For blind students, their biggest barrier to reading isn’t only conquering the task of learning braille. They struggle with the prerequisite skills and overall comprehension as well. However, because of the lack of incidental learning that they are able to gain understanding through, the use of real objects greatly increases their chances of understanding.
I created a Real Object Library that is housed in my classroom. This library is a collection of real objects, known and unknown to students, that I will use to help build background knowledge, hands-on experiences, and make abstract concepts concrete. The use of these objects not only keep students engaged, but helps build their overall understanding of a story. It helps them connect meaning to real objects and tools related to stories. I’ve found it to be a great tool for my blind students and also my students who are more successful with visual cues to trigger their memory of a story.
When introducing a new story, pre-teaching is key for my students. This concept refers to hitting those big concepts or topics before reading the story and expecting students to gain understanding immediately. During this phase of teaching, I heavily rely on real objects to begin priming my students and setting the intention for reading.
In this library, I will also house previous materials I’ve made for lessons in case they would be beneficial in a later lesson. Last year, my youngest group of kiddos learned all about prairies and the concept of underground tunnels. Pictured is a model I created to solidify their understanding of the concept.
Of course, some stories and concepts are more abstract than others, which may limit the amount of real objects I can incorporate. I try to think outside the box when I can. However, most of the time, I am able to really immerse my students in hands-on experiences to aid their overall understanding of a story and hopefully make reading less laborious in the process!
Written by Grace Gundel, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, CSDB Elementary
