Perkins School for the Blind
Encouraging Students Who are Blind or Visually Impaired to Express Their Feelings and Explore Imagination
Being expressive in a creative, empathetic, or imaginative way is not only fun, it builds good pre-writing and communication skills. Learners with visual impairments have a roundtable discussion session where several sentence frames are...
Bright Hub Education
Math Lesson for Visually Impaired Early Learners: A 3 Way Counting Activity
A unique lesson that's designed for visually impaired early learners, but can be adapted for anyone, is here for you. Pupils use brightly colored foam letters, beads, checkers, and an abacus, in order to gain practice in identifying the...
Perkins School for the Blind
Making Choices
Here is an excellent and well-developed lesson intended to promote choice-making skills for learners with visual impairment and intellectual disabilities. It fosters choice-making skills through a soft version of discrete trial training,...
Perkins School for the Blind
Bagging Groceries
Bagging groceries is a skill that can help learners with visual impairments understand organizing, problem solving, and weight discrimination. In addition, it is also a wonderful job skill. Help learners as they determine how to bag...
Perkins School for the Blind
Taking Turns
For small children or learners with disabilities, learning to wait patiently and taking turns is very important. In pairs, two children with visual impairments take turns asking for, waiting for, and playing with a musical toy. Each turn...
Perkins School for the Blind
What Would You Do If...?
What would you do if...? That's a great question, and, when posed to learners with visual impairments, a question that can foster concept development and speaking and problem-solving skills that relate to real-life situations. The...
Perkins School for the Blind
Coin Identification
You got some money, and you're not afraid to use it. Before you can use that money, you need to know what it's worth. Included is a set of activity instructions that will help your visually impaired learners indentify coins. Pupils are...
Perkins School for the Blind
3-D Task List
Staying organized is a part of growing up, and it can be as easy as making a list. Here is a set of instructions for making a three-dimensional task list especially for learners with visual impairments or blindness. After making the task...
Perkins School for the Blind
The Country Egg
Because most children with visual impairments don't reach and grab things at a young age the way sighted children do, they need additional supports to build up their fine motor skills. Here, they work on the pincer grasp, using their...
Perkins School for the Blind
Learning to Identify Sounds Made by the Body
Sneeze, snap, tap, and whistle; Did I do that? Explore the parts and sounds of the human body with your learners with visual impairments. First you'll name the parts of the body, make a sound with each part, and then have the class guess...
Perkins School for the Blind
Cooking and Kitchen Tools
Independent living skills and skills that can be used to gain employment are very important for any learner. Teens with visual impairments explore the kitchen to understand what everything is and what it all does. The instructional...
Perkins School for the Blind
Familiar Sounds
To foster concept development and auditory discrimination skills, learners with visual impairments listen to identify a variety of common sounds. The teacher makes recordings of various sounds, including those found in the home, at the...
Perkins School for the Blind
Grocery Shopping
Grab those reusable bags, it's time to go shopping! Intended to foster independent living skills in learners with visual impairments, the lesson covers several topics related to grocery shopping. They start by planning a meal, reading...
Perkins School for the Blind
Rubber Band Stretch
If you don't teach blind or visually impaired students, this lesson may seem a bit strange. But, it helps them develop motor skills, orientation and movement skills, and listening skills, while building a better understanding of...
Perkins School for the Blind
Left Versus Right
When you can't see, it is extremely important to be able to reorient yourself. Learners with visual impairments work though an activity to build spacial awareness based on moving left and right. A marker (bracelet, bell, or weight) is...
Perkins School for the Blind
Treasure Hunt
On, over, and under are some very common prepositions; but how can you teach these concepts to children with visual impairments? Here, is one way. Kids will practice following verbal commands as they go on a classroom treasure hunt. They...
Perkins School for the Blind
Teach Personal Possession and Pronouns with Simple Objects
The concept of what is mine and what is yours seems simple, but for children with visual impairments, it is a concept that must be taught. Each child in the class puts one of their shoes in a single box, they take turns choosing a shoe,...
Perkins School for the Blind
Learning to Express Myself
Expressing one's wants and needs is vital for learners of any age or ability level. Young children with visual impairments and intellectual disabilities practice asking for preferred items, foods, or activities in a structured manner....
Perkins School for the Blind
Put the Shoe on Your Foot
Promote clothing identification, body part identification, and dressing skills acquisition with a fun and lively game. Each child takes turns grabbing a clothing item from the central clothing box. As he puts the item on, he sings, "Put...
Perkins School for the Blind
One-to-One Correspondence
Here is an interesting way to build concept understanding regarding one-to-one correspondence. Learners with visual impairments will use an array of everyday objects in context to foster an understanding of what one-to-one correspondence...
Perkins School for the Blind
Rolling Along
I cannot stress enough how important orientation and mobility training is for learners with visual impairments. To practice maintaining their balance, as well as work on building the confidence to participate in recreational sports,...
Perkins School for the Blind
Stuff, Seal and Stamp Mail
Have your class practice functional skills that can be applied to a wide variety of job opportunities. They will use a folding jig to help them fold, stuff, seal, stamp, and mail letters. Students with visual impairments will build...
Curated OER
Fire Safety Skills
Here is a fire safety lesson specifically designed for blind or visually impaired teens. They will attempt to exit the building safely, feeling for hot spots, heat drafts, and obstacles. A hairdryer, tape recorded fire sounds, and verbal...
Curated OER
ASL Lesson 18
Have a discussion, review nouns, and practice speaking using ASL. Lesson 18 of 30+ extensive lessons on using American Sign Language covers classifiers, coded English, and asking questions. Each link embedded in the lesson provides a...