Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

Wheel of Fortune Game

For Teachers 1st - 6th Standards
Games are great for practicing any number of basic skills. Here is a set of wonderful instructions for making a braille version of a spinning game, where children win points by correctly reading/identifying the high-frequency words the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fast or Slow?

For Teachers K - 6th
Vestibular stimulation is an action or activity relating to balance and motion. To find out what kind of vestibular stimulation your learners with multiple disabilities enjoy best, follow these simple suggestions. You engage the child in...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

A Visit to the Doctor

For Teachers K - 6th
Going to the doctor's office may be a source of stress and uncertainty for some children. Help your learners with special needs discover what to expect at and how to cope with their next trip to the doctor. They explore real medical...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

I'm Thinking Of...

For Teachers K - 6th
Learning how to describe an object or a person is a great way to develop verbal and written expression. Learners with special needs improve their verbal expressive skills and concept development skills while playing a guessing game. The...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

Language Experience Stories

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Here is a great way to bring core content to your special education classroom. Included is a set of instructional ideas intended to help learners increase their verbal and written expression through storytelling. Tape recorders, story...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

Matching Like Objects

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Same and different, sorting, and tactile discrimination are what's on the agenda for today. The class practices sorting objects and attempts to determine which objects are the same and different and why. The purpose is to increase...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

More or Less

For Teachers 1st - 6th
The concept of more or less is one that needs to be mastered prior to learning other concepts such as quantitative analysis, addition, or subtraction. This activity provides several ways to teach learners with low or no vision to...
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

Design and Problem Solving

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What if you had a design problem you wanted to solve, but were unable to draw because you were unable to see? Teach your learners with visual impairments that they can use Wikki Stix®, a braille ruler, Legos®, and Constructo Straws to...
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

Please Call Me Names!

For Teachers Pre-K - 8th
Teaching students who are blind means teaching them skills a sighted person may take for granted. To practice calling people and objects by name, learners engage in a cueing activity. The child calls for an adult by name, and then uses a...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

Conductors of Heat - Hot Spoons

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Why is the end of a spoon hot when it's not all the way in the hot water? A great question deserves a great answer, and learners with visual impairments will use their auditory and tactile senses to get that answer. A talking...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

Volume, Mass, and Density Boxes

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Mass and density are difficult topics for kids to understand, and even more difficult when you have visual impairments or blindness. Learners will make boxes and fill them with cotton, sand, or crushed paper. They will feel the density...
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

Identifying and Using Tools

For Teachers 6th - 12th
How can you teach a person about technology and engineering if he has never been exposed to the tools and devices used to create and construct? Learners with visual impairments examine a number of common tools, such as hammers, wrenches,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fire Safety Skills

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Here is a fire safety lesson specifically designed for blind or visually impaired teens. They will attempt to exit the building safely, feeling for hot spots, heat drafts, and obstacles. A hairdryer, tape recorded fire sounds, and verbal...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

Rough or Soft?

For Teachers K - 6th
When a child has some vision they need to be encouraged to use it in a positive and stimulating way. To better understand which types of tactile reinforcers your learner likes best; you'll rub different textured objects on...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

The Mystery Box - Making Observations and Collecting Data

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Making observations and collecting qualitative and quantitative data is a vital skill all scientists need to practice. Help your scientists with partial and no sight learn how to use their other senses to make observations for...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

The Function of Villi in the Small Intestine

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Ever wonder what the villi in the small intestine do? I bet your class would love to find out. Mesh netting is used to represent small blood vessels on the outside of the intestine, and a chenille bath mat is used to represent the villi...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Disability in the Media Lesson Plan: Braille

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students determine the workings of the Braille alphabet and how people with visual impairments learn how to use it. For this Braille lesson, students study the associated vocabulary, read about Helen Keller, and complete associated...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

Silly or Sensible?

For Teachers 1st - 8th
Is it silly or sensible? That's a great question, and it's the question that will drive this entire lesson. Learners with special needs and visual impairments work together to analyze verbal information. The instructor makes a statement,...
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

Casting with Plaster

For Teachers 4th - 8th
What a fun lesson! Your class can experience the design and construction process by creating a mold and a duplicate for an engraved image. The lesson is specifically written for learners with visual impairments and allows them to create...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Perkins School for the Blind

Human Body Regulation

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The human body can regulate itself through sweating and resting. Learners with visual impairments discuss how the body changes when it is under stress and what it does to regulate itself. To start, kids use talking thermometers to take...
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

Friction

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Friction is a force that can be felt, which means that learners with visual impairments can experiment to feel and understand the concept of friction. They slide a rock along a smooth table, and then they slide a rock across sandpaper,...
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

The Three Basic States (Phases) of Matter

For Teachers 4th - 8th
There are three basic states of matter: Solid, liquid, and gas. Help your learners with visual impairments to understand the chemical nature of each state of matter with tactile elements. Marbles are used to model the particles in each...
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

Introduction to Scientific Inquiry

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Every great scientist knows that the process of inquiry is a very important skill. Provide your learners with visual impairments with an opportunity to explore objects scientifically. They examine several pieces of fruit and generate...
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

Polyatomic Ion Bingo

For Teachers 6th - 12th
If your class is learning about polyatomic ions and needs a fun way to study those chemicals, then a bingo game might be right up your alley. This bingo game is intended to boost memorization skills, specifically the names of tricky...