Make Your Own Braille Word Search Puzzles!
Submitted by Penny Rosenblum on Nov 04, 2017
Many children enjoy doing word search puzzles. Finding these in braille might not always be easy, so here’s an idea on how you and your child can make your own word search puzzles.
Materials
You’ll need:
- a metal cookie sheet
- 8.5 x 11 sheets of braille labels (You can buy these from American Thermoform or use heavy contact paper.)
- a sheet that is magnetic (You can find this in a craft store or a sign shop.)
- Wikki Sticks™ (These can be bought from a craft store or Exceptional Teaching Aids.)
- Braille graph paper (Ask your child’s teacher for some braille graph paper or purchase it from the American Printing House for the Blind).
Preparation
Here’s how you prepare:
- You or your child can use the Perkins brailler to put letters on the braille labels sheet. Braille a letter, then space 2 times and braille the next. Double space between lines.
- Cut your magnetic sheet into 1 inch squares. Cut the edge of a corner so that your child will be able to orient the playing piece.
- Write a letter on each square. See the table below to know how many of each letter to make.
- Cut out the letters, placing one letter on each square. Be sure the letter is placed correctly so that your child can orient the playing piece by the notched out corner. This playing piece shows the letter “k.” If the print “k” is also included on the piece then your child and others can use the same pieces to play together.
Making the Braille Word Search Puzzle
How many to make:
| Letter | How many to make | Letter | How many to make |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | 8 | n | 8 |
| b | 6 | o | 8 |
| c | 6 | p | 6 |
| d | 8 | q | 3 |
| e | 10 | r | 8 |
| f | 5 | s | 8 |
| g | 5 | t | 8 |
| h | 6 | u | 6 |
| i | 8 | v | 5 |
| j | 3 | w | 6 |
| k | 5 | x | 3 |
| l | 8 | y | 6 |
| m | 8 | z | 3 |
- Tape the piece of braille graph paper to the cookie sheet.
Time to Play
- Get a book of word search puzzles from the library or bookstore. You can also find these on the internet.
- Set up on the cookie sheet the word search puzzle using the magnetic letters. Put one letter in each square of the graph paper. A friend or brother or sister might enjoy doing this for your child.
- Have your child use Wikki Sticks to cover the letters of the words in the word search puzzle or words he finds on his own. You can read him the words in the puzzle or have him braille these out before beginning the puzzle.
Your child might enjoy making up a puzzle and seeing how many words he can find in it or how many words a brother, sister or friend can find.
