Three Silver Pie Tins and One Red Puff

This book is one of the examples shared showing how to adapt books for children with cortical visual impairment (CVI).  Please begin by reading the introductory information:

• Literacy for Children with CVI: Overview and Implications for Different Phases
• Guidelines for Modifying Books for Students in Phases I, II, and III
• Adapting Books and Literacy for Students with CVI
• General Materials Used to Adapt Books for Children with CVI

One of my students, who also visually functions at the lower end of Phase II on the CVI Range, loved to look at reflective, silver pie tins.  This was indeed his favorite, most preferred visual target.  Therefore, we decided to create a book around miniature silver pie tins.  This student also alerted well and consistently to the color red, so we incorporated a bit of red into the story as well.  This student could tolerate up to 3, well-spaced targets in an array, so we decided to use no more than 3 pie tins on a page.

Prior to presenting this book, each time this student played with his reflective pie tin, we discussed the 3 salient features that were the defining elements of his favorite target.  The script we decided on was, “The pie tin is silver, is reflective and has a ridged edge.”

The story in this book is about a pesky, red ball who moved around to different spots on each page.  While we used descriptive wording like, “The red ball is IN the center pie tin”, the goal was for the student to demonstrate that he could visually locate the ball on each page. An added benefit was that he was exposed to a variety of directional words and vocabulary.  He loved this book and the activity and clearly thought it was fun.  As discussed in the introductory information, the motivation factor is incredibly important.

Note: Since this book has bulky 3D visual targets in it, it is easier to punch the holes in the blank pages and put on the binding (creating a blank book), before you glue on the visual targets.

Materials

• Disposable 3” Aluminum Foil Tart/Pie Pans Mold; these can be ordered on Amazon and come in a package of 250 pieces
• Red Puff Balls, use 1” or 2” size; these are often called “Pom Poms” at the craft stores, but should not be confused with the mylar cheerleader-like pom poms used in Three Bright Red Pom Poms Lined Up in a Row

Examples of Books

The following are other examples of books I have created for students with CVI:

• Where is the Red Gift Bag?
• Getting Ready for School (CVI-friendly pegboard book)
• One Yellow Slinky Bouncing Up and Down
• Three Bright Red Pom Poms Lined Up in a Row
• Five Little Lights
• My Favorite Things
• Clifford's Family (Modified Version)

For more ideas from Diane Sheline, visit Strategy to See.