Future Reflections Summer 1990, Vol. 9 No. 2
by Sharon L M. Duffy
Available from the
National Federation of the Blind
- Review by Doris M. Willoughby
This brand new Braille instruction book is excellent for high school students as well as adults. With some supplementing and extra guidance, it is also suitable for many students in junior high and even the intermediate grades. The alphabet, punctuation, numerals, and all the signs of Grade II Braille are taught. Variety and frequent change of pace make the selections especially interesting and enjoyable. Many passages are quite humorous.
Overall pacing and amount of material is good. New formats such as single spacing are phased in gradually.
A particularly helpful section, which is absent from many instruction books, is a summary and explanation of basic rules of usage (example: "The 'com' sign need not be a syllable to be used, but may not be used in contact with a hyphen, dash, or apostrophe.") Students who have read Braille all their lives should study this section of the book; many have a very vague understanding of the rules for use of various signs.
The McDuffy Reader is now available from the National Federation of the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230; (301) 6599314. The student's Braille text is $10.00. An inkprint copy of the student's text, line-for-line, is also $10.00. In addition, in the near future a student's cassette guide will be available, along with a complete teacher's manual. The teacher's manual will include a complete copy of the student's cassette; a lesson-by-lesson guide for the teacher; general methods and ideas; suggestions for the use of the Perkins Braille Writer and the Braille slate; and brief overviews of the Nemeth Code, Braille music, Grade III Braille, and Braille shorthand.