Here are some notes from today's session of Science Club, and a list of my favorite ASL and Braille books from the shelves in my classroom (unfortunately, I can't share these very easily with my students remotely).
Friday, June 5
Prior to Meeting
- American Sign Language Coloring Page
- ASL Fingerspelling Practice
from Sign Language for Kids Activity Book: 50 Fun Games and Activities to Start Signing by Tara Adams
She gives much longer lists; I'm sharing a few words from each one.
(Remember to focus on clarity rather than speed!)Level 1, page 62:
- fun
zoo
yes
am
pool
hop
make
boxLevel 2, page 71:
- home
dress
right
card
sore
prize
save
printLevel 3, page 80:
- sticky
juice
country
kitten
printer
pizza
pencil
summerLevel 4, page 89:
- pillow
vacation
mailbox
quarter
jellyfish
applesauce
honeycomb
popcornLevel 5, page 98:
- octopus
iguana
milkshake
washing machine
flashlight
umbrella
gummy bear - ASL Word Searches, pages 69 and 96
(these are really interesting to do with the hand shapes) - Braille Alphabet information
- Braille Games from American Printing House (Braillebug.org):
See Your Name in Braille, Trivia Mania, Riddles and Rhymes
During the Meeting
- review the results of student at-home activities
- look at examples of books in Braille
- read Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille by Jen Bryant
Favorite Books - American Sign Language
- Stripe Presents the ABCs by Dorothy Decker
The Handmade Alphabet
by Laura Rankin
We Can Sign!
by Tara Adams
Sign Language for Kids Activity Book
by Tara Adams
The Joy of Signing
by Lottie Riekehof
Favorite Books - Braille
What Color Is the Wind?
by Anne Herbauts
Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille
by Jen Bryant
DK Braille: It Can't Be True! Incredible Tactile Comparisons
I also have Braille editions of The Dot by Peter Reynolds and Guess How Much I Love You? by Sam McBratney, as well as a fun Rubik's Tactile Cube.
Resources for Tactile Diagrams
I absolutely love the section on Tactile Diagrams in Art Beyond Sight and it does have a few pages printed on swell paper. We didn't get into tactile diagrams today but I have enjoyed teaching about them in the past. Here's a video that shows how they are made:
You can find a lesson plan from Art Beyond Sight that includes a Tactile Diagram for Dali's The Persistence of Memory (PDF) and the accompanying narrative for guidance of the hands (PDF).
I don't have swell paper or a heat diffusing machine... but I did once have a very old photocopier machine in my classroom that actually gave us a textured paper when we printed this out! It was wonderful for the kids to experience. If I had known that all photocopiers don't give the same result I would have printed a hundred so that I always had them for future classes.
I find the topic of translating visual art to tactile and auditory interpretations fascinating! Here are two more videos you may enjoy:
Georgia O'Keeffee "Abstraction" show at the Whitney Museum
tactile diagrams, verbal descriptions, touch and movement opportunities
Nude Descending a Staircase by Marcel Duchamp
verbal description, auditory representation
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