One of the preliteracy activities I worked on during the summer break was to create a positional terminology activity. I was at the computer one day before the school year ended and saw a farm image that someone had left behind. I made copies of it. The image sat on my desk at the office for several days before an idea took root. Looking over all my students’ IEP (individualized education program) objectives in all subjects, I noticed that positional terminology was a frequent theme. I ordered 12 Pcs Farm Animals Figures and 17.7×12.6 inch Mesh Zipper Pouch Bags. Since I printed them on 11×17 inch copy paper, I needed something sturdy to put behind it. Poster board seemed to be just the right fit. Since I didn’t have a large paper cutter at home, I was thrilled to discover that I had 11×14 inch colored poster boards. I had 4 green sheets left; it was meant to be! I searched online for a free image of a pond that I could add to the copied image prior to laminating it at the office.
Teaching positional terminology to visually impaired students involves using tactile, auditory, and kinesthetic methods, along with clear and consistent verbal instructions. Since this activity is for my students with low vision, I wasn’t worried about making it tactile. I wanted the farm animal pieces to help them interact with the activity by using manipulatives. That being said, there are many ways that you could add tactile information to this activity to make it more accessible to students who are blind.
To add the opportunity to focus on auditory instruction within this activity, I created a document for the teacher to have with sentence scripts increasing in complexity.
- Put the ___ below the _____.
- Put the ___ between the _____ and the _____.
- Put the ___ in front of the _____.
- Put the ___ first and the ____ last by the ____.
I wanted to help the teachers I work with not have to worry about what to say while doing the activity, so I created a starter for them.
I included tips on the sheet to help those not trained to work with students with visual impairments. Auditory Landmarks: Utilize sounds as landmarks for orientation (e.g., the sound of the cafeteria, the echo in the bathroom).
Please check out these supplemental resources to help you prepare for this activity.
- Farm Positional Terms Activity – This is the write up that you can give to classroom teachers to support your students in this activity.
- Positional Terms Data Collection Sheet – Use this with your team to track student progress.
