Presented by: Leslee Johnston, Catharine Sullivan, Linda Hodgkinson and Tammy MacDonald-Doran

Games Going Dotty

Presented by: Leslee Johnston, Catharine Sullivan, Linda Hodgkinson, (Thames Valley District School Board, London, Ontario) and Tammy MacDonald-Doran (Halton District School Board, Halton Hills, Ontario Welcome to Games Going Dotty!!! Educational games make learning fun, increase motivation, time on task and meet the needs of a variety of learning styles. We'd like to share ideas for inclusive games that we have used with our students who are blind or visually impaired and also with their sighted peers.

Our focus is to provide a core group of multipupose games that are easily made, easily transported, adaptable to a variety of students and learning applications. The goal is for each participant to leave with the instructions to make the games and to have suggestions for use. Once materials are gathered, it should be possible to make 1-2 games in one hour. This would mean that in a relatively short time you will have hours worth of materials ready to teach and to reinforce skills that can be used in a multitude of ways with a multitude of learners.

Contact Information:

Leslee Johnston leslee.johnston@tvdsb.on.ca

Catharine Sullivan c.sullivan@tvdsb.on.ca

Linda Hodgkinson l.hodgkinson@tvdsb.on.ca

Tammy MacDonald-Doran macdonalddt@hdsb.ca

We hope that you find this presentation practical and take away some useable ideas to add to your repertoire.

Sincerely,

Leslee, Catharine, Linda and Tammy

Rectangular Game Board:

Material:

• 24” x 12” game board made of plywood, metal (if planning to use magnetic game pieces), foamcore or heavy cardboard.

• 20 textured squares of material (3” by 3”) in 4 varieties of textures (i.e. sandpaper, corrugated paper, corduroy, textured wallpaper, felt). Materials will need to be thin if magnetic board is being used.

• small Velcro rounds or strips to cut into small rectangles • 3x5 recipe cards • recipe card box with divider • die (tactile or auditory such as “glowdice”) or spinner • game markers (kitchen magnets in variety of shapes if using metal board,

clothespins with braille/print or textured indicators for differentiation) Construction: Glue textured pieces around the perimeter of the rectangle, in random order. These textures will be used to differentiate game spaces and, in some games, to indicate instructions for each turn. Fasten Velcro pieces to centre of each textured square. These will be used in some games, to fasten indicators on the game board (i.e. numbers, letters, words depending on the purpose of the game). Some games will call for draw / discard cards and will require print / braille words, phrases etc. to be prepared on recipe cards. The recipe card holder will hold the draw pile at the front and a discard pile behind a divider at the back. The die or spinner will be used, in most games, to determine how many spaces for each player to advance around the board during his or her turn.

Game Variation Suggestions for Rectangular Game Board: Variation #1 – Alphabet Advance Materials:

• rectangular game board • 19 letters (on tag board, braille paper or “Braille-On” adhesive plastic

mounted on bristol board) affixed to Velcro on each game space except the one determined to be the last space in the game. On this square another indicator can be fastened, such as the word “end” or “home” or a tactile picture or small object toward which the players know they are moving.

• Game markers for each individual playing • one die or spinner

Game Play: Players each roll the die or spin the spinner, the player with the lowest number plays first. First player identifies the letter on the starting square. If successfully identified, this player spins the spinner or rolls the die to determine how many squares to advance. Player must identify letters on their game square at each turn, in order to earn a roll of the die. The winner is the first player to get to the predetermined last square. This game can be easily adapted for a variety of learning objectives such as braille contractions (if all players are braille users), sight words, rhyming words (player calls out a rhyming word for the word displayed on their game square), synonyms, antonyms, same beginning sound, categories such as food groups (player reads a food named on his or her square and calls out the food group to which it belongs), word families, compound words, word association pairs (i.e. ham and eggs, bread and butter) Variation #2 – Around the World Materials:

• Rectangular game board • Prepared set of questions on recipe cards, as many or as few as you

require. Create questions to target the knowledge you would like to reinforce (eg. braille contractions, mathematical concepts, language, geography, orientation and mobility concepts, etc.)

• recipe card box to hold question cards at front of box and discards at back of box

• one die or spinner • a game marker for each player

Game Play: Players each role the die, the player with the lowest number plays first. Each player at his turn retrieves a question card from the recipe box and reads the question aloud. If he answers it correctly he discards at the back of the recipe box and then advances the number indicated on his or her spinner or die. If he answers the question incorrectly, the other players say the correct answer and the question card is discarded. The player does not advance on the game board. The game ends when the first player gets to the predetermined ending space on the game board. This game can be adapted whereby a player advances to a corresponding space on the game board instead of a number of spaces determined by the die or spinner. For example, if the learning objective is capital cities in Canada and the player draws Manitoba, he or she must advance to the next space on which the word affixed to the square is Winnipeg. This style can be used for as basic a concept as matching same letters, matching lower case to upper case letters right through to providing answers to unit review questions for a variety of academic areas. Variation #3 – Rectangular Snakes and Ladders Materials:

• rectangular game board • numbers, letters, sight words etc. are affixed to each square • affix a few ribbons between squares and a few pipe cleaners between

squares. The ribbons act as ladders and move the player forward on the board while the pipe cleaners act as snakes and move a player backward on the board.

• one die or spinner • a game marker for each player

Game Play: Players each role the die, the player with the lowest number plays first. Each player at his or her turn reads the number or word on the game space before earning a roll or spin. If a player lands on a space onto which a ribbon is affixed, he or she moves forward to the attached space. If a player lands on a space onto which a pipe cleaner is affixed, he or she moves backward to the attached space. The game ends when the first player advances to the predetermined ending space. This game can be adapted as above, to include questions on recipe cards which must be answered in order to advance on the game board.

Variation #4 – Word Walk (game idea borrowed from “Educational Games”) Materials:

• rectangular game board • legend: sample of each textured square affixed down the left side of a

heavy page (i.e. Braille paper or Bristol board), a small piece of Velcro down the right side of the page, beside each sample texture. The Velcro will be used to hold instructions that can be changed depending on the purpose of the game.

• on recipe cards, prepare a set of cards containing reading words • one die or spinner • a game marker for each player

Game Play: Each player rolls the die, the player with the lowest number plays first. Each player at his or her turn rolls the die, moves the given number of spaces and then selects a word from the draw side of the recipe box. The player must then consult the legend to determine what s/he needs to do with the word drawn (e.g. tell the meaning, use in a sentence, indicate the part of speech or the number of syllables). The game can end when the first player gets around the board or when all of the word cards have been used. This game could be adapted for a variety of learning objectives. In Mathematics, the legend could ask the player to add 3, subtract 2, double the number, tell how many groups of ten etc. to the number indicated on their draw card. In Language Arts or Social Studies, a legend could indicate question words (i.e. who, what, when, where) that the player must answer in relation to a sentence on the draw card. Circular Game Board Use the same material as for the rectangular game board, with the substitution of: ● 12” diameter circle made of sturdy materials such as heavy cardboard, foamcore or plywood. Tactile delineations between game spaces can be substituted for textured squares of materials and, if a game requires a “legend” (instructions dependent on the texture of space on which a player lands) then the textures could be affixed to the game spaces using Velcro.

Most of the rectangular game suggestions could be readily adapted to the circular game board with fewer spaces making a quicker game when less time is available. This style game board is well suited to independent matching games (textures, shapes, letters, rhyming words, word families, word pairs, compound words, math question / answers etc.) such as in “Clothespin Clip” from Braille FUNdamentals. eg. Student clips capital letters (affixed to clothespins) to corresponding lower case letters on game spaces. Play continues until the board is filled with clothespins.

File Folder Game Board:

Material:

• Legal size file folder game board. Select substrate based on required durability (eg. paper file folder, plastic file folder, cardboard, foamcore, coraplast)

• Pockets (purchase short pocket with full back self adhesive, or pocket cutouts (card stock).

• Visual/tactile markers to orient to top of pockets (eg. Braille, hot glue, yarn, puff paint)

• small Velcro rounds (the ‘hook’ side) • 3x5 recipe cards cut in half • recipe card box with dividers (theme cards separated)

Construction: Place visual/tactile markers on purchased/homemade pockets. Adhere pockets to inside of file folder. Place the hook side of a Velcro round on the front of the pocket below the visual/tactile markers. Prepare index cards with varying themes you would like to target. Place the soft side of the Velcro round on the back of all index cards at the top. A recipe card box will hold all the index cards. Place a divider between the different theme cards. Players or teachers will retrieve cards from the box. Matching Games: (game idea borrowed from “Educational Games”) Materials:

• file folder constructed as above • Prepare index cards (large print and braille), as many or as few as you

require. Create questions to target the knowledge you would like to reinforce Attach chosen index cards to pockets.

• Place matching Index card(s) into correspond pocket. • recipe card box holding index cards

Game Play:

This game can be played individually or in pairs. Teacher or player sets up game board with chosen index cards placed on front of each pocket. Teacher or player retrieves associated index cards from the box. Player(s) places them in the matching pocket. Game Variation Suggestions for File Folder Game Board: 1. Mathematical Concepts (time, $, fractions, addition/subtraction) Index cards showing:

• tactile pictures (2 dots)/number corresponding to amount • clock faces showing time/digital time/analog time • pictures and descriptions of money/coins • list of coins/total • tactile pictures of fractions/fraction • answers/addition and subtraction questions

2. Braille Concepts (contractions)

• letter matching • words spelled out/full or partial contraction corresponding to word • nemeth contractions/words

3. Orientation and Mobility Skills and concepts (positional concepts, mapping skills)

• tactile pictures showing position/positional word (up/above/under…) • locations (A3)/tactile in location (heart)

4. Language

• parts of speech (nouns, verbs…)/examples • punctuation/samples

Variation: • phonics: (eg. ar, er, ir, ur) on pockets, player brailles words which have

them in them. 5. Jeopardy (good for study purposes)

• answers (different subjects such as science/social studies)/questions

Grid Style Game Board:

Material:

• 1m x 55mm game board. Select substrate based on required durability (eg. bristol board, cardboard, foamcore, coraplast)

• felt piece 1m x 55mm • tactile gridlines (eg. hot glue, yarn, puff paint) • small Velcro rounds (the ‘hook’ side) • 3x5 recipe cards • chip cards (eg. poker chips, bingo chips, blank recipe cards) • recipe card box with divider • die

Construction: Glue felt to entire face of game board. Divide board into a grid of 25 equal spaces (5x5) using tactile grid lines. 25 recipe cards will show the game questions written on the face in both print and braille. Chip cards will be used in place of question cards where suitable for some game variations. Place the hook side of a small Velcro round on the top centre of the face of each question card so as not to obstruct the question. The Velcro will adhere to the felt face of the game board. The recipe card box will hold both the retrieval and discard piles. Place the divider labelled ‘Discard’ somewhere near the middle of the card box. Players will retrieve cards from the front of the box and discard at the back of the box. The die will be used to determine which player will begin the game. Game Variation Suggestions for Grid Style Game Board: Variation #1 – player to collect last chip wins (game idea borrowed from “Educational Games” Materials:

• grid style game board with a chip card affixed to each of the 25 squares • 25 Direction cards (eg. take a chip, take two chips, etc). Make 15 cards

worth one chip each, 7 cards worth 2 chips each, and 3 cards worth 3 chips each.

• Prepare 30 questions on recipe cards. Create questions to target the knowledge you would like to reinforce (eg. Braille contractions, mathematical concepts, language, geography, orientation and mobility concepts, etc.)

• recipe card box to hold question cards at front of box and discards at back of box

• one additional container to hold Direction discards • one die

Game Play: Players each role the die, the player with the lowest number plays first. Each player at his turn retrieves a question card from the recipe box and reads the question aloud. If he answers it correctly he discards at the back of the recipe box and then takes a card from the top of the Direction pile and removes from the game board the number of chips indicated on the card. If he answers the question incorrectly, the other players say the correct answer and the question card is discarded; no chip cards are collected. The winner is the player who removes the last chip card from the game board. Variation #2 – player collects most chips to win (game idea borrowed from “Educational Games” Materials:

• grid style game board with a chip card affixed to each of the 25 squares. Adhere a single felt dot to the face of each of 20 chip cards, adhere two felt dots to the face of each of 5 chips cards.

• Prepare a set of questions on recipe cards, as many or as few as you require. Create questions to target the knowledge you would like to reinforce (eg. Braille contractions, mathematical concepts, language, geography, orientation and mobility concepts, etc.)

• recipe card box to hold question cards at front of box and discards at back of box

• one die Game Play: Players each role the die, the player with the lowest number plays first. Each player at his turn retrieves a question card from the recipe box and reads the question aloud. If he answers it correctly he discards at the back of the recipe box and then takes a chip card from the game board. If he answers the question incorrectly, the other players say the correct answer and the question card is discarded; no chip cards are collected. The game ends when all the chip cards have been earned from the game board. Players add up the felt dots on their chip cards to determine their score. The winner is the player with the highest score.

Variation #3 – grid navigation and player collects most chips to win (game idea borrowed from “Educational Games” Materials:

• grid style game board with A through E across the top and 1 through 5 down the left side (these should be prepared separately and simply affixed to the edge of the original game board).

• prepare 25 location cards (ie. B3, E5, A1, etc.) • Prepare a set of 25 true or false statements on recipe cards and place one

card face down in each square of the game board. Create statements to target the knowledge you would like to reinforce (eg. Braille contractions, mathematical concepts, language, geography, orientation and mobility concepts, etc.)

• recipe card box to hold location cards at front of box and discards at back of box

• one die

Game Play: Players each role the die, the player with the lowest number plays first. Each player at his turn draws a location card from the recipe box and reads the location aloud. The player then finds that location on the game board and reads the statement contained, answering “true or false”. If he answers it correctly he keeps both the statement and location cards. If he answers the question incorrectly, the other players tell why the answer is not correct; the statement card is returned to the game board and the location card is returned to the recipe box. The game ends when all the statement cards have been earned from the game board. The winner is the player with the most cards. Variation #4 – Braille Jeopardy (game idea borrowed from “Braille FUNdamentals” Materials:

• grid style game board with Jeopardy categories across the top and dollar amounts down the left side (these should be prepared separately and simply affixed to the edge of the original game board). Select categories to target the knowledge you would like to reinforce (eg. Braille contractions, mathematical concepts, language, geography, orientation and mobility concepts, etc.)

• on recipe cards, prepare 25 questions in total, ranging in difficulty from easiest to hardest for each category. Place one question face down in each square on the game board.

• one die Game Play:

Each player roles the die, the player with the lowest number plays first. Each player at his turn selects a category and dollar amount and answers the question indicated. If the player answers the question correctly he scores the amount indicated. If he answers the question incorrectly, the question card is returned to the game board and the next player takes a turn. The game ends when all the question cards have been answered correctly. The winner is the player with the highest winnings.

Horizontal Strip Game Board:

Material:

• Horizontal strip game board (22” x 7”). Select substrate based on required durability (eg. cardboard, foamcore, coraplast, corkboard)

• tactile and visual dividing lines (eg. grid tape, Braille, hot glue, yarn, puff paint)

• small Velcro rounds (both sides) • 3x5 recipe cards cut in four. • recipe card box with dividers for storage (theme cards separated) • magnets (10)

Construction:

Divide horizontal strip game board into two horizontal rows with a magnetic strip. Then divide the bottom row into 10 columns. Place hook side of Velcro rounds in each box in the bottom row. Place one Velcro round (hook side) in the top row (centre).

Game #1: Spell It: (game idea borrowed from “Educational Games for Visually Impaired and Sighted Children”) Materials:

• Prepare one pile of index cards (large print and braille) with spelling words. Place the soft side of the Velcro round on the back of the.

• Prepare another pile of alphabet cards (2 of each consonant and 3 of each vowel). Place the soft side of the Velcro round on the back of each and mark to help with orientation.

• Recipe card box holding word and alphabet cards. • One small basket for alphabet cards.

Game Play: Dealer deals 7 alphabet cards to each player and then places pile of alphabet cards upside down in the basket. Dealer then takes one card from the pile of spelling words and places it on the lone Velcro round at the top of the board.

Each player reads the spelling word and if they have a letter within the word, they must place it in the correct spot in the row on the game board. If the player doesn’t have a letter, they must pick one from the pile. The player to place the last letter of the spelling word on the game board wins and chooses the next spelling word from the pile. Variation on Game #1 A. Alphabetical order (individual game) Place spelling words in alphabetical order. B. Hangman Materials:

• Prepare one pile of index cards (large print and braille) with spelling words/concept cards (science etc).

• Prepare another pile of alphabet cards (2 of each consonant and 3 of each vowel). Place the soft side of the Velcro round on the back of each card.

• Prepare tactile pieces for hangman (to learn concepts, this could incorporate human/animal body parts, facial parts etc.).

• Recipe box with alphabet cards divided. Game Play: The dealer picks a word from the word pile. The game board is set up to show how many letters are in the word. Place blank strip over unused boxes. Player picks letters one at a time until they can guess the word. If the player chooses a letter that is not in the word, the face/body parts are constructed in sequence. If the face or body is completed, then the player loses. If the player chooses a letter that is in the word, the letter(s) are placed on the game board in the correct location and the face and body parts are not constructed during that play. The player that guesses the word correctly becomes the new dealer.

Game #2: Bingo Tap (listening/number concepts/one to one correspondence): (game idea borrowed from “Educational Games for Visually Impaired and Sighted Children”)

Materials:

• Prepare sets of index cards (large print and braille) with numbers 1-15 (need # of sets per # of players). Place the soft side of the Velcro round on the back of the card.

• Tool to tap with (ruler, pencil, hand). • magnets (for finger strength these could be substituted for clothes pins or

push pins). Game Play: Dealer takes one set of number cards and deals out 10 cards to each player. Players place one card in each box of the game. Dealer picks one card from the dealer’s pile and then taps out the number they have chosen. Players place a magnet in the corresponding number tapped. Once the player has all the boxes filled with magnets, they yell bingo and have won the game. Variation on game #2: A. Addition/subtraction, Multiplication/Division Replace dealer cards with addition/subtraction or multiplication/division questions. Magnets are placed in the box with the correct answer. More than one magnet can be placed in each box. B. Numerical order Place number cards in numerical order.

Game #3: Patterning Materials:

• Prepare multiple index cards with tactile/visual components. Place soft side of Velcro rounds on back of each card.

Game play: Player 1 or teacher sets up a pattern on the game board. Player 2 continues pattern.

The Braille Whales Game

Young ones love this game! It incorporates fine and gross motor skills, O/M skills and it is flexible to a multitude of curriculum areas. Commercially produced durable fishing games are available They will likely require some adaptation and retail for about $10 -$15. The instructions and materials listed below are for the homemade versions. All

materials were purchased at a local craft supply store. The cost for making the game, including the tray, was less than $20. Materials:

• Wooden dowling – The purchased length was 36” and it was cut into two 18” inch pieces.

• String – jute cord was used as it is very resilient and provides a unique texture. This game was intended for play with the whales on the floor. Therefore the string was 25” long.

• Magnets – 2 clip magnets (as pictured) are used on the end of the fishing line and small magnets are glued to the front of the whale.

• Glue • Clear Tape • Brailled words on Braille paper or Braille-on • Velcro or sticky-tack (optional)

Assembly:

1. Cut the desired length of string. As noted in the materials list, the string in this example is at a finished length of 25”. To attach the string tie it onto the dowling about 1” from the

2. end. Using clear tape, tape over top of the tied string. This will stop the

string from sliding off. At the other end of the string attach the magnet by tying it through the hole.

3. Using the foam sheets, cut out the desired number of whale shapes. Attach a magnet to one side of the whale. On the opposite side attach the item that the student is fishing for. In this example it is high frequency brailled spelling words that are pasted on the whales. These words could also be sticky-tacked onto the whale or Velcro could be applied to the whale and the back of the word. Both of these versions make the shapes re-usable. Alternately the words could be glued directly onto the shape

4. Place the whales in the desired location magnet side up. In this case it is the blue tray.

Game Play Small groups of students can “fish” for their Braille whale. The child drops their fishing line into the “water” to fish for his/her whale. When a whale is hooked the student pulls his/her line up. Removes the card and reads the item located on the card. Students collect their whales and the one with the most whales at the end wins. Individual students could play this game. If a child is playing on his/her own then the teacher may wish to designate a reward for a special whale. Alternately the teacher could participate in the game with the child. Students can fish for all types of curriculum items. The whales might have Braille letters, numbers, contractions, rules, spelling words, sentences, math facts, vocabulary for subjects such as science or social studies, reading vocabulary, etc.. Variations

1. This game has proven quite to be quite popular during Braille club. It is easily played with both visually impaired and fully sighted students. There is adequate room for both print and Braille on the whale. Each student must read the word on their card.

2. If you are using this game with several students then the children could be paired. One partner fishes, reads the card and the partner must respond by spelling the read word, responding to a question, answering a number fact, etc..

3. To incorporate some directionality skills you could place the fish at different spots on the floor in a specific area and give your student clues to locate the fish. For example, the child could start from a designated spot and be given the clue take one step forward, stop, take one step to the right and fish! This may be a situation where finding the fish is the reward without additional work. Each found fish could be worth a set number of points. The accumulated number of points could equal a small treat.

4. The game described in number three could also be played with blindfolded peers!

Happy Fishing!!!

Thermometer Game The thermometer is a way to put competition and hidden learning into any situation where one wishes to reinforce concept(s) in a game format. The thermometer is intended to be the scoreboard for the student’s accuracy. Suggestions for activities to go with the Thermometer Game are listed after the materials section. This scoring device is best presented using Braille numbers on the game face as large print numbers may be require too much space.

Materials: Based on making a thermometer 28”x14”. This pattern can be made smaller or larger.

• 1 - Bristol Board, cardboard, foamcore or coraplast • red ribbon 25” long and 2” wide • white ribbon 25” long and 2” wide

*it is advisable to buy the ribbon in contrasting textures • clear puff paint or hot glue • Braille-On • Velcro* see step number six • 2 Paper clips

1. Cut the overall thermometer to the size that you desire. On your “board” determine the length of the area where the ribbon will move up/down. For instance, if you have 24” from the bottom to the top of the mercury then you will need to make 17 degree marks on the thermometer to make a temperature span from -30 degrees Celsius to +50 degrees Celsius. This means that every 1.5” a degree mark will be made if you are using increments of 5. A light pencil mark is all that is needed at this time to indicate the increment. Remember to make the line long enough that it can be seen on either side of the ribbon. This will be helpful later.

2. Cut a slit on the board at the top and bottom of the mercury that is slightly

thicker than the ribbon and make the opening slightly wider than the width of the ribbon. This will allow it to move freely.

3. Cut a length of red and white ribbon that is as long as the temperature span on your thermometer PLUS 1.5”. Join one end of the white to one end of the red ribbon using hot glue. Trim any excess overlap.

4. Feed the length of red/white ribbon through the opening at the bottom of

the thermometer and then thread it through the top opening so that the ribbon/mercury is now on the front of the thermometer. Do not attach the loose ends of the ribbon yet. Leave them loose on the back. Pull the ribbon on the front taut so that it replicates what the ribbon will look like when the loose ends are joined. At the degree marks made in step one and on either side of the ribbon, apply a 1” line of clear puff paint/hot glue to indicate each increment. In the interest of tracking it is best to make this degree mark on each side of the ribbon.

5. Use the paperclips to temporarily determine where it will be best to hot

glue the two lose ends of the ribbon together. It is a good idea at this point to “play” with the ribbon to make sure that it is neither too loose nor too tight as it moves. Using the paperclips will allow you to adjust the ribbon until you have optimum placement. Hot glue the two ends together. Trim any excess.

6. Now you are at the point where you need to decide whether you will affix

your numbers permanently by hot gluing them at the increment lines or whether you wish to attach Velcro to the back of the Brailled numbers and at the increment lines to make the numbers changeable. Braille all of your required numbers on the Braille-On and cut out the numbers. Attach the number to the end of the increment lines using the hot glue or attach Velcro to the back of the Braille-On and at the increment lines. It is suggested to alternate the numbers to the left and right of the ribbon when affixing the numbers/Velcro so as not to crowd the thermometer. If you have made extra numbers for additional number patterns then store them accordingly. Done!

General Information Adapting the thermometer to a variety of learning situations, age and skill level is key to making this a useful tool. The degree indicators (lines on the thermometer) remain fixed on the thermometer pictured but their value can change if you affix the numbers using velcro. For example you may wish to have the thermometer start at 0 and count by 2’s or 5’s and have the thermometer replicate the typical

degree spread on a traditional outdoor Celsius thermometer which stops around 50. Alternately you may wish to make the thermometer identical to a traditional outdoor thermometer utilizing the numbers below zero and again reaching the typical end point around 50 degrees Celsius. You decide how this best fits you and your students’ needs and choose the number patterns accordingly. There are no “rules” of use specific to this scoreboard other than those that you wish to impose. For example, if you are working with an older student you may wish to utilize the idea that an incorrect answer results in the mercury moving down the thermometer (a set number of degrees) and could result in a negative value. This can reinforce that negative amounts do exist and can help the student to conceptualize negative integers in a real life situation. Similarly, with younger students, you can reinforce number patterns by changing the counting pattern. The “end” or final goal can also be determined on a game by game situation. If you have only five minutes then perhaps the student only needs to reach to 10 to win. When the student reaches the end (whatever that may be) the teacher may wish to provide a small reward. The thermometer scoring device is highly flexible and can suit a variety of age ranges reinforcing the skills determined by the questions and numeracy and directionality skills. Applications for the Thermometer The uses for the thermometer are almost as vast as the concepts that we teach! Here are a few examples:

1. Spelling Words – to practise reading/writing Braille. For each accurately written/read word move the ribbon up the determined amount. If the thermometer goes to 50 that means 10 words spelled correctly if one starts at zero. Short on time? Move the start or end point.

2. Read/write Braille accurately- this can be used to reinforce the Braille patterns and rules by having the student read or write the desired pattern accurately. Each correct answer moves up the thermometer.

3. Content questioning – assisting a student to consolidate information in a specific subject area? For each correct answer the student moves the mercury.

4. Weather/Temperature – use the thermometer as it was intended to teach about temperature, corresponding weather, dressing needs, seasons, etc..

Variation: make two (or more) smaller thermometers and have students compete against each other.

Commercial Games Adaptations Games for Fun and Leisure: Use games to encourage social interaction between peers, both sighted and non-sighted. Many commercially produced games can be easily adapted to accommodate Braille-users by adding a tactile component using, for example, Braille-on, puff paint, textured fabrics, hot glue, and more. Consider some of the examples below to see how easy it is, then apply these ideas to board and card games that you find at garage sales, thrift stores, friend’s basements, and your student’s classroom. Have fun. Scrabble – create clear Braille overlays for letter tiles and game board using Braille-On. Create a tactile grid using yarn, hot glue, puff paint, or strips of cardstock, as just a few examples. Monopoly – using Braille-On, create clear Braille labels for the game board, money, and cards. Use puff paint to make the dice tactile. Use small containers or trays, soap dishes for example, to hold the cards. Use matching fabric textures to identify groups of properties. Dominoes – use puff paint to create raised dots. Playing Cards – use Braille-On or a Braille labeller to identify each card in the upper right hand corner (eg. Braille “9s” to identify nine of spades, ”9c” to identify nine of clubs, etc). Be sure to turn the card 180 degrees and Braille that corner too so that the card always appears right side up. Uno – Identify each card using a Braille labeller or Braille-On (eg. “r” for red, “y” for yellow, “w” for wild, “skip” for skip). Go Fish for Letters – Braille across the top of each card. Be sure to turn each card 180 degrees and Braille across the top so that the cards always appear right side up. Outburst – create clear Braille overlays using a Braille labeller or Braille-On.

Suggestions for Teaching Braille to the Class Activities to practice letters.

1. concentration (print/braille, braille/braille). 2. flashcards (created with bingo dabbers)…keep in a little book for students

to practice testing each other with. 3. muffin tin practice (small mini muffin tins) and magnets. Call out a letter

and have students show you on the muffin tin. They can hold it up to show you without then magnets falling off.

4. Activity sheets created on computer and with sim braille: a. lines to match dot numbers and letters. b. Drawing lines to match dot numbers to Braille cell. c. Drawing lines to match Braille word and print words.

Generally available:

1. Alphabet cheat sheet with punctuation and numbers too (laminate for safe keeping).

2. Laminated Large Braille Cell. Wet or dry erase markers used to show numbering of braille cell.

3. Make your name in braille (colour in with marker). Activity sheets from AFB (Braille Bug)

4. Write a secret message in braille (colour in with marker). Activity sheets from AFB (Braille Bug)

5. Braille paint blocks (art activity). Write your name in braille or a message. 6. Bingo dabbers and index cards to create own flashcards, messages or art. 7. Internet sites bookmarked. Riddles, games, etc.

http://www.afb.org/braillebug/intro.asp 8. SMART(y) Braille Fridays! Small 4-8 celled sheets in braille. Provide

smarties and have students create words in braille. Just don’t lift them up. 9. Braille Whales: Spelling words or vocabulary words placed on cardstock

with a metal paperclip. Choose words that the student is currently learning. Invite peers to play a game of braille whales. One person uses a fishing rod to pick up one of the cards in the pile. That person reads the card out loud and uses it in a sentence. The others try to write the word on a white board (blackboard) or spell the word out loud. Then the next person goes. You can keep score if you want or just have fun with this. Be prepared! My visually impaired student kept asking what kind of fish they were when new colours of cardstock were introduced (I had placed harder words on different coloured paper). We learned all sorts of different fish names. ☺

Additional Braille Games

Scrambled Eggs – Affix braille letters to bottom of each section of an empty, clean, plastic egg carton. Place one marble inside of closed egg carton. Student shakes the carton, lifts the lid and must read the letter under the marble. Go Fish – Prepare a double set of braille letters on index cards. Don’t forget to indicate the top of the card using a row of c’s, a notched corner or any predetermined method. Shuffle and deal five to each player. Place remaining cards in a draw pile. Players look for matches and place sets in front of them. First player asks any other player for a letter in their hand, in an attempt to make a match. If asked player has the requested letter card, it must be passed over to the player who has asked for it. If the player does not have the card s/he tells his teammate to “go fish” and the player picks a card from the draw pile. Words or contractions can be used alternatively and this can be a fun way to review spelling words or introduce words in a theme unit. Cards can also be cut into fun shapes to correspond to the theme (i.e. raindrops for spring, hearts for Valentine’s Day etc. A piece of regular weight paper can be inserted behind the novelty shaped cards to get. Lord of the Rings: (for learning one hundred sight words) Materials:

• 10 different colours of cardstock. • 100 sight words in groups of 10 (increasing in difficulty). • Large metal rings (10) • Plastic hooks to hang them on. • One-hole punch • Certificates • Rings ($ store) Place each group of 10 sight words on a different coloured card stock. Ensure you have large print and braille on all of the cards. Use a one-hole punch to put a hole in the top left corner of all the cards. Place each group of words on a ring. You should have 10 rings, each a different colour and 10 words on each ring. Hang these rings on clips in the room where students can come and practice reading the words. The students must start with ring 1 and cannot move on until they can read all the words without mistake. When the students have practiced the words and think they are ready, they must come

and read the ring of words to a teacher (or peer expert).They must get all the words correct three times in a row before they receive a certificate. Then they can move onto the next ring. Once the student gets to ring five and masters it, they become “Lord of the Rings” and get to pick out a ring. Once they have reached and mastered the 10th and last ring, they become “Master of the Rings” and get to pick out another ring to show off. Students who receive these titles, can then become “peer experts” and can help their peers learn the words.

Name that Animal (idea borrowed from Wonderbaby.org) – using a Brailler passed from student to student. The first player brailles the name of an animal then passes the brailler to the next student who must read the animal name and under it Braille an animal that begins with the last letter of the previous animal. Change the theme to reinforce different learning. For example, “Name that Geographic Location”. Alphabet Box (idea borrowed from Wonderbaby.org) – collect regular household objects that begin with different letters of the alphabet. Create a set of alphabet flash cards. Avoid frustration by limiting the number of items in the box to represent about six letters at a time. Student selects a flash card and then searches the box for an object that begins with that letter. Variation 1: Create Braille contraction flash cards and put items in the box that begin with CH, SH, TH, etc. Variations 2: Increase the complexity of the game by including objects that end with the given letters. Graph It! (borrowed from Braille FUNdamentals) – use tactual graph paper and Braille a letter, contraction, or word in each box. Teacher gives directions (eg. south 2 spaces, east 3 spaces). You may also use directions like up, down, left, right depending on what is most appropriate for the student and what you are trying to reinforce. Student reads what’s in the space and gets a point for each correct answer. Continue the Story – based on a game often played around the campfire. Using a Perkins brailler, the first player begins by brailling five words to start a story (eg. It was a dark and……). The brailler is passed to the second player who reads aloud the five words that were just brailled, then he/she brailles five more words to continue the story. Continue in this way until the story has reached a satisfying conclusion. “MSN” Braille – Based on MSN Messenger but using a brailler. Two people have a conversation by passing a Perkins brailler back and forth. This is an effective teaching strategy when working with a student who likes to talk – a lot – to the detriment of the VI teacher’s limited teaching time with that student. The student

can share all his/her exciting news and information with you – using the brailler. Once the message is brailled, the brailler is passed to the other person who reads the message aloud and then brailles a response. Continue until the conversation is concluded. Games to Support Braille Literacy while Including Physical Movement: Rope Race – (borrowed from Braille FUNdamentals) – Attach each end of a rope to two locations in the classroom and affix flash cards along the rope with brailled letters, contractions, words, or sentences. The object of the game is to read each flash card as you race the clock to the end of the rope. Use two ropes instead of one so students can race against each other. Treasure Hunt – (borrowed from Braille FUNdamentals) – Hide brailled flash cards in various locations in the room (eg. under the student’s chair, behind the teacher’s desk, beside the computer, etc). Give verbal clues to help the student find each card. When the card is found the student must read the card before being given the clue to find the next card. The last clue leads to a treasure. Mother May I (borrowed from Braille FUNdamentals) – Student is given a set of flash cards. Student reads the first card and if read correctly the teacher tells the student how many giant or baby steps he can take. He must ask “Mother, may I” before he moves or he goes back to the beginning.

Braille Games Websites

http://www.braillebookstore.com/view.php?C=Toys+and+Games http://www.tsbvi.edu/Education/brlf-games.htm http://www.afb.org/BrailleBug/Games.asp http://www.independentliving.com/departments.asp?dept=139 http://www.lssproducts.com/category/braille-games http://codefactory.es/en/products.asp?id=307 http://www.boardgamebeast.com/braille-game-monopoly-board.html http://www.exceptionalteaching.com/ http://www.nationalbrailleweek.org/games/ http://www.largeprintreviews.com/product_braille_games.html http://www.nbp.org/ic/nbp/publications/EB-FUN.html Additional Resources Educational Games for Visually Impaired and Sighted Children Patricia A. Gallaghar, 1987. Braille FUNdamentals, J. Cleveland, N. Levack, D. Sewell, R. Toy Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 2001. Fabulous File Folders for Language Arts, Carson Dellosa Publishing Company, 1990.