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Activity and strategy

Tactile Exploration of Food Textures

Exploring different food textures can be a fun way to expose students with visual impairments to a variety of tactile experience.

I have braille students who have different texture issues. One won’t eat different textured food items and the other won’t touch anything with unfamiliar textures. One day a week (Tactile Tuesdays!) I’ve started working on this with the two of them together. What I’ve found is while chaos rules the day, so much learning is happening! They are talking between themselves about the texture. “Mr. I won’t eat anything” will use his finger to try it and decide if he likes it or not. “Ms. I won’t touch it” is doing the famous one finger approach. Bottom line is they are BOTH trying it with each other’s support.

Before doing this activity, make sure there are no food allergies. Have that list handy at all times!

Procedure

Last week we made chocolate pudding using the container shaker approach.  We had lots of fun!  This week we did peanut butter. My first grader this week went to town on the peanut butter, whereas last week he was hesitant to even try the activity until I put my hands in the pudding with him and we explored it together. This week…total independence!   Last week we had to pester him to take one lick. This week…5 licks and an “I like it!”

My third grader is making progress as well. Last week she flatly refused to touch the pudding, but she had no problem eating it!  This week…one finger only in the peanut butter and a napkin HAD to be nearby. She would touch it, then make a mark on the poster board, and then immediately wipe her finger off. She did this several times…enough to draw a sailboat and waves!  But, being the smart girl she is, thought crackers could be used to “dip” into the peanut butter and then eat it. Luckily I have Ritz crackers in our braille room and she tried her theory out to find she was successful.

exploring peanut butter
Rubbing peanut butter-covered hands together
Dipping peanut butter with a Ritz cracker
Dipping peanut butter with a Ritz cracker

Next week we are going to try whipped cream (and strawberries). After that it’s applesauce and whatever food textures we think up to explore. We will be getting ideas on this from parents, the speech teacher, classroom teacher and their OT.

To wrap up the activity, they are asked to braille 10 words about this experience and then braille two sentences. We have fun as we tie in the ECC to our braille lessons.

Braille worksheet on textures
Braille assignment: soft fluff good; like chocolate; it taste like lotion; it taste like pigs dig in the mud; The peanut butter it smelled like jelly. The peanut butter was good.
Braille writing about peanut butter
Braille assignment: Sticky cold; coper buttery; yummy good; delicious; peanut butter crackers; I loved it! I like peanut butter!
Soft, fluffy good, like chocolate
It tastes like lotion.  
It tastes like pigs dig in the mud.
The peanut butter, it smelled like jelly.
The peanut butter was good.
sticky cold
copper buttery
yummy good
delicious
peanut butter crackers
I loved it!
I like peanut butter!
Collage of tactile exploration of food textures with students who are blind or visually impaired

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