Abstract for Tactile Graphics 2005

Title: The use of tactile graphics to support early literacy

Presenter: Peter Lumley and Adrian Farnsworth

Markeaton Primary School

Abstract:

It’s her first day at school and on entering a bustling mainstream classroom, the young blind child is immediately surrounded by the noise of children laughing, shouting and talking. She listens as her teacher asks everyone to sit on the carpet for a story and gradually the classroom becomes quiet.

The class introduced to literacy through stories in picture books will learn:

that stories are meaningful and can sometimes be funny and can sometimes be sad;
that books are nice to handle and contain pictures as well as words;
to recognise all the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they represent;
to communicate their own ideas using pictures along with their own emergent writing.

What should young blind children be learning from these early literacy experiences and how can tactile graphics be introduced and used to facilitate this learning?

At Markeaton Primary School we aim to:

develop the early literacy experiences of our blind pupils in an inclusive setting using a wide range of tactile representation;
introduce tactile representation in a systematic way leading from the child’s known concrete experiences to more abstract symbolic ones;
design tactile representations to be rich, meaningful and enjoyable experiences for the child.

Objectives of presentation:

To share and develop strategies for introducing and using tactile representations to support early literacy in an inclusive setting.
To share and develop principles and technique for the creation of tactile representations to support early literacy in an inclusive setting.

Outcomes for audience:

To understand and be aware of some of the strategies for introducing and using tactile representations to support early literacy in an inclusive setting.
To understand and be aware of some of the principles and technique for the creation of tactile representations to support early literacy in an inclusive setting.

Prior knowledge of topic assumed: Low

Contains advanced technical content: No

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