As a teacher of students with visual impairments, I recommend a lot of different things for my students who use tactile objects instead of print/braille words. I suggest that if done together, these three things make less work, and greater opportunities for the student to understand.
Recently, I had the opportunity to work with a student that uses these literacy tools. As it is finally spring, our task was to make bubble liquid to fill the tubes of bubbles that were empty to get them ready for some outside spring play. First, we started with bubbles, blowing bubbles. My student loves bubbles. As we engaged in bubble fun, I told her that we would be making bubble liquid.
Theme box
Next, we explored a theme box. Here are two articles about theme boxes.
Article 1 is DIY Theme Boxes by Charlotte Cushman.
Article 2 is DIY: Theme Boxes by Robbin Keating Clark.
In the box were all of the ingredients that we would be using to make the bubbles: water and dish soap. We also explored the items that would be used to make the bubble liquid: a bowl and a whisk.
Taking time with the theme box gave us the opportunity to explore the different ingredients and tools that we would be using in our activity. It also allowed the opportunity to use a dark background and spend time determining which of the items she would access with which senses. Adding water from a water bottle, the student helped me splash it around inside of the container. We held it together, using a hand-UNDER-hand technique. This was a familiar sound for her and she smiled (recognition) when she heard the water splashing. Then we explored the dish soap. I showed my student that the dish soap makes a quiet little pop sound when the bottle is squeezed as the air comes out. She helped me squeeze to make the pop. Then we did it near her face so that she could smell the soapy, smelly, air as it escaped the bottle. As we finished exploring each item, we put it in the ‘all done’ bin.
Next came the whisk. It was a shiny, reflective silver when held in front of a black felt board from American Printing House for the Blind. It made noise as it ran into the sides of the bowl as we stirred. My student looked at it and helped me stir with the whisk. Then it was time for the bowl. The bowl was big and round and my student was able to put her whole hand in and feel the bottom and I helped (hand-under-hand, again) her feel the roundness. Again, as we finished exploring each item, we placed them in the ‘all done’ bin.
Activity sequencing
I created a series of sequencing boxes using plain baskets positioned on their side. They contained (from left to right): the dish soap, the water, and the whisk. On the far right was my student’s red ‘all done’ bin. The bowl was in front of my student as she approached the workspace. We explored the roundness of the bowl and felt its bottom. Then we started from the left side of the sequencing baskets.
- We took out the dish soap. We squeezed it a few times for recognition of the popping sound and then we turned it upside down and squeezed the liquid into the bowl. Then we put the dish soap container in the ‘all done’ bin.
- Next, we went to the next basket, the water bottle. Again, using hand-under-hand we shook it and I saw the look of recognition on my student’s face as she heard the water sloshing in the water bottle. After adding the water to the bowl (listening/feeling the water pour out), the water bottle went into the ‘all done’ bin.
- Lastly, we took the whisk and whisked the liquid by mixing it up. When it was well mixed we put it in the ‘all done’ bin. Now came the very wet part (a work-play tray would have been helpful). We poured the bubble liquid into the familiar bubble containers that my student uses in her class at school.
- Finally, we blew bubbles!
Journaling experience
In order to extend this activity, and add a memory component, I might review the theme box but this time I would preface it by telling my student that we are going to choose an object from the activity to send home. As we go through each item, I would again verbally label each item and show each to my student in the way that she could best access each one. But I would include asking her if this was the item from the activity that she would like to take home for the night. I would write briefly about the activity for her parents and tell them specifically how my student seemed to access/enjoy this item.
She can share the experience with her family.
The activities (theme box, activity sequence, and journaling experience) do not need to be done consecutively. However, going through the exercise of exploring a theme box co-actively gives the student the opportunity to become familiar with which objects/ingredients will be used. It gave me the opportunity to determine how my student might best connect with each one of the objects. Doing our sequence activity was much more streamlined process because I already had an idea of which sensory modality my student might use to access/recognize each item. Also, if you are going to do the sequence activity as a group or class with more than one student, the theme box activity may help you know how each student may access each object.
This is an example of how we can help our students to go from exploring objects, to
using the objects, to sharing memories with others.
*If I were to do this project again, I might also use a work-play tray and a funnel. It would
be less messy.
