UNIT 13 INTERMEDIATE LEVEL OF BRAILLE AND TEACHING APPROACHES FOR LEARNERS WITH VISUAL DIFFICULTIES
Key Unit Competence: Use Braille transcriptions at intermediate level,
and teaching approaches for learners with visual
difficulties.
INTRODUCTORY ACTIVITY
Read the following passage and answer the questions
Mukunzi was born in Kigali, Kimironko sector, Gasabo District. She was
born in a family of four children where she was the first-born. Mukunzi was
very beautiful girl who was loved by many people in her family. She started
school at the age of six and when she was in class four, she lost her sight as
a result of an infection and became totally blind. This meant that she could
not continue with her education and she was forced to remain at home when
her brothers and sister went to school. Her parents were psychologically
affected and lost contact with members of the family and also their friends
because of what had happened to their daughter. They went around looking
for people who could treat their daughter. Finding no proper treatment in
hospitals they decided to go for traditional medicine.
One day some blind people heard about Mukunzi and they decided to visit
her home. When they arrived there, they met with Mukunzi’s parents and
had a very good discussion with them. They narrated their success stories
and this opened the eyes of Mukunzi’s parents. After two days, the father of
Mukunzi took her to a school for visually impaired where she was admitted
and continued with her education. She was introduced to Braille where she
learnt uncontracted and contracted Braille and also Mathematical numbers
and signs for a period of one month. Mukunzi learnt braille very first and
she was placed in class five surprisingly she was in class for two months and
managed to get the first position after sitting for end term examinations. Her
parents were very happy because they saw the bright future in their daughter.
The neighbors and members of the family who had kept off from this family
started talking to them and also visiting their home. After completion of
primary education Mukunzi went to High School passed her final exams very
well and joined the university where she graduated as a lawyer. Her brothers
and sister never managed to join any university and this made it very clear
that when her child who is blind gets proper education he or she
can be very successful in life. What is required is just an opportunity and
they can show the world what they can do. Mukunzi got a job as a Lawyer
and she managed to support herself and her parents financially. Today she
loves Braille because she feels that if Braille was not there she could not be
living a successful life just like her peers without disability.
1. When did Mukunzi loose her sight?
2. Who informed her parents about school for the visually impaired?
3. What did Mukunzi learn when she arrived in the school?
4. How many children did the parents of Mukunzi have?5. Which child had the highest academic qualifications in this family?
13.1. Intermediate level Braille tactile transcriptions (Vocabulary,
punctuations, figures, math signs etc.)
ACTIVITY 13.1
1. Write in Braille these letters of alphabet: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o
p q r s t u v w x y z?
2. Why do you think that Braille books are bigger in size compared to
print books?
3. Do you know any words represented by letters of the alphabet when
standing alone in a Braille text?
4. What are the five special common wordsigns?
5. What is the purpose of contractions in braille?
6. List some mathematical signs that you know?
13.1.1. Vocabulary
Simple sign – A sign occupying one cell only.
Upper sign – A sign containing dot 1, or dot 4, or both.
Contraction – A sign that represents a word or a group of letters.
Groupsign – A contraction that represents a group of letters.
Wordsign – A contraction that represents a whole word.
13.1.2. Simple upper wordsigns, five special common wordsigns
and abbreviations.
The following table shows how the letters of the alphabet are used in braille
to represent whole words when they are standing alone; usually it is the firstletter that is taken.
Letter a, i and o do not represent any word in Braille.
Single letters used in this way to represent words are called simple upper
wordsigns; simple because they take up one cell, upper because they have a dot
in the top of the cell, and wordsigns because they represent words. They may
only be used as abbreviations for the word if they represent the exact word, i.e.when no other letters are added to them.
Abbreviations
Ab: about; cd: could; xs:its; Td: today; alw: always;
Sd :said; yrf:yourself; acr:across; fr:friend; xf:itself; gd: good;
Ll: little; wd :would; brl: Braille;Grt:great; qk: quick; yr:your.
13.1.3. Five special common wordsigns (and, for, of, the, with)
One uniqueness about these five wordsigns is that where two or more of these
words came in succession and in the same phrase, the wordsigns that express
them are written adjoining one another (if in the same line of Braille) as if they
were one word, in order to save space.Example: with the knowledge of the people and for the purpose.
The article “a” is similarly to be written unspaced from any of these wordsigns
in the same line of Braille.Example: and a and with a
Having learnt the words represented by the letters of the alphabet and the five
special common wordsigns you should always remember the rules that govern
them.
13.1.4. Contractions used in Braille
Groupsigns are signs expressing two or more letters which form part of a word.
Let us groupsigns which have at least one dot on the top line of the cell i.e. dot 1
or dot 4, or both, and which occupy only one cell. They are called simple uppergroupsigns (or one-celled upper groupsigns).
And, for, of, the, with, as Groupsigns
We begin with the very same five signs which we had learnt previously as
wordsigns to represent these five words. For these signs are also used as
groupsigns or contractions to present the letters they stand for in a word.Example:
Abbreviations
Afn : afternoon; ag: again;
Hm: him; pd: paid Five Upper Groupsigns (with h)
Choice of Contractions
If “th” is followed by “e”, the groupsign to be used is the, because it represents
the greater number of letters, as: then them clothes other.
Wordsigns ch, sh, th and wh are also used as wordsigns:
ch stands for “child”
sh stands for “shall”
th stands for “this”
wh stands for “which”
They may only be used to express the exact word they represent and when noother letters are added to them.
Abbreviations
Al: also; bl: blind;
(ch)n: children; m(ch): much;
(sh)d: should; s(ch) such; tgr : together
Four upper Groupsigns two with e and two with o
Choice of Contractions
In words containing the letters “thed” and “ther”, use the groupsign the inpreference to the groupsignsth and ed or er. As: cathedral further.
Wordsign
Of these four groupsigns only one, ou, is also used as a wordsign: it stands for
out. It may only be used where it represents the whole word and where no
other letters are added to it.Example:
Abbreviations
Abv: above; af: after; alm: almost
Alr: already; al(th): although The last four Upper Groupsigns
st dots 3 and 4
ar dots 3 and 4 5
Both of these signs may be used in any part of a wordExample:
st by itself stands for the word “still”.
ing dots 3 and 4 6
ble dots 3 and 456
These signs (ing and ble) may be used in any part of a word except at thebeginning.
Example:
Abbreviations
F(st) first; m(st) must;
Tm tomorrow; ac according13.1.5. Punctuation marks
Example:
Child-like
- staring asters steed
- straightest artist farther
- sharper quarrel fare
- winged stinging arriving
13.1.6.Numbers
13.1.6.1. The decimal numbers
Roman Numbers
Example:
Mathematical signs
Example:
(12 + 4) x (8 - 3) = 80
[(16 + 1) x (5 + 7)] =
SELF-ASSESSMENT 13.1
1. Debraille the following words and sentences:
13.2. Teaching approaches for learners with visual difficulties
and related resources
13.2.1. Teaching approaches for learners who are blind
ACTIVITY 13.2
1. What methods do you think a teacher can use in class to teach a
learner with visual impairment effectively?
2. Explain some of the braille equipment used in teaching braille to
learners who are blind.
In order to address the needs of blind students, teachers may use the following
methods in teaching them Braille and other subjects in class:
• Use real object in order to understand a literary description. This is
because learners with visual impairment understand better when they
touch an object which they can observe using their hands.
• Add descriptions to all images.
• Use life situation in order to develop the communication skills.
• Dramatize the stories by role play.
• Repeating the information as many times as it takes for the students to
properly understand
• Reading Braille takes more time than reading print. Therefore, the
teacher should allow more time to vocabulary exercises (solving
synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, the meaning of words in contexts,
spelling exercises, etc.) in order to improve communication and avoid
stereotypes.
• Use riddles to develop creativity
• Allow more time for tests and national exams;
• If the book is not in Braille, use audio-books.
• Reading, theatre and other art forms helps the blind to develop
vocabulary, imagination, communication and become an integrated
and a successful person- access to information.
• Good Braille reading is characterized by few zigzag, up-and-down,
or fluttering movements, uniform pressure of the finger on the page,
no regressive movements and well-adjusted movements between
lines with the help of both hands combined with a deep and accurate
understanding of the meaning of the text.
• If necessary, teachers should use one to one approach in teaching
Braille or alternatively they use whole class approach.
• Individual attention is paramount when teaching Braille to beginners
just like any other practical subject.
• It is important that for a child with visual impairment attention be
given to the development of tactual perception and listening skills.
• Students will need special instruction to learn to read and write braille
code.
• The teacher before introducing the child to the slate and stylus he/
she should use the Braille cell peg board. The board has six holes and
each hole represents a braille dot. The pegs should be used to write
the letters of the alphabet. For instance: one peg placed in first hole on
your left hand side will be letter a; if another peg is placed in second
hole downwards still on the left hand side the letter will now be b
represented by dots one and two.
• Usually students are introduced first to the alphabet and uncontracted
braille, and once they are proficient in recognizing and producing
letters, they move on to contracted braille.
Now let us look at related resources used by learners with visual impairment
Writing and reading usually begin at age 6-7 years (depending on country)
and is usually acquired at school. Blind students learn to write the Braille code
using a Braille typewriter (Perkins in most cases) at the same age as studentswithout disabilities
Perkins Typewriter for blind students; the six keys are numbered
Slate and Stylus
Braille characters are small rectangular blocks called cells that contain tiny
palpable bumps called raised dots. The number and arrangement of these dots
distinguish one character from another. A full Braille cell includes six raised
dots arranged in two lateral rows each having three dots. The dot positions are
identified by numbers from one through six.Single cell pegboard
This a board where learners use pegs to write letters of alphabet
Numeral Cell peg Boards
This board can be used to teach number facts, counting, number recognition,
beginning addition and subtraction, number relations, sequencing and color
recognition, and it even helps develop fine motor skills especially to preschool
children.
Braille Alphabet chart including numbers
Victor Reader
The Victor Reader is used to record all the lectures. The learner plays it back tolearn more as he/ she revise.
SELF-ASSESSMENT 13.2
1. Why do you think Braille reading takes a longer time than print
reading?
2. Write down any three equipment used in writing Braille?
3. Explain at least three teaching approaches used in teaching
braille to learners who are blind?
SKILLS LAB
1. Visit a nearest school, identify a child with Visual Impairment.
Assess the method he/ she uses in reading (large print, braille).
Write a two-page document to advise the teacher on how to
effectively teach braille to learners with Visual Impairment.END OF UNIT ASSESSMENT
1. Write down the words represented by the following letters in Braille:
2. List down three special common wordsigns
3. Write down the words represented by the following Braille signs:
4. Write the following in Braille:[(1309.67 – 0.28954) : (523.243 +
100)] x (2 +32) =
5. Write any two equipment and two teaching approaches used in
teaching Braille to learners who are blind.6. Debraille the following sentences
