Emergent Literacy Strategies

Below are strategies posts related to Emergent Literacy.



Sunshine Mangold braille text

Sunshine Mangold and Cricket Mangold

This activity works on improving hand positions and tracking skills in emerging braille readers.
number cards arranged in order with objects under the numbers 1-3

Beginning Math Literacy

Beginning math activities for children who are blind or visually impaired; strategies for teaching numbers, counting, and making sets
Cards with names of different scents on them

Ten Scents of Christmas Sensory Cards

This multi-sensory game uses the Ten Scents of Christmas in a matching game, which can be adapted for children who are blind or visually impaired.
Photo: Student at table working on his braillewriter

Motivating Older Adolescents Who Are Emerging Readers

This strategy from a speech therapist is designed to help teachers find appropriate literacy instruction for students who have significant multiple disabilities in addition to their visual impairment.
Photo of tactile advent calendar

Tactile Advent Calendar

Tactile advent calendar uses objects
Child manipulated squishy bag on lightbox

Squishy Bag - A tactile / multi-sensory approach to pre-writing and writing skills

This multi-sensory tactile activity encourages children to develop handskills, including hand and finger strength, finger isolation, and squeezing.
Photo of child's hands manipulating playdoh

Finger-strength and pincer grip activities: getting ready for writing braille

Ideas to help young children to develop fine motor skills and strengthen their fingers and hands in order to read braille
Cover of touch book of textures

Make Your Own Touch Book!

Learn how to make a touch book to promote tactile skills with children who are blind or visually impaired, deafblind or who have multiple disabilities
Photo of picture book with sponge and rubber duck as part of story box

Beginning Story Box: Little Rabbit's Bedtime

This storybox presents simple familiar objects to illustrate the story of Little Rabbit's Bedtime.
Page of language experience story about watering the plant

Experience Book About Planting Seeds

This experience story about planting seeds uses pictures, text in braille and print, and other tactile materials to share the story and sequence events.
Colored stars on black background

Beginning Books for Children with CVI

Create books for children with cortical visual impairment (CVI) using simple materials with limited complexity.
quilt

Tactile Quilts That Tell a Story

There are many ways to tell a story and in this example students who are blind or visually impaired tell stories on tactile quilts.
Addition problem using tactile counting aids

Counting in Tactile Journals

Create tactile books or journals to work on counting and other early learning concepts with young children who are blind or visually impaired.
Cover of tactile journal

Tactile Journals

Tactile journals support writing about experiences for students who are blind, visually impaired, or deafblind, including those with multiple disabilities.

All About Me!

Create an "All About Me" book using objects, textures, tactile symbols, print and braille for children with visual impairments & multiple disabities
Items starting with the letter "b"

Alpha Boxes

Fun hands-on activity for beginning braille readers to begin to pair initial letter sounds with the braille alphabet
Image of panda bear and turtle with books

Object Symbols for Choice Making

In this activity, real objects are paired with object symbols to build an understanding of symbolic representation.
Photo of a veltex board with small stuffed animals and letter cards attached.

Using Objects to Reinforce Consonant Sounds

Activity to use objects to reinforce consonant sounds with beginning braille readers
Page from accessible power point book about making macaroni and cheese.

Let's Make Macaroni and Cheese

This accessible powerpoint book offers step-by-step instructions to make macaroni and cheese; includes audio output and can be operated by a simple switch.
Modified page of The Garden with tactile flowers

Using Textures to Adapt Simple Books

Guidelines to adapt simple books for children who are blind or visually impaired

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