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Many schools hold disability awareness activities designed to familiarize students
with the issues faced by people with various disabilities. Braille
Is Beautiful, a new program from the National Federation of the Blind,
is the perfect vehicle for raising “blindness awareness.”
The Braille Is Beautiful Video Set is a kit intended to introduce sighted children
of elementary school age to Braille as a fun and interesting method of reading
and writing. Along the way, students will receive a positive message about blindness
and the abilities of blind people. The main components of the Braille Is Beautiful
Video Set are a 15-minute video, Jake and the Secret Code, a teacher's
discussion guide, and a second short video, That the Blind May Read.
Jake and the Secret Code tells the story of a sighted nine-year-old
boy who gets separated from his mother, also sighted, during a shopping trip
at
the National Center for the Blind. He wanders into the office of Mr. Chong,
a blind staff member. He becomes fascinated by Mr. Chong's ability to read “bumps
on a blank page” and in the course of his short visit, learns a great deal
about Braille, blindness, and what blind people can do. Jake tells Mr. Chong
that his mother is nervous about being around blind people. Mr. Chong shares
a secret for helping people feel more comfortable. When she is finally reunited
with her son, Jake's mom is shocked to realize that the person who has
been taking care of him while he was lost is blind! Jake is happy to share
what he
has learned about blindness and Braille with his mother, including the secret
for helping her feel comfortable.
Among the many things that students will see in this video are blind people
engaged in a host of activities and the many kinds of equipment blind people
use to read and write, such as a slate and stylus, a talking computer, and a
Braille printer.
The 29-page teacher's discussion guide provides background information,
group discussion questions, and a simple lesson plan for introducing Braille
writing
with the slate and stylus. The guide ends with six pages of resources which
teachers can use to extend learning. The program can be used in one or more
class sessions.
The second video, That the Blind May Read, explains the literacy crisis
that confronts young blind students today and provides excellent background
information for the teacher. This moving video was developed with adults in
mind but can certainly be used with older students. The teacher's discussion
guide also provides instructions for the use of this video with a group.
Braille Is Beautiful is a wonderful teaching tool for the classroom, youth
groups, scout troops, and other community organizations. The two videos and
teacher's
discussion guide make planning a presentation easy. A Braille alphabet card,
a slate and stylus, and a stack of Braille paper round out this terrific package.
For information, contact the National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson
Street, Baltimore, MD 21230; (410) 659-9314; or Order
Online.