"Guess What?": Accessible Ideas for Children with Multiple Disabilities

Submitted by whitley.martin on May 02, 2017

items from the story box including plush toys and the book

As part of the graduate coursework for Visual Impairments and Multiple Disabilities in the Teacher Preparation Program in Visual Impairments at the University of Kentucky, students were asked to complete four projects: Story Box, Picture Communication Symbols for Story Box, Tactile Communication Symbols, and Talking Book Project.

We are sharing them on Paths to Literacy and hope that others will use them! Please add your comments at the bottom of the page. This project is based on Guess What? by Mem Fox.

Story Box
Tactile Symbols
Picture Symbols
Talking Book

I chose this book because it is a great literacy tool for beginning readers. Part of being a good reader is trying to predict what will happen next. We are taught that in school as soon as we learn to read. This book also has a lot of repetition, which would be great for a beginning braille reader.

Story Box

Guess What? has a Halloween / Fall theme to it. I chose to use a black caldron to store my materials in.

The materials I chose to put in my story box are as follows:

Tape Measure
Ruler
Witch stuffed with cotton and rice for weight
Weighted monkey
Cat
Electric Hand Mixer
Rat Tail – cut from a toy
Lizard scales – container filled with rice
Toy Lizard
Small Broomstick

These objects can be used to reinforce various concepts such as:

Measuring
Animals: Living or Nonliving; The different types of animals, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, etc.
Seasons or Holidays
Beginning braille
Independent living skills, such as following a recipe or cleaning

Tactile Symbols

I used the following tactile symbols to go with my story box.

Straw – to represent the broomstick
Spatula – to represent kitchen or cooking
Textured Fabric – to represent lizard scales
Artificial worm – to represent a rat’s tale
Artificial lizard – to represent a lizard
Black Cotton Balls – to represent a furry black cat
Fake Fur – to represent the monkey in the story box
Small measuring tape- to represent the large one in the story box (The story asks if she is tall and if she is thin.)
Piece of a braille ruler – to represent the large one in the story box (The story asks if she is tall and if she is thin.)
Foam Pumpkin – to represent the fall or holiday theme of the book

Tactile communications symbols provide our students, both verbal and nonverbal, an opportunity to take an active role in literacy activities. By providing tactile information through the sense of touch, students have an increased chance of drawing meaning from the story rather than just having the story read to them. Exploring these tactile symbols helps develop literacy skills by providing practice and support in tactile exploration and interpretation. Such activities provide opportunities for discussion of vocabulary, concepts, development of hand skills, tactual exploration skills, and cognitive skills.