Braille game

Activity
Target level	JHS
Preparation time	2+ hours
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Braille cell

This game is perfect for use with New Horizon 3, unit 1. Prepare Braille cards and students in pairs decipher the code, make words, and then order the words into sentences.

Preparation

The preparation of this game is a little complicated but well worth the effort. You can also keep your cards and use them over and over.

Materials

• Bristol board or an empty cereal box
• Graph paper
• Glue
• Single-hole punch
• Blunt pencil
• Construction paper

Make a slate

1. Cut out a rectangle about 23 cm by 4 cm from the bristol board or cereal box.
2. Cut out a rectangle the same size from the graph paper.
3. Glue the graph paper to the bristol board.
4. Use the hole punch to punch out Braille cells. Use the squares on the graph paper to help keep your cells lined up.
5. Your finished slate should look something like the following picture.

Using the slate

1. Place your slate on top of a piece of construction paper. Use a blunt-tipped pencil as your stylus.
2. Be careful not to push all the way through the paper, you only want to create raised bumps.
3. Remember to work from right to left as you are working on the back side of the page to create your Braille message (see image below). To read your message, turn the page over.
4. Mark which side is up to avoid confusion later.

Game

There are many ways to set this game up. One way is to have 3 sentences prepared on Braille. Have each sentence on a different color card, and each word is on a seperate piece of card.

Game materials

• Print a Braille chart and give a copy to each pair.
• Have a Braille card (one word) and a blank Braille memo paper for each pair.

Game Instructions

1. Students make pairs. Each pair gets 1 Braille card and blank Braille memo paper.
2. Janken for A and B.
3. Student A closes his eyes (or is blindfolded) and tries to read the Braille word with his finger tips. He/she describes what he reads using the dot number system introduced in the textbook (for example, "2-4-5-6"). Student B writes on the memo paper what student A reads ("2-4-5-6" => "w").
4. Once the students have deciphered their word, they come to the front and write it on the blackboard, in the color coded section.
5. Finally, when all words have been written down, the students put the words in order to make a full sentence.

Example sentences

• Hockey is played on ice.
• This jacket was made in China.
• The Namahage are feared by many kids.
• This ball was thrown by Mike.
• Tom was bitten by the dog.

Credits

• Lesson idea by Amelie Girard.
• Braille plate instructions from here.

See also

• Junior high school activities