Grab those scissors and scraps of textured paper you’ve been saving for years, and let’s adapt a new story for your students to explore.
My son loved the How Do Dinosaurs series by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague. As I was passing through the line of cubicles the other day, I happened upon a beautifully adapted book in the office of one of my coworkers. Belinda Fayard, a TVI who works as our Transition Consultant, was eager to share her journey with “How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?” with me.

Belinda shared that she had a student several years back who enjoyed reading. The braillist, Clare Sayce, who was working with Belinda collaborated to adapt this book for the student. It quickly became one of the student’s favorite books. She was extremely motivated to read the braille and explore the tactile enhancements on each image.

This book was adapted using textured paper, puff paint, foam, sponges, and cork, among other materials. Many of the enhancements were made from leftover pieces of materials that can be found in the Carousel of Textures kit from APH. I loved how each of the dinosaurs in the book were adapted uniquely to show that each one is illustrated differently.

Activities for this book
- Take a picture walk – explore the illustrations in the book prior to reading the text.
- Teach book skills – Find the front and back cover, the spine, the pages, etc.
- Locate and track the braille on the page.
- Read the book.
- Identify the food that each dinosaur is eating.
- Discuss manners and social skills for eating.
- Ask the student to read to a younger student.

Extension activities for this book
- Use a dinosaur outline and tactile materials to create your own dinosaur with his/her favorite food.
- Write another page of text that could be included in the book.
- Label or describe the textures found on each page of the book.
- Write about how another animal might eat their food.
- Support the student to make one of the foods in the book by using a recipe, shopping for ingredients, budgeting, and using kitchen utensils.