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The Park for Younger Students

Ideas to extend a story using materials from American Printing House for the Blind

These activities use materials from APH (American Printing House for the Blind) to extend literacy materials for students with visual impairments.

Goals: Days 1-6
The student will:
  1. Demonstrate reading skills by reading out loud the appropriate level story card.
  2. Demonstrate comprehension of the story by summarizing the story out loud with the use of the lite box and associated story demonstration materials. 
  3. Show wayfinding skills by plotting  route from the neighborhood to the park and pond and back to the neighborhood using Tactile Town.
  4. Fill up measuring bottles and add ice for a cool day at the park.  Practice playing a game of tennis similar to the characters in the story play using The Tennis and Running Kit
  5. Check the temperature in their city for the day then display the degrees using the APH thermometer
  6. Use the clock from APH, locate the time mentioned in the story (10:00) and identify other times during the day. 
  7. Identify different types of fish (salt and fresh water) by researching them on internet. Using the lite box and Science Kit, the student will learn about animals and plants.
  8. Use the Invisiboard, play Tic-Tac-Toe and vocalize what part of the story when the children played indoor games.  
  9. Create a lemonade recipe using the Recipe Cards from APH.

Materials

  • Tactile Town
  • Measuring Bottles
  • The Tennis and Running Kit
  • Thermometer
  • Clock
  • Lite Box
  • Invisiboard
  • Tic-Tac-Toe
  • Recipe Cards
  • Jellybean Jungle

Activities: Days 1-6

  1. Read aloud with the student the story, “Babysitting Blues”.  Have the student echo read each line after listening to the teacher read.  
  2. Children will summarize the story using lite box story characters with the lite box while role-playing “Babysitting Blues”. 
  3. The student will check the temperature using the internet and then displaying the temperature on the thermometer from APH.
  4. Assist the student to set up a small community using Tactile Town while identifying three houses, grassy areas, the pond, four people, and one car. 
  5. The student will practice filling measuring bottles with water and ice cubes after reading the story.  
  6. Ask the child to identify the differences between fresh and salt water fish.  
  7. Discuss plants and animals using the APH Science Kit with the lite box. 
  8. Have the student play tennis using the Tennis and Running Kit after summarizing the part of the story when the Kourtney, Juan and Grace play tennis. 
  9. Play Tic-Tac-Toe using the Invisiboard with the student.  Discuss the importance of learning to play games and socialize with others. 
  10. Role-play the scenario using Tactual Town and ask the child to summarize or retell the story using Tactual town materials. 
  11. The student will research simple lemonade recipe using the computer. The child will make a quart of lemonade using the Recipe Cards and surprise someone with a delicious cool drink. 
  12. Take the child on a nature walk. Discuss the environment and allow the student to feel the grass, tree bark, dirt, small rocks and other natural objects.  Secretly place jelly beans in trays around a tree.  Read Jellybean Jungle under a shady tree.
clip from
Download the story “Babysitting Blues at the Park”.

park for younger students collage


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