Basic braille
Twist!
Can you 'write' a giant 3-dot character using your whole body?
Swing Cell
Play with an egg carton typewriter.
Activity details
An easy activity to prepare the children to write braille with a brailler.
Goals
To make the connection between dots 1 to 6 in the braille cell and the positions of the fingers on a braille keyboard.
The adult prepares
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1 baseplate
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10 bricks in a bowl: A to J
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1 braille-cell egg carton
Cut the egg carton lengthwise into two rows, but don’t separate them completely. Leave one end connected to create a swing cell.
When extended, the swing cell shows the braille writing position, with dots numbered from left to right: 3, 2, 1, 4, 5, 6.
The children play
1
The child takes a brick from the bowl and reads the dots on it.
2
They then ‘type’ the pattern of dots by placing their fingers in the egg box keyboard.
Facilitation tips
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Move the egg carton like a “swing-cell” and go from “reading braille position” to “writing braille position”.
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Repeat the activity with all 6 fingers in the corresponding compartments: left index finger=dot 1, left middle finger=dot 2, left ring finger=dot 3, right index finger=dot 4, right middle finger=dot 5 and right ring finger=dot 6.
