Perkins School for the Blind
The Three Basic States (Phases) of Matter
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...
Perkins School for the Blind
Handprint Art
Stimulate the senses with a handprint art project! Flake laundry detergent, water, and food coloring are mixed together to create a substance that has a pleasant smell and will dry hard and dimensional. Children with visual disabilities...
Perkins School for the Blind
The Mystery Box - Making Observations and Collecting Data
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...
Perkins School for the Blind
Name That Frequency
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...
Perkins School for the Blind
Planning a Special Event
I love planning parties, they are a great way to get social, require organizational skills, and engage cooperative problem solving. Teens with visual impairments put their heads together to plan an event for their friends. They choose an...
Perkins School for the Blind
Adapted Sorry Board Game
Board games are great for building social skills and for fostering recreation and leisure skills! Here, you'll find an image and a brief description of how you can make a tactile version of the game Sorry for your blind or low-vision...
Perkins School for the Blind
Matching Like Objects
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...
Berkshire Museum
Camouflage!: Collecting Data and Concealing Color
Help young scholars see the important role camouflage plays in the survival of animals with a fun science lesson. Starting with an outdoor activity, children take on the role of hungry birds as they search for worms represented by...
Perkins School for the Blind
Counting Book
Here is a wonderful way to teach children with visual impairments how to count and build number recognition skills. Included, you will find a set of instructions on how to create a counting book from card stock, jump rings, and cotton...
Perkins School for the Blind
Rubber Band Stretch
If you don't teach blind or visually impaired students, this lesson may seem a bit strange. But, it helps them develop motor skills, orientation and movement skills, and listening skills, while building a better understanding of...
Perkins School for the Blind
Design and Problem Solving
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...
Perkins School for the Blind
More or Less
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...
Curated OER
Colors of Winter-Body Parts/Senses
Fun is in the air as learners with special needs engage in sensory-filled activities. They discuss color, snow, cold, winter, and body parts while touching and smelling various objects. They discuss the parts of the body with relation to...
Perkins School for the Blind
Rough or Soft?
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 his/her arm...
Perkins School for the Blind
Chromosome Models- Karyotyping
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...
Curated OER
Creating with Clay
Middle schoolers are introduced to the Art Museum's Ahambra Vase. They explore the difference between throwing on the pottery wheel and hand building. Students create a functional vessel using two of the three hand-building techniques....
Curated OER
Tour + Workshop = DESIGN: Shape
Ask elementary students to explore shapes in everyday objects. They will discuss the elements of design and describe the shapes they see in visual images. Students will then design and "build" a new 3D shape. Finally they will show and...
Curated OER
Self and General Space in Dance
Students explore the different themes and strategies of dancing by performing in class. In this physical education instructional activity, students practice moving specific joints and muscles as they train to perform a dance. Students...
Curated OER
Using Manipulatives to Teach Fractions
There is no doubt that learners remember what they have learned when they have a visual representation. Using an egg carton and candy bars, they explore the concept of fractional amounts. By having learners cut the egg carton into parts...
Perkins School for the Blind
The Function of Villi in the Small Intestine
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...
Curated OER
Dissecting Owl Pellets
Learners explore owl pellets. In this animal science lesson, students use owl pellet dissection kits to dissect one owl pellet. Learners use a magnifying glass to identify the foods that the owl ate.
Curated OER
Treasure Chest
Students explore Chicago in the fur-trading era. In this Chicago instructional activity, students discover what life what like during this time. Students read an historical fiction story about life in the fur-trade era. Students view...
Curated OER
How To Rule Cell Division
Students explore cell division through auditory, visual and tactile stations that each describe a stage of cell division. Then they apply the information from the stations in a mini-homework project that is tailored to one of the...
Perkins School for the Blind
Casting with Plaster
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...