Resource
Braille Readiness Grid
Checklist of braille readiness skills, including tactile, fine motor, language, concept development, and book skills
The Braille Readiness Grid was developed by Anne McComiskey, Director of the BEGIN early childhood program of the Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta, Georgia. It is reprinted here with permission of CVIGA.
Please note that this document is shared here to open a discussion with the team about some of the skills necessary for learning braille, but this document is not comprehensive and is not a substitute for a full assessment.
DIRECTIONS: Reading and writing braille is achieved by systematic building of skills in many areas of development. This literacy readiness grid enables parents and teachers to identify accomplished skills and target other skills for educational programming.
Using observation and informal assessment identify which skills in each area a child has accomplished. Highlight the accomplished skill box entirely. Emerging skills are partially filled with highlighter. Non-highlighted skill boxes are skills targeted for the child’s educational program. This is a flexible tool. Add or delete boxes for individual children.
Remember: FUN IS THE KEY INGREDIENT.
Tactile
Tolerates being touched
Enjoys being touched
Locates objects by touch
Examines objects by touch
Matches and sorts objects
Touches braille in exploration
Enjoys being touched
Locates objects by touch
Examines objects by touch
Matches and sorts objects
Touches braille in exploration
Grades textures of sandpaper
Locates tactile “mark” on pages
Uses pad of index finger to touch
Traces 3 dimensional outline of shape
Traces 2 dimensional outline of shape
Traces left to right continuous line with sticks, glue, etc.
Traces left to right using braille cell with no space
Traces left to right using braille cell with space
Traces left to right using dot 2, 3, 5, 6 with no space
Traces left to right using dot 2, 3, 5, 6 with space
Traces left to right using dot 3, 6 with no space
Traces left to right using dot 3, 6 with space
Traces left to right using dot 1 with no space
Traces left to right using dot 1 with space
Uses two hands cooperatively in tracing (place marker and reader hand)
Locates braille marked items in home
Participates in formal tactual sheets and units
Fine Motor
Holds object in each hand
Uses pincer grasp
Opens and closes books
Turns cardboard pages
Uses two hands cooperatively
Uses appropriate grasp with stylus
Makes stylus art with construction paper
Turns pages one at a time
Copies patterns with pegs, muffin tins, geo boards, etc.
Shows hand strength and flexibility
Shows finger strength and dexterity
Places individual finger on braille keys
Manages paper into slate
“Scribbles” with slate and stylus
Manages paper in/out of brailler with help
Positions fingers on braille keys appropriately
Manages paper in/out of brailler independently
Operates all keys of brailler appropriately
Plays at brailling
Listening, Attention, and Expression
Alerts to sound
Listens to interaction songs
Sits socially with adults 5-10 minutes
Listens to and enjoys rhymes
Participates in finger plays and songs
Follows two step directions
Uses jargon and imitation on phone
Matches sound cans
Shows interest in short stories about self
Shows interest in short stories about others, with participation
Shows interest in stories about others without participation
Tells simple event (idea)
Makes up simple stories (3 ideas)
Listens to simple story tape
Relates two events from short story
Understands slow automated voice
Attends to task completion (5-20 minutes)
Concept Building
Identifies body parts
Names body parts
Identifies objects and actions
names objects and actions
Shows object permanence concept
Searches for dropped objects
Shows same and different concept awareness
Demonstrates number awareness of quantities to 3
Shows more/less, big/small, long/short, wide/narrow concepts with objects
Play symbolically
Shows concepts of: above/below, left/right, back/front, up/down, top/bottom, middle/sides (with objects)
Understands positional concepts with marks on page
Shows rote knowledge of alphabet
Shows letter/cell awareness using balls, marbles, and braille
Participates in rich life experiences
Says letters of name (rote)
Says names of brailler keys
Shows awareness of touch patterns representing word; i.e., name
Book and Story Skills
Uses books as toys (squeak, pull, etc.)
Identifies parts of a book (cover, pages, margin, etc.)
Holds book and turns pages
Explores tactile books using pad of fingers
Traces marks purposefully in tactile book from start to end
Participates in object “book” story
Has lap time with appropriate book daily (i.e. Twin Vision)
Dictates and reads “sentence” book
Selects favorite book and stories
Completes formal braille primer series (APH)
Reads “On the Way to Literacy” series (APH)
