NFB EQ Week 1: July 5-9, 2021

En Español: NFB EQ Week 1, July 5-9, 2021

Introduction

This week our big focus is to get to know each other and to figure out how we’ll learn together. We’ll also learn about ableism, spatial thinking, and the connection between spatial thinking and STEM. 

Overview of the Week

The table below outlines the ideal schedule for the week. Scheduling is most important for the Connect and Practice activities. The other activities are more flexible and can be completed at whatever time works best for you.

When Program Element
Sunday, 7/4 Engage (asynchronous)
Monday, 7/5, 3-6:10 p.m. EST Connect Monday (essential synchronous session)
Tuesday, 7/6 Practice 1 (essential asynchronous)
Tuesday, 7/6 Solve (asynchronous)
Wednesday, 7/7, 12-2 p.m. EST Connect Wednesday (essential synchronous session)
Thursday, 7/8 Practice 2 (essential asynchronous)
Thursday, 7/8, 3-4 p.m. EST Connect+ (optional synchronous session)
Friday, 7/9, 12-2 p.m. EST Connect Friday (essential synchronous Session)
Saturday, 7/10 Extend (asynchronous)

Engage

Check out the following sources to begin thinking about the topics we’ll be focusing on this week. The sources are provided in a variety of formats below, choose the format that works best for you. If you requested hard copies, you’ll find those in your NFB EQ box.

Origami & STEM

National Federation of the Blind National Convention

Connect: Monday

Zoom Information

https://zoom.us/j/95960444992
+13126266799,,95960444992#

Materials for Monday

Practice 1

Pick at least one of the following sources and learn about ableism, which we’ll talk about in our Wednesday session. The sources are provided in a variety of formats below, choose the format that works best for you. If you requested hard copies, you’ll find those in the Week 1 envelope in Box 2.

Solve

Materials Needed

You will find all of these materials in the Week 1 envelope in Box 2.

Tangram Puzzle: a 7-piece geometric puzzle arranged into a square
Tangram Graphics: a set of tactile and visual graphics

Instructions

Arrange all 7 pieces of the puzzle to create the shapes depicted in the graphics (e.g., turtle, house, bird). Each puzzle uses all 7 pieces. How many of the shapes can you make?

Connect: Wednesday

Zoom Information

https://zoom.us/j/95960444992
+13126266799,,95960444992#

Materials for Wednesday

Have the ableism resource you examined for Practice 1 handy.

Practice 2

Paper Folding

Materials Needed

Paper Folding Basics Binder, which you will find in Box 1.

Instructions

  1. Explore the entire binder once.
  2. If you have not had the opportunity to do much origami in the past, practice the following folds from the binder: mountain, valley, and diagonal.

Drawing

Materials Needed

Drawing Workbook (page 3), which you find in Box 1
Sensational BlackBoard, which you will find in Box 2
Pen, which you will find in pencil pouch in the general envelope in Box 2
Ruler, which you will find in the Week 1 envelope in Box 2
Ball stylus (a wooden handled tool with a ball on each end), which you will find in the Week 1 envelope in Box 2
Copy Paper, which you will find in Box 1

Instructions

  1. Collect the tools and materials listed above. 
  2. Listen to the Blackboard Basics instructions audio clip or read the transcripts.
  3. Jot down any questions you have

Connect+

Drop in to get additional support from NFB EQ instructors or to hang out with your peers.

Zoom Information

https://zoom.us/j/95960444992
+13126266799,,95960444992#

Connect: Friday

Zoom Information

https://zoom.us/j/95960444992
+13126266799,,95960444992#

Materials for Friday

There are no materials for Friday’s class

Extend

Materials Needed

Instructions

Build a few things with the Legos. Build at least one thing from your imagination and at least one thing from the provided instructions. Legos are a lot of fun for people of all ages and building things requires you to think spatially. Following the text instructions to build a Lego model is an especially great way to strengthen your spatial thinking skills.

Other NFB EQ Instructional Web Pages

Weekly pages will become available on the preceding Friday evening.

NFB EQ Main Instructional webpage
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4