By Scott Baltisberger and Chrissy Cowan, TSBVI Outreach Consultants
These units and lessons were developed by Chrissy Cowan and Scott Baltisberger to help teachers of students with visual impairments teach students how to understand the cause and effect of their visual impairments, explain their visual impairment to others, and to advocate for appropriate accommodations. These are important self-determination skills for the student, part of the Expanded Core Curriculum .
Following the lessons are a number of forms that may be copied for the student to use in a number of the Unit 2 lessons.
Unit 1: The Eye and Sight
Lessons
- What is an Eye? (Lesson 1)
- How Does an Eye Work? (Lesson 2)
- Everyone Has Different Eyes – Animals (Lesson 3)
- Everyone Has Different Eyes – People (Lesson 4)
- How is My Eye Special? (Lesson 5)
Unit 2: Student Toolbox
Lessons
- How Does My Vision Affect My Access to Information?
- Strategies for Increasing Access
- Strategies for Communicating with Others about Access
Materials for Unit 2
- Access to Visual Media
- How I View the World
- My Goals
- My Visual Strategies for School
- Personal Preferences for Access
- Technology I Find Useful
- Tools for Accessing Different Environments and Increasing Self-Sufficiency
- Visual Tasks Survey
Download Units 1 and 2. Word | PDF
See also Unit 5: Assistive Technology and Self-Determination.
