Skip to content
Resource

Take Home Story Kit

Take Home Story Kits enable students to create tactile or braille books that they can take home to share with their families to promote braille literacy.

This “Take Home Story Kit” was made by a preschool student based on the APH tactile book Going on a Bear Hunt retold by Suzette Wright and Illustrated by Solene Negrerie.

I work with a preschool student who is learning braille.  His favorite book is the tactile APH book Going on a Bear Hunt.  He has asked to read it several times and has the story memorized.  Since he liked the book so much, I suggested we make our own version that he could take home and keep.  

Inside page from APH Bear Hunt book
Inside page from APH Bear Hunt book
Example of textured page from APH book
Example of textured page from APH book

Materials

  • Various textures to represent scenes from story: home, grass, river, snow, mud, woods, cave, covers (for bed), door (that really opens and closes)
  • Objects to represent characters in story, including the bear and person going on the bear hunt.  My student choose a magnetic letter L since his name starts with L and a large pompom for the bear.
  • I pre-cut materials. 
  • The preschool student brailled a short description on the bottom of each page: tall grass; deep, dark woods; cave; etc. 
  • He glued the textures to each page and then was ready to retell his story. 
Pages of Bear Hunt story
Pages of Bear Hunt story with textures added
Pages of Bear Hunt story
Pages of Bear Hunt story with textures added
  • He moved his character (the magnetic L) as he told the story and then added the pompom for the bear at the appropriate time. 
  • I stored this kit in a bag for him to take home and keep. 
  • He is enjoying retelling this story and sharing the story kit with his sister.
Take home story kit made by preschool student
Take-home story kit made by preschool student

Variations

He and I discussed how to assemble the pages.  Should we use a 3 ring binder or leave the pages loose to move around as the story is told?  Should we use whole pages or half pages?  He decided he wanted to use half pages and opted to leave the pages loose so he could move them as he retold his story.  

Collage of take home story kit
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Blog

Ideas for Teaching Tracking and other Tactile Skills

Page of experience book about popcorn
Tips and guides

Experience Stories for Functionally Blind Pre-Readers

part of a plastic plate and cup are glued to a page
Tips and guides

Teaching Emergent Literacy Skills To Kindergarten Students in a Braille/Print Program