Adapting

There is a material called Braille On that I really love and use all the time in my classroom. It is a sheet of clear peel off material that can be put into a braille writer and typed on. You type up whatever you need, cut it up, peel off the back (which can be a bit frustrating sometimes), and stick on something. I use this stuff to label everything I can think of. Names on things, it's great to put in board books for the younger children, shelving labels, numbers on microwaves, and all sorts of things.

If it isn't labeled in Braille On in my classroom, you'll most likely find it labeled with a 3x5 card, which also fits splendidly into a braille writer and tolerates braille well. The cards can be taped on to things easily, is easy to change over, and cheaper.

It can be a bit effort to try and make sure everything is in braille. I know I miss things. The kids have learned to ask for braille if they run into a blank piece of paper or if they want their name on something.

I find, as simple as it seems, as a teacher, labeling their names on things makes life so much easier. There is something about them being able to claim their territory amongst all the others that reassures them that they have a place in their world. It also gives me a way to help them stay organized and to keep them from arguing over things. It prevents excuses too. They know they didn't grab the wrong binder if they can read their name. It helps with chore charts when an argument arises about who's turn it is to answer the phone. For some reason, answering the phone is a really big deal in class. I had to ban it for awhile because the disagreements became so heated! They share now.

Adapting things into braille can be challenging sometimes though. Some things are just to small to hold all the braille symbols needed. Braille can't be shrunk and frequently requires more than one symbol compared to what print has. That can be frustrating! I can teach them abbreviations and exceptions, but that confuses the younger and learning disabled readers.

Other things that can be used to adapt things are: puff paint, tape, wikki-sticks, stickers, rubber bands, Velcro, cloth of different textures, raised line paper, APH's texture paper, swell paper, 20/20 pens, foil, foamy construction paper, magnets, dot markers, and more.

I put up some resources for materials in my resource links on the side.