Braille Is Beautiful
Editor’s Note: The following little review was published in the April 2002 issue of NEA Today, The Magazine of the National Education Association. It is reprinted with permission.
Looking for ways to help your students understand the perspectives of those with disabilities? Braille Is Beautiful, a new program from the National Federation of the Blind, could be just the ticket.
Braille Is Beautiful is a flexible, hands-on program that comes complete with a Braille stylus and slate for kids to learn with. It aims to help sighted students in grades four through six understand not only Braille but also the many capabilities and achievements of blind people.
Marc Maurer, the Federation’s president and himself blind, created the program to make blindness “less weird” to kids.
“I’ve used few materials that generate as much excitement,” says Claudia Bosworth, who last year introduced Braille Is Beautiful to her thirty-two fifth graders at Fort Smallwood Elementary in Pasadena, Maryland. “My students all wanted their own slate and stylus. Several of the kids contacted the National Federation of the Blind on their own.”
Bosworth especially appreciated the program’s classroom video, Jake and the Secret Code. In the video ten-year-old Jake becomes separated from his mother while visiting the National Federation of the Blind. He wanders into the office of Mr. Chong, who puzzles him by doing lots of things Jake didn’t think blind people could do.
Mr. Chong gives Jake a crash course in the “secret code” of Braille. He also clues Jake in on how to help his mother become more comfortable around blind people.
“Nothing is more fun than a secret code,” says Bosworth. She adds, “After using Braille Is Beautiful, I saw my students become more understanding of children in other areas as well, whether it was a disability or just a kid who wasn’t as quick at a given subject.”
Braille Is Beautiful includes five instructional units with a variety of learning formats including group discussions, interactive games, and applied projects. Parts of the program can be used together or alone.
“To me blindness is not unusual,” Maurer says. “It isn’t that I forget it, but it’s not a thing I think about much. But to many people it’s weird.”
“Children can be cruel. If there is a noticeable difference in another child, it will be used against that kid—unless the difference has charm,” says Maurer. “With Braille Is Beautiful, we’re trying to take an isolating difference and make it into a charming difference.”
For information, visit <www.nfb.org> or call (410) 659-9314.
LOWER
PRICES! NEW PACKAGE OPTIONS!
Braille Is Beautiful Curriculum Program
“Braille Is Beautiful
is a flexible, hands-on program [that] . . . aims to help sighted students
in grades four through six understand not only Braille, but also the many capabilites
and achievements of blind people.
—
NEA Today, April 2002
“After using Braille Is Beautiful,
I saw my students become more understanding of children in other areas as well,
whether it was a disability or just a kid who wasn’t as quick at a given subject.”
— Fifth Grade Teacher,
NEA
Today, April 2002
The National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) deeply believes in the benefits of the Braille Is Beautiful Program for children. It is a disability awareness program that really does change attitudes. The NOPBC is, therefore, pleased to join with the National Federation of the Blind in announcing, for a limited time, the following new package options and fantastic low prices for the Braille Is Beautiful Program:
NEW
OPTION!
Teacher's Guide Economy Kit . . . $25
This economical kit includes the following items:
-100 page Teacher's Guide complete with background information, lesson descriptions, pullout exercises, and master copies of the student instruction booklet and student workbook.
-100-count
package of Braille Alphabet Cards
-3 paperback books containing stories by blind people about
Braille and about their lives: Braille Under My Fingers, What Color Is The
Sun and I Can Feel Blue on Monday
- A slate and stylus (tools for writing Braille)
LESS THAN HALF-PRICE!
Braille Is Beautiful Video Set . . .$35
Normally $100, this set is now available in 2 options, each for a low price
of $35
Both options contain the following:
-30 page
video discussion guide (includes instructions for Braille-writing demos)
-A Slate and Stylus
(tools for writing Braille)
-Braille Alphabet
Card
Video Set Option 1: Two different videos
-Jake and the Secret Code and That
The Blind May Read
Video Set Option 2: Two videos, one title
-Jake and the Secret Code, two copies
The Braille Is Beautiful Combo Set . . .
$50
-Braille Is Beautiful Program Video Set — (Video option 1 or 2)
-Teacher’s Guide
Ecomony Kit
STILL THE BEST DEAL!
The Braille Is Beautiful Curriculum Program . . . (originally $350) NOW $250
*Request a brochure for details, see address below.
ORDER FORM
Braille Is Beautiful
Ship To ______________________________________
Address _____________________________________
City, State ____________________________________
ZIP ______ Phone _____________________________
Video Set:
Option 1__ Option 2 __ = $35 + $10 S/H ______
Teacher's Guide Economy Kit = $25 + $10 S/H_____
Combo Set = $50 + $10 S/H ______
TOTAL ENCLOSED: _____
Make check or money order payable to NFB and mail with this form to:
Materials
Center
National Center
for the Blind
1800 Johnson
Street
Baltimore, Maryland
21230
E-mail: nfbstore@nfb.org
Phone: (410) 659-9314