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Water Cycle Bulletin Board

This bulletin board is accessible to students who are blind or visually impaired, using braille and tactile graphics to explain the water cycle.

When one of my students moved up to middle school this year, our braille room moved downstairs to the middle school hallway. It is a small room, however, it is perfect for my student to navigate and find her stored equipment. She also quickly noted that there was a bulletin board hanging in the room. As we chatted, she shared that she had never had bulletin boards that she could “see” and looked forward to what would show up each month. Challenge accepted!
 
detail of bulletin board that depicts the water cycle including graphics, water indicators, and labels with braille
 
My goal each month has been to tie to the classroom science curriculum to provide her with a learning experience as well as a way to interact with the information studied in class. Braille articles and tactile graphics hang below each display so she can pick them up at any time.
bulletin board with weather and geographic indicators depicting the water cycle, labeled with brailled labels
 
This month’s board was the water cycle, which I continued with the flow of the water’s runoff to the ocean floor.
 
detail showing the water cycle on a bulletin board with geographic elements and weather indicators
 
As it was such a hit with the Features of the Earth, I used push pins to mark the parts of the illustration with braille labels. She then came in to attach the parts to the labels using rubber bands around the pins. It proved to be a great study tool and she removed and reconnected them several times. Click to download the cards.
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