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BrailleBlazer

Beginning Braille Reading Activity Book

 

Braille readers have SmartFingers!
 

There is a rational for ordering BrailleBlazer at the end of this page. 
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• Designed for most beginning braille readers-even those having some difficulty learning to read braille.

• An activity book that will help engage your students in the process of learning to read and
  makes lessons fun.

• Contains tactile discrimination, tracking, reading practice and various types of activities to help develop skills needed by a new tactile reader.

• Uses contractions only. Words are ONLY taught in contracted form.​

• Very systematic and introduces only one contraction, or up to two words, at a time. This gives students time to become confident of the new words that they are learning.

• Very flexible! There is a lot of reading practice. You can decide how much to use, depending on the students' needs. Will meet the needs of many different students, with varying abilities.

• Every word is introduced as a “New Word.” No word is ever used until it has been introduced.

• Words are repeated throughout the book.

• There is much repetition to help students become familiar with the basic words and become confident readers. Repetition is especially necessary since blind students do not get repeated exposure to words, as sighted students do.

• Pages are unbound and can be sent home for additional practice.

• Some teachers are ordering a BrailleBlazer Set AND a Set of Replacement Worksheets because students are enjoying the program so much that they are requesting pages to do at home. This is a wonderful way to have the student get extra reading practice at home. Additionally, it is a way to include the parents in learning braille and helping their children to learn braille.

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Some feedback that BrailleBlazer has received:

from KB- "I have been using BrailleBlazer Volume 1 with a bright, elementary student with Low Vision who experienced a recent vision decline.  We tried a few other strategies/programs before we found the "just right" fit with BrailleBlazer.  This program has been a perfect match for her needs and learning style and is highly motivating to her. My student loves it and it is working so well for us. As her TVI, the program has been incredibly easy to implement once I read through and understood the lessons and procedures.  Her progress is easy to track, and the well-paced, well-planned out lessons create a flexible and fluid learning experience for both student and teacher.  Everything is already created, which is enormously helpful and saves me lots of time!  I highly recommend to other teachers.

I also had my student share her thoughts about BrailleBlazer and this is what she had to say: 'It's helping me learn Braille.  It's new and I like it.  Reading all the braille is fun!'" 

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from LZ- "It was easy to use, and he learned fairly quickly as a dual media learner. The review sentences at the end of the book were very helpful as well. My student is Spanish speaking, and an English language learner, and I liked that this sentences were easy to explain to him without too much figurative language."

from T- "Have been using this with my 5th grade student. Sometimes use it as a quiz or with a board trivia game. He loves it and has improved with leaps and bounds!! An absolute must have resource!!"

from JP- I am loving BrailleBlazer. My 8th grader is enjoying it and is flying through lessons. 

I like the format. Straightforward and consistent. I appreciate that.

from NP-  "I would like her new goals for reading and writing Braille to work around your books. She is making amazing progress using the BrailleBlazer and even asks to practice extra on writing the sentences." "I cannot say thank you enough for this wonderful teaching guide. It has made such a huge difference in my student's reading and writing."

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from TR- He's a dual media learner and even though we used a specific program, and he knows most of the contractions and was reading the braille, it wasn't as fluent as it needed to be, and he was hesitant when reading books. He was just making guesses based on the first 1-2 letters of words.

 

(from TR, continued) I decided to try Braille Blazer with him to reinforce some skills. 

Well, the structure, routine and sequence of Braille Blazer with the repetition of words and sentences, word families, tracking, sentence jumbles and paragraphs have made a huge difference in making him a confident braille reader. 

He asks to do pages from the book every day as part of our lesson. 

He's become a different braille reader in a positive way.

So, thank you and I look forward to volume 2 coming out.

 

from JK- I am currently using the Braille Blazer and the UEB Sentences and absolutely love them both.  Very well laid out and easy to use! 

 

from LS- I am using your books with 2 students and I really like them.

 

from JK- I started the UEB sentences with a student this week. She really enjoyed it and so did I. Honestly. To have the material reaily prepared is wonderful. 

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Re: BrailleBlazer-There’s lots of resources available but this one is so simply laid out. Thank you!

 

from LR- Love your innovation!

 

from KH- When I introduced BrailleBlazer, I think it has filled that void for her. She is reading WORDS! She is liking it so far. 

from SH- 

I am a TVI at XXX Public Schools. I have been using the program with a blind 4th grade student who is significantly below grade level in reading and just beginning to learn contractions. I want to thank you for providing a platform to make learning to read and write braille fun and engaging for my student. His enjoyment for reading and learning contractions has been wonderful to see.

I have seen an increase in the fluency of both braille reading and writing. One area that was specifically helpful was the use of word families throughout the activities. He has been showing improvement in sounding out words using those repeated sounds.

My student loves this program and his first question when we work together is when he can work on his activity book (BrailleBlazer book). The formatting of the activities (each activity has the same routine to complete that becomes predictable) makes it easy for him to lead many of them with guidance and instruction from myself.

The repetition of words and word parts has helped his increase fluency and confidence in both reading and writing in braille. He confidently and independently sounds out words and identifies contractions.

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Prior to beginning this book, it is important that students have been exposed to tracking and tactile recognition skills and can identify the braille alphabet letters.

An important part of this book is a "Lesson" just for teachers who are beginning to teach braille or those that have not taught braille in a while. It will help you to refresh your "braille brain."

 

How BrailleBlazer can help your students:

• is meant to be used by anyone, at any age, who is beginning to read braille.

• was designed to be very flexible to meet the needs of many different students, with varying abilities, including those who may be having some difficulty learning to read braille.

• will help to develop tactile skills. Contains different activities to help develop various skills needed by a new tactile reader, starting with tracking and tactile discrimination.

• helps students become familiar with basic words and become confident readers. 

  • teaches beginning braille reading vocabulary. Introduces Alphabetic Wordsigns and Strong Contractions, which are specific to braille reading.

  • uses elements of basic reading skills (Dolch sight words and Fry word families). The words were selected from a list of first-grade level words.

  • uses much repetition of the introduced words so that students who are learning to read braille can get continued exposure to basic reading vocabulary.

• introduces “Sneaky Contractions.” These are braille contractions that are common to a beginning braille reader's vocabulary (ex., name, braille, mother, father, etc.). These are words that cannot be sounded out, but simply need to be recognized.

• includes numerous types of reading exercises, such as: Tracking, New Words, Review Words, sentence Reading, Sentence Jumbles, Paragraph reading, and Reading Comprehension, to make lessons more motivating and fun.

• includes 284 consumable braille worksheets help to develop tactile skills which are important for congenitally blind students, as well as dual media learners (former print readers), of any age.   ​

  • 284 braille worksheets are single-sided, double-spaced

  • worksheets can be sent home for extra practice

  • students enjoy using BrailleBlazer so much that teachers have ordered Replacement Worksheets for them to take home to use with their parents. This encourages the parents' involvement with braille.

• is an excellent beginning reading workbook that will help students learn to read braille. 

 

Structure of lessons:

• Begins with information for teachers who are new to teaching braille and a refresher for those who haven't taught it in a while.

• No word is ever used until it has been introduced.

• Every word is introduced as a “New Word.”

• Tracking of the “New Word” precedes every “Reading” activity.

• Previously introduced words are used throughout sentences in the book, to give the student continued practice on learned words. 

• Punctuation is not used, to allow for consistency in word recognition.

• Capital letter signs are only used with proper nouns (names).

• Reading “Paragraphs” and completing "Reading Comprehension" activities allows teachers to find out if students understand what they are reading, rather than just calling out words.

• There are many review sections throughout the book, so that the student will get repeated practice in reading words that were previously presented.

• There are numerous suggestions on how to use this book for writing practice, as well as reading.

• At the end of the book is a Reading/Writing Review section, so that you can see which words students have mastered.

• as with UEB Practice Sentences, this book can be used to create a serviceable IEP for new readers.

 

A Contraction and Word Progress Chart helps you keep track of words that the student is familiar with or needs continued practice on.

 

A chart of all braille contractions is included, as well.

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This is a rational for ordering BrailleBlazer. Please feel free to use it:

BrailleBlazer was designed for any person who is learning to read braille, at any age. It is for ALL new readers and dual media learners, including those that are struggling. It builds confidence in reading braille.

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Students actually ASK to work on BrailleBlazer in class, and even ask to take the braille home. Teachers and parents say that it is the students' favorite part of the school day. Teachers have even ordered a second set of worksheets so that the student could work on them at home.
 

Teachers have said that the changes in their students' reading abilities and confidence levels is like night and day.  

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Dual media learners might be more willing to learn braille when using BrailleBlazer. It is amazing at building the confidence of braille readers. It is important to let them know that they are not "learning to read," they are "learning to read BRAILLE!"

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BrailleBlazer is also very applicable to assessing a student and writing IEP goals.​​​

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BrailleBlazer is available now!

 

This book is NOT available in a digital format.

 

We DO accept Purchase Orders.