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Activity and strategy

Tom Makes One Pizza

This activity helps to teach one-to-one correspondence or the concept of "one" to children who are blind or visually impaired.

By Gwyn McCormack

Aim

To develop the concept of “oneness”

This activity uses a book with felt, textures, and pieces of fabric to create a “pizza” reinforcing the concept of “one”.  Prior to this activity, the child would have had an opportunity to make a real pizza and to handle the real objects presented in the book.

Materials

  • scraps of fabric, felt, or textured materials    
  • glue
  • paper
  • 3-ring binder
  • braille/large print
Tom makes one pizza.

One little boy called Tom was very hungry.

So he got 1 round pizza bread.

One lettuce leaf and one piece of cheese

One the pizza bread he put 1 juicy lettuce leaf.

Then he put on 1 square slice of cheese.

Red tomato and gherkin

Then he put 1 slice of red tomato on the pizza.

Then he put 1 slice of green gherkin.

One slice of yellow pepper and an olive

Then he put 1 slice of yellow pepper.

Then 1 lovely slice of a big black olive.

Tomat e 1 big pizza

Then 1 little boy called Tom ate 1 big pizza.

Now Tom is not hungry.

  1.  Allow the child to hold the model of Tom as the story progresses. Also compare 3-D real foods to the 2-D ones in the story, remembering to use 1 of each whole food and then slice it.    
  2. Allow the child to construct the pizza which features at the end of the story.
  3. Use the pizza to introduce the circle and semi circle, half and a quarter.
  4. Use the pizza to introduce new language ‘slices’ ‘pieces.’
  5. Design own pizza e.g. Use a chapatti, oatcakes, pancakes etc.
  6. Use for inclusive whole class activity. Make vegetarian, sweet, Indian flavoured pizzas etc.
  7. The story could be part of the term’s planning e.g. Harvest, picnic.

Variations

  • Use for other maths activities e.g. Survey of favourite foods, whose is the heaviest pizza, lightest, smallest, largest.
  • Move onto ‘book of 2’ by putting two pizzas together.

Visit https://www.positiveeye.co.uk/ for more ideas and inspiration to support children with visual impairments

oneness collage

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