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...
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

Testing the Strength of a Column

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Columns have been used throughout the world because they are good load-bearing structures. Learners with visual impairments conduct an experiment to work through the design process as well as to understand this engineering phenomenon....
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

Name That Frequency

For Teachers 5th - 8th
How cool! This plan uses old cassette tapes to show frequency from traveling vibrations. To prepare for the lesson, tactile frequency diagrams are made and then placed near the video tapes or dominoes that are already set up. When they...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

Beanbag Toss

For Teachers K - 12th
Why is learning how to catch and toss so important? If one has visual impairments, learning this basic skill will help him increase orientation and mobility, coordination, and cognitive development,. Mastery of this skill will also mean...
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...
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

The Printing Process

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
The printing process was a technological innovation that revolutionized the modern world. Your learners with visual impairments can experience this process by creating a print by using letterpress printing. They use cardboard, glue, and...
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
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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

Momentum

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The laws of momentum can lead to fun! Learners with visual impairments use bowling pins and a bowling ball to model the law of conservation of momentum. They take turns bowling with differing degrees of force to explore how energy is...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

The Germinator

For Teachers 4th - 8th
How does a plant grow from a seed? Observe the process with a clever idea from the PBS television show ZOOM. Watch the video, then have your young botanists create their own germinators. The lesson described here is for visually impaired...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

Telephone Skills

For Teachers K - 12th
What kid doesn't love talking on the phone? Learners with visual and intellectual disabilities get comfortable using several types of telephones. They begin by examining the phone, dialing, answering the phone, and then they work into...
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

Conservation of Mass

For Teachers 5th - 12th
How do you teach a student with visual impairments about the conservation of mass? You use tactile models that represent the theoretical concept. Baking soda and vinegar are used to add gas to a deflated balloon. Learners will feel the...
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...
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...
Activity
Perkins School for the Blind

Safety Crash Testing

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Everyone knows that cars have safety features, but wouldn't it be fun to design your own? Learners with visual impairments build a ramp and then attempt to use the material provided to design a safety system to protect a raw egg from a...
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...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

Modified Kickball

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Kickball is a classic recess game that everybody should play at least once. Included here is a wonderful set of instructions that describe how you can modify the game to make it accessible to children with low or no visual ability....
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

Capture the Treasure

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Did you ever play capture the flag? I did, and it was so much fun! Your learners with special needs, physical handicaps, or visual impairments can play a classic and highly engaging game with a few minor adaptations. The best part is,...
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...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

Modified Disc Golf

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Here is a great set of adaptations and modifications that will make your next game of disc golf accessible to all your pupils. Listed are several variations and ways you can modify the game for your learners with physical or visual...
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,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Inherited Traits

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students work with a partner to complete an inventory of their traits and compare and discuss their unique qualities. For this biology lesson, students determine percentages for the frequency of observed traits of classmates, compile the...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

Chromosome Models- Karyotyping

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Create your own karyotypes with clay in a kinesthetic genome activity. This tactile experience was created for visually impaired pupils, but can be used for all hands-on learners who are beginning to study chromosomes. The preparation...
Lesson Plan
Perkins School for the Blind

Mini Goalball Battleship

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Here is a game that can be played by both sighted and unsighted children. Floor mats, blindfolds, and bowling pins are used to create a real-life battleship game where each team attempts to knock down the other team's pins.