phonological awareness or decoding, the teacher should start by assessing the student’s understanding of phonological awareness skills to determine if they have benefited from the oral instruction provided.” I agree wholeheartedly! I also think it helps to have a baseline of phonological awareness before beginning braille instruction. One free (quick and easy to do!) phonological awareness screener I like is called the PAST–Phonological Awareness Screening Test (PAST). Here’s a link to the screener–
https://thepasttest.com/. Also, this video – https://youtu.be/AjO41IPPW2Y?feature=shared is helpful because it shows how to implement the PAST screener in real-time as well as how a child’s ability to manipulate and segment sounds is critical for skilled reading.
- In what ways can educators incorporate real-life experiences and tactile learning activities to help students with visual impairments build their background knowledge and vocabulary skills, thus enhancing their reading comprehension abilities?
Ways in which to incorporate real-life experiences and tactile learning for students who are visually impaired should include a) team approach, b) preferred learning media such as braille, and c) the 8 senses.
Team approach to include parent, general education teacher, para educator/braillist and TCVI. Each has a unique role with the student who is visually impaired. The parent is key with assisting their child after school hours by following through with activities generally laid out by the TCVI to further real life experiences and tactile learning. The general education teacher has to be on top of their lessons to pass along the lessons in advance to the braillist to ensure all are brailled and/or tactually prepared. The para educator would need to assist the student through the guidance of the TCVI while including all aspects of learning activities throughout the day until the student no longer requires their assistance. The TCVI has the daunting task of staying on top of the every day lessons while continuing to assess the students braille skills as well as providing activities to the parent.
If the student’s preferred learning media is braille, braille should be a part of the general education curriculum the same as print for sighted readers. Teachers have a way of believing braille is another language. However, we as professionals know this is not true. Tactile is key to learning where sight is key to the visual learner.
Previously senses included five. However, eight senses are recognized by today’s standards. This includes sight, hearing, tasting, touching, movement, balance and interception (Sensory Friendly Solutions). The senses with the exception of sight for the braille learner can be included in every day activities further enhancing background knowledge and vocabulary skills. If the lesson is on farm animals, one cannot bring in an array of living farm animals but a trip to a farm would be advantageous as it could incorporate all of the senses. A story box incorporating farm animals is example of a follow up for enhancing reading comprehension.
Megan: Your creating a book kit for the week’s reading is great! In the past, when I have had young braille students I would do the same. I found it somewhat difficult at times due to the teacher not knowing ahead of time what they were to present ahead of time. After a few weeks of the student not having their story book kit, the teacher understood why it was so important and for the remainder of the year made sure I was able to prepare.
Thank you for sharing your experiences with the story book kit.
Patricia: Yes, lack of incidental learning experiences is key with students who are visually impaired. Am finding this more today than 20 years ago. Parents of children who are visually impaired not only need to learn of ways to incorporate incidental learning experiences but have to want to do so. More often than not a TCVI is teaching the parents as much as the student.
Thank you for your insightful posting.
Awesome! I love it when museums have interactive exhibits for those of us who are blind/visually impaired. The Right Whale Day interactive exhibit and your pre-teaching gave the students knowledge of the feeding and movement of the whales. With this knowledge, your students would be able to read a book about whales and understand more about them.
- In what ways can educators incorporate real-life experiences and tactile learning activities to help students with visual impairments build their background knowledge and vocabulary skills, thus enhancing their reading comprehension abilities?
Teachers can help students with visual impairments build their background knowledge and vocabulary skills by providing a variety of hands on activities. Some examples of these hands on activities would include a story bag or story box with tangible objects related to the story or content being presented. Since students with visual impairments often lack experiences of incidental learning, students with visual impairments needs opportunities to discover information they cannot learn through their vision. These bags or boxes do not need to just be limited to tangible items. They can also include opportunities to interact with scents or other elements that students may not be able to interact with duw to a lack of incidental learning.
The drawback to story bags or bags is that they take time to create as well as money to the different tangible materials. However, once several story bags or boxes have been created various pieces can be reused in different bags or boxes when elements repeat. One way to help with time an cost would be to have themes for a series of stories/information as well. By having a series of stories using the same materials, students are able to develop more and more background knowledge which will help with comprehension down the road.
In addition to story bags or boxes, teachers NEED to provide information in whatever primary reading medium that the student is using. This process is two fold. Teachers of the Visually Impaired need to assist with providing the alternate format; for example brailling information and/or submitting it to a braille transcriber. Additionally, general education teachers/intervention specialists need to provide information in advance… and not just a couple of days/hours/minutes. It needs to be a meaningful timeframe before to allow the alternate format to be given when printed information is being given to sighted peers. This also should be done for large print as well. While large print does not take as long as braille to create, time needs to be given to provide this format.
I love your detail response on activities and things that can be done to help students with visual impairments increase their background knowledge. Field trips, cooking classes, art projects, etc. are right in line with all of the interactive/hands on activities that are needed to help with that lack of incidental learning. The bonus for general education classroom teachers is that all students can benefit from these activities; they do not need to be just for the student who is blind or visually impaired.
This coming school year, I am hoping to be more involved in the classroom with one of my soon to be 2nd graders. We had started building in more interactive opportunities into her first grade classroom during the 2nd semester of the most recent school year, but we need more!
Do you have a link to this or a PDF that could be easily shared? I haven’t been able to find a great concise representation that I can easily share with various staff and this one seems to be easier for general staff to interpret.
Joint collaborative planning time is one of the key elements that I stress with staff. I make it a point to collaborate early in the school year and often with all of my students; not just the students that need more support. I feel that through collaboration we can provide lessons and information that make students want to learn. With collaboration we can provide experiences that create connected lessons that then foster that motivation to learn.
I had a similar situation many years back. I had a student who was very delayed. I started with him as a preschooler, when he speech was limited and almost incoherent. One day it all just clicked and he turned to me and asked a full beautiful question. Fast forward to grade 3, reading skills were very far behind his peers. He had amazing listening comprehension, but could not read. He was learning braille, but it wasn’t progressing fast enough. He had enough sight to use print, but it had to be over 50 point font (not ideal for fluency). I paired up with a special education teacher who was Wilson certified and we implemented the program in both Braille and print. He eventually developed some better skills, but not enough. He loved all things tech and gadgets. He is now going to be a college junior and living at school. He is interning this summer at a tech based company. Recently, I was able to watch him present to his class about technology for visual impairments. All those years when he was young and developing skills, I stayed up awake at night worrying about him and stressed that I wasn’t doing enough. He wasn’t motivated by Braille and it was certainly not supported at home. Now seeing him as a young adult thriving at school and immersing himself in the world of technology, I am so happy for his success and that he found his niche.
- How might collaborative planning and instruction between TVIs and general education teachers be structured to ensure alignment, particularly in terms of addressing the interconnectedness of language comprehension and word recognition?
I think it is vital for the general education teachers to provide access to upcoming lessons and materials in a timely manner. This can help us as the TVI understand what the teacher wants the students to learn and make sure it is accessible. Good communication and a team approach is key when teaching a young braille learner. As the TVI, I feel like I am skilled in providing my students with the necessary background knowledge in order to enhance their comprehension skills. However, I don’t have a strong knowledge base of phonics and decoding in order to know how to teach it explicitly to a young student as an experienced classroom teacher would do. I think our job as the TVI is to help the classroom teachers understand that we are not there to teach reading, but we are there to help them teach it to our students in an accessible manner. We need to advocate for our students to have access to accessible materials. We can help the classroom teacher recognize when our student may be struggling with a concept and provide feedback and support. This could come in the form of providing extra background knowledge to help prepare the student for an upcoming lesson, or reteaching a concept that the student did not understand in class. We can also work on phonics and decoding skills informally in our lessons to provide the student with extra practice. It all comes down to good communication between all team members to ensure the student is getting what they need to become a skilled reader. I feel this is especially important in the early elementary years to ensure a strong foundation of word recognition.
I enjoyed reading your post. Thank you for mentioning about the eight senses. I have not yet heard of that concept and previously thought of there as only being five senses! It is also very interesting to think about including the remaining three senses within daily activities for our students. I feel like many of our students, especially those with multiple disabilities, have a disconnect from their bodies. Through the teaching of concepts and becoming more aware of their bodies, I think our students can improve upon their overall understanding of the world.
I really like your idea about using a talking photo album. I will be looking into those for this school year! I have been making an effort to take more pictures of my students to document their progress, especially during O&M lessons, when I try to expose students to new experiences to enhance their background knowledge. A talking photo album is a such a nice way to give a student ownership of their progress and share their learning with their family.
Question 2
In what ways can educators incorporate real-life experiences and tactile learning activities to help students with visual impairments build their background knowledge and vocabulary skills, thus enhancing their reading comprehension abilities?
According to Dr. Hollis Scarborough, background knowledge is “the bank of knowledge one possesses based on life experiences and previous learning that is stored in memory and acquired over time”
Educators cannot assume that their students have had exposure to or a solid understanding of any given topic. Activating prion knowledge through activities such as a KWL chart or simple Q& A can be very effective and telling.
I have a handful of students who in addition to visual impairment, carry other significant physical and cognitive diagnoses. I have found sensory boxes and story bags to be very effective in building background knowledge and thus a more solid grasp on vocabulary knowledge (a language user’s knowledge of words). When pairing items with literature I try to compile objects that tap into as many sensory channels as possible. Last spring, one of my theme’s was Beach/Water Fun. During the summer months, my students utilize a pond on campus for adapted water activities and sports (pontoon boat, kayaking, water skiing) as part of their ESY program. My story box consisted of items such as a towel, sand, sand pail, shovels, flip flops, sunglasses and sea shells. I also have a beach smelling candle they can smell. For those that can use sunscreen, I will rub a little on their hand and arm and let them smell it. I also try to incorporate sounds you might hear at the beach (waves, seagulls, pontoon boat). While the students explore the items tactually, we will discuss salient features of the items, so that they can better generalize when they actually go to the pond. For example a pail is a container that things can go inside and typically has a curved handle attached to the sides of the pail. The shovel has a hollow contour or scoop feature. The staff is different in the summer than they school year and typically do not utilize real objects for water activities. They rely on Boardmaker pictures, which for many of the students just don’t make any sense. I have provided real life picture cards of my items and hope they use them, as they are better representations and more familiar to the students.