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Activity and strategy

Alternate Solution to Coloring for Children with Low Vision

Textured materials and collage offer an alternate way for students with low vision to participate in coloring or other art activities.

I have several students with low vision who have difficulty coloring.  They frequently avoid the task, as they can’t do it as easily as their peers. What if we spent time away from their peers to do the actual coloring and meanwhile find an alternate solution to try when they are with their peers?

Recently one of my students was asked to color a sheet of paper placed in front of her with a picture of a bunny on it. She attempted to color it, but became both bored and physically tired trying to color the entire page. As an alternative, we found textured materials already in the classroom and used them to complete her picture. We found fabric, coconut, rice, and ribbon to use to complete her picture. This solution allowed her to complete the picture at almost the same time as her peers. Maybe next time she will be able to do it even more quickly, if we have all the materials gathered ahead of time and don’t have to do a scavenger hunt in the middle of the activity!

Materials

  • fabric
  • coconut
  • rice
  • ribbon
  • other textured materials
  • glue
  • paper

The best part is that she is very proud of her work and wants to have it hung up.  No tears. No torn or wadded up color pages. Just a beautiful end product that the student is proud of!

Textured bunny
Different textured materials used to fill in outline of a rabbit
Collage of alternate solutions to coloring for students with low vision
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