My son Liam is a first grader in a mainstream classroom. He is using the Patterns Braille Curriculum (modified since my son is deafblind). He has learned quite a few contractions so far this year. I have begun to purposefully add the single-letter whole-word contractions that he is learning in class to all of the new books I make him. In some of the classroom readers I adapt, I can change some of the words in the text to support and match what he is learning through his curriculum.
I am very excited about this latest book I made for my son titled, “Liam can go”. The book uses the braille single-cell contractions “can”, “go” and “with”. These books are a great way for Liam to practice his reading at home in a way that is meaningful, personalized and motivating. I love watching Liam independently read; he is so proud that he knows all of the words!
The book reads “Liam can go with _____” . Each page shows different activities Liam can do and who he can “go with” to do the activities. There are tactile symbols representing the activity on each page.
![Collage of creating a book with single cell braille contractions](https://www.pathstoliteracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Braille_contractions_collage-512x1024.jpg)