A Social Skills/Ability Awareness Curriculum
By Nita Crow and Stephanie Herlich
To Elizabeth Phillips, a person worthy of getting to know!
By Nita Crow and Stephanie Herlich
Getting to Know You - Guidebook (Part Number 61-163-025) for use in the Getting to Know You Kit (Catalog Number 1-08052-00)
Copyright © 2012 by the American Printing House for the Blind. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
This publication is protected by Copyright and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, unless where noted on specific pages. For more information regarding permission, write to American Printing House for the Blind, 1839 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville, KY, 40206-0085.
Reference Citation: Crow, N., & Herlich, S. (2012). Getting to know you: A social skills/ability awareness curriculum. Louisville, KY: American Printing House for the Blind.
Authors/Consultants
Nita Crow, M.A., COMS
Stephanie Herlich, M.A., COMS
Project Leader
Charles "Burt" Boyer, M.A.
Research Assistants
Monica Vaught-Compton, M.S.S.W.
Rosanne Hoffmann, Ph.D.
Cathy Senft-Graves, M.Eng.,
NLS Literary & Nemeth Certified Braillist
Graphic Design
Terri Gilmore, A.S.
Bisig Impact Group
Photographers
Bisig Impact Group
Nolan Hulsey,
Kentucky School for the Blind
We would like to thank the following people who were instrumental in the conception, writing, editing, and production of this book and kit. Without their input and creativity, this book would never be what it is today. Thank you: Lizbeth Barclay; California School for the Blind Orientation and Mobility Department: Kristi Barrella, Cheryl Besden, Maya Delgado-Greenberg, Gerri Finkelstein, Gary Shrieves, Marcia Vickroy; College Preparatory School: students and staff; Steve Goodman; Phil Hatlen; Natalie Hilzen; Helene Holman; Cheryl Kamei; Francey Liefert; Leah Mitsuyoshi; Michele Moore; Oakland Unified School District: students and staff; Charlene Okamoto; Elizabeth Phillips; Theresa Postello; Sharon Sacks; Jay Stitely; and Stuart Wittenstein.
Additionally, we are very grateful to the American Printing House for the Blind for taking on this project. We would especially like to thank our project manager Burt Boyer and our editor Monica Vaught-Compton. Your input has been invaluable. Thanks also to the graphics team for making the book look so inviting and fun.
This project has been more than 10 years in the making. It has spanned weddings, births, and all that occurs with the passage of time. We would like to thank our individual extended families who have supported us and waited in anticipation for the book and kit production. Most importantly, we would like to thank our spouses, Phil Herlich and Claudia Morgan, for their support, both technically and emotionally, throughout the entire writing and developing process. Samantha and Harry Herlich, this book is older than you. The "Getting to Know You" process has been more fun with your smiles and giggles surrounding us.
Nita Crow and Stephanie Herlich
Since the 1990s, educators and related service personnel who teach students who are blind or visually impaired have come to recognize the importance of teaching social skills. Professionals and families understand that social skills instruction for students with visual impairments provides them with the tools to interact and play effectively, develop and maintain friendships, effectively interpret non-verbal cues from others, and successfully seek and maintain employment and independent living opportunities as adults. Also, these individuals recognize that the acquisition of socially competent behavior by children and adolescents with visual impairments cannot be acquired through incidental learning or visual modeling. Rather, the acquisition of social skills is a process that requires ongoing instruction and feedback from teachers, specialists, family members, and peers.
While the field acknowledges the need for teaching social skills to students with visual impairments, and has benefited from the research and curricula developed for teaching social skills, few curricula have incorporated strategies to teach ability awareness with social skills. Also, despite efforts to teach social skills and other areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum, finding time within the context of the school day is a challenge. One of the major obstacles in implementing social skills instruction is prioritizing what to teach: academics or areas of the expanded core. With an emphasis on outcomes-based instruction and performance testing, social skills and ability awareness instruction may take a back seat to ensuring academic competence for our students.
Getting to Know You: A Social Skills/Ability Awareness Curriculum provides teachers of students with visual impairments, orientation and mobility specialists, other related service personnel, general education teachers, and families with a positive solution for an ongoing dilemma. Nita Crow and Stephanie Herlich have created a curriculum that engages students who are blind or visually impaired with their sighted age-mates in activities that promote social competence and an awareness of the ways in which students who are blind or visually impaired learn social and other disability-specific skills. Because Crow and Herlich developed these activities for their students, they are fun, creative, motivating, and user-friendly. More importantly, they work! Not only does the curriculum benefit students with visual impairments, it is a valuable resource for sighted students. Sighted peers may need support to improve their social skills or their ability to make friends. Also, peers gain insight into how blind or low vision students tackle day-to-day tasks. Lessons can be initiated at lunch or during classroom free time. Each lesson takes 30-45 minutes to complete so that interference with academic activities is limited.
Lessons are grouped by age or grade level (e.g., kindergarten-second grade, third-fifth grades, and middle/high school). They are structured so that each lesson follows a similar format. As students move from early elementary to upper elementary levels, lessons become more sophisticated. For example, the lesson on Orientation & Mobility for young students involves teaching human guide, while middle/high school students learn about the history of O&M. Another feature of the curriculum is that it provides the teacher with specific curriculum objectives and step-by-step procedures for teaching specific activities. Throughout the curriculum, the authors have provided role play scenarios to help students--blind, visually impaired, or sighted--practice a specific social skill.
In a time when teachers and families must make complex decisions about what to teach their students who are blind or visually impaired, Nita Crow and Stephanie Herlich must be complimented for creating a curriculum that is written for teachers and families. Its format allows students to learn from one another by sharing personal experiences and engaging in activities that promote greater awareness and sensitivity toward others. Crow and Herlich's talent and expertise as educators and writers is evident in every aspect of their curriculum. They have made teaching social skills an easy process. It is heartening to know that their contribution has expanded the knowledge base and has increased the arsenal of tools for teachers and families to use to ensure positive outcomes for their students.
Sharon Zell Sacks, Ph.D.
Director of Curriculum & Staff Development
California School for the Blind
The Getting to Know You curriculum was developed over a 5-year period and initially used in a large school district in California. Since then, it has been used in several other California districts and presented at several North American conferences. The original curriculum was developed for use with high school students with visual impairments and their sighted peers and was later adapted for kindergarten through middle school so that it spanned the entire school age spectrum.
For purposes of this curriculum, "social skills" are defined as those skills needed to interact successfully with other individuals. "Ability awareness" is defined as understanding the techniques needed and used by a person with a visual impairment to accomplish everyday tasks.
We are social beings and friendships are a cornerstone of our lives. Making a friend, being a friend, and relying on a friend for caring and companionship contribute to the quality of life. When a child has a visual impairment, it may be challenging to make and maintain friendships. Through intervention, a child can learn the essential skills necessary to develop and nurture friendships with peers (Rosenblum, 2006).
In 1997, a student (let's call her Abby), entered the school district where we worked. Abby was a highly-academic freshman student who became blind at 6 months of age due to a trauma that left her with light perception, but no usable vision. She was the only student with a visual impairment in her high school. During the first quarter of her freshman year, Abby was frustrated because she felt socially isolated from her peers. During her resource classes and orientation and mobility lessons, Abby told us about her wish to develop friendships and the difficulties she was having. Even though Abby was excelling academically, her lack of friends and overall loneliness were affecting her happiness and enjoyment of school. Friendships and being an accepted member of a peer group are among the most important concerns of adolescents. For adolescents with visual impairments, social isolation and the lack of adequate social support may lead to lower self-esteem (Huurre & Komulainen, 1999).
As the school year progressed, Abby continued to express her feelings of social isolation. She explained that she was having difficulty talking to her peers. We developed a joint lesson with Abby where we role-played the give-and-take nature of conversations and how she might try approaching her peers. The lesson went extremely well but was somewhat unrealistic. Abby stated it best, "It is easy to talk to adults, but I need to do this with my friends." This statement triggered the idea for the Getting to Know You curriculum.
Today, as a result of the expanded core curriculum, social skills instruction is accepted as an integral part of best practice in educating students who are blind or visually impaired. Yet teachers and families alike continue to grapple with how these strategies can be implemented in a time when the focus of education is directed toward academic success and data-based decision making (Sacks & Wolffe, 2006). We, like other professionals in the field of visual impairment, were aware of the need for social skills training for our students. Many teachers of the visually impaired teach sensitivity awareness training at some point during the school year. These lessons are often taught in isolation and are not continued throughout the school year. They might include such topics as a blindfold walk around the school, a lesson about braille, and/or a show-and-tell demonstration of the purpose of specialized equipment. A recent study found that most social skills activities are taught in unstructured, isolated chunks of instruction (Wolffe et al., 2002).
We wanted to develop a curriculum that combined social skills training with awareness activities for sighted students to learn how students with visual impairments accomplish everyday tasks. The curriculum should be long enough for the students to get to know each other, feel comfortable interacting, and allow enough time for the content of the class to make an impact.
The expanded core curriculum, proposed in 1996, states that social interaction skills must be taught to children with visual impairments because they are unable to casually observe how people interact and socialize with one another (Stryker et al., 2002). Simply placing children together does not lead to interaction (D'Allura, 2002). Abby demonstrated to us the importance of and need for social skills training. She was in an integrated, high school setting; however, she was unable to make friends with her peers. Neither the setting nor her academic successes correlated with the development of friendships. Abby needed direct intervention, which she actively sought from us as her teachers. Students with visual impairments do not acquire skills and behaviors through incidental learning, as sighted children typically do (Sacks, 2006). Abby showed us that no matter the age and/or functioning level, social skills are an essential part of the curriculum for a student with visual impairment. The expanded core curriculum was our "call to action." We, as teachers of students with visual impairments, need to include social skills instruction in our curricula in a much more meaningful, structured, and continuous manner.
After the initial role-play lesson, we asked if Abby would be interested in participating in a lunchtime group with some of her peers. We would prepare lessons to help foster her social interactions. Abby brainstormed with us to list her top priorities. These included finding friends to have lunch with; how to initiate a conversation; and how to participate in a conversation. Knowing what was important to Abby as well as understanding the skills involved in developing a friendship, such as being able to read the nonverbal cues of others, knowing how to reciprocate, being able to maintain conversations, understanding the feelings and needs of a friend and acting in accordance with them (Rosenblum, 2006). We began to develop a handful of lessons including those that Abby requested. These initial lessons primarily focused on social skills for students with visual impairments. Our underlying goal was for Abby to have ongoing contact with her peers. We hoped that in getting to know each other in a safe and welcoming environment, all students would accept and appreciate each person's uniqueness and differences.
In planning the lessons, we were mindful that Abby should not be the designated target within the lesson, but rather all students could benefit from specific social skills instruction. Our challenge was to develop lessons that were interesting and fun and where all students learned about each other. After teaching the first two lessons on conversation skills, we realized that though Abby was enjoying the social time with her peers, some of the sighted students appeared bored with the lessons. We needed to find a way to engage the sighted students more fully so that they would also gain from the experience.
At this point, we developed several lessons where all of the sighted students were blindfolded during the activity. Abby felt empowered as she showed her peers how to accomplish everyday tasks in a completely different way. One of the most essential ways in which families and professionals can assist students with visual impairments in developing a strong social identity, is to help them understand and communicate their visual disability to others. When students feel comfortable and at ease with their visual impairments, they will gain greater acceptance and approval from peers and adults with whom they interact (Sacks, 2006). This will also promote a strong self-image.
Later we introduced low vision simulators to the group and allowed them to choose what type of occlusion they wanted to experience. We did not intend to show students "what it is like to be blind." Instead, we wanted them to have the opportunity to focus on their other senses without the distraction of using their vision. We hoped this would make the entire experience more interesting and educational. It worked. All of the students were more engaged, participated more in each activity, and even requested additional lesson topics. They were interested in learning more techniques that a person with a visual impairment uses for daily living tasks. Joint activities, in which the effects of the visual impairment are minimized, may allow children and adolescents with visual impairments to help their peers get beyond the initial uncertainty or discomfort associated with the presence of visual impairments (Rosenblum, 2006). This inspired us to write more lessons containing objectives for both social skills and ability awareness.
We initially taught about 10 lessons to this high school group. During this time, we decided to adapt and add lessons in order to use this curriculum with middle school and elementary-age students. After using this curriculum with students of all ages, our idea of combining social skills lessons with ability awareness lessons received positive feedback from our students, teachers, parents, and administrators.
In our research for publication of this curriculum, we were unsuccessful in finding other curricula that combined social skills and ability awareness training. After teaching our curriculum to students of all ages, we were convinced that these two topics go hand-in-hand. For example, in order to initiate and engage in a conversation (two of Abby's original requests) one must be able to find someone to talk to. The activities Making Conversation and Finding Friends In A Crowd practice this skill. When developing more lessons, we found elements of social skills in each ability awareness lesson and elements of ability awareness in each social skills lesson. For example, Making Lunch Under Blindfold requires students to make their lunch using adaptive daily living skills techniques while at the same time carrying on a conversation with peers. Some of the most well received lessons were ones that combined strong aspects of both social skills and ability awareness activities.
Many teachers try to develop their own ways of addressing the social skills needs of their students with visual impairments while at the same time teaching sighted classmates about visual impairments. Without a provided curriculum, this task can be overwhelming and difficult to coordinate in an already busy schedule. We hope the publication of Getting to Know You will give teachers an easy-to-use tool to fill this curriculum need. And most importantly, we hope that students who take part in the activities will learn invaluable social skills and ability awareness.
To begin a "Getting to Know You" group, identify the visually impaired student(s) who might most benefit from developing friendships and social skills. Once these students are selected, solicit their participation and encourage them to choose sighted peers who they would like to get to know better. Additionally, consult with the visually impaired student's general education teachers and other specialists to gather names of other appropriate students for the class. Keep in mind there may be sighted students who are also struggling socially and would benefit from a small, social group experience.
We recommend that class size remains small, with the optimal group having six members. The larger the group, the more difficult it can be to keep the students focused. Also, be sure to consider whether or not it is appropriate to group various ages together.
In order to foster cohesion, where no one individual feels targeted, it helps to have two or more visually impaired students in the group. Additionally, consider the ramifications of concomitant disabilities. For example, students with a hearing impairment in addition to their visual impairment may need an even smaller group and an especially quiet setting to maximize their participation.
Selecting a meeting time for the class may be the most difficult part of this program. Student and teacher schedules are already packed full of academics and extracurricular activities. We encourage you to persevere and find a time that works for everyone. The lessons for the lower elementary students last for approximately 45 minutes. All other lessons can be completed in 30 minutes. From our experience, we suggest avoiding lunchtime and recess time for the lower elementary level students. Lunchtime classes seemed to work well with upper elementary through high school students. Groups should meet once a week; this provides consistency and sufficient time for friendships to develop.
On a final note, please use the parent/guardian permission form (included with this curriculum) to seek approval for the student's participation in the Getting to Know You class. Students may want to discuss their experiences with parents, and parents should be allowed the opportunity to view or discuss the curriculum with the teachers.
All of the lesson plans included in this curriculum are designed to be user friendly. Each lesson contains a clearly stated objective, skills addressed, an introduction, a list of materials needed, and a step-by-step explanation of the activities. An icon at the top of each page identifies whether the lesson is about social skills, ability awareness, or a combination of the two. The curriculum is divided into three groups: kindergarten through second grade, third through fifth grade, and middle/high school.
Each lesson contains a list of materials needed for that particular lesson. Some items are included in the kit, and some are not. See the bulleted lists below for details.
The following items are included in the Getting to Know You Kit.
The following items are not included in the kit. Some of these items are optional, as indicated; however, most of the items will need to be located by teachers in order to complete the lessons. Where applicable, APH products are suggested.
Objective: Students will learn how to walk safely with a person who is visually impaired in indoor and outdoor environments.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain "human guide" and demonstrate the basic techniques.
Discuss times when a visually impaired person might choose to walk with a human guide:
Author's Note: Ask visually impaired students to contribute to the discussion.
Materials: blindfolds; low vision simulators; audio recorder/player; CD file: Guiding Friends - Sentence Strips; The Listening Walk by Paul Showers (optional)
Activity:
Author's Note: It is recommended that a TVI or O&M instructor co-lead this activity.
Objective: Students will learn and use basic orientation and mobility techniques used by visually impaired students.
Skills Addressed:
Materials: Through Grandpa's Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan, blindfolds, low vision simulators, scavenger hunt items (e.g., candy, small toys, or musical instruments)
Activity:
Author's Note: It is recommended that a TVI or O&M instructor co-teach this lesson.
Objective: Students will become aware of non-verbal facial cues that communicate feelings during a conversation.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Discuss how facial expressions are an integral part of conversations. A person who is visually impaired has to learn about the variety and appropriate use of facial expressions, as well as how to make them.
Materials: Facial Expression Cards, blindfolds, low vision simulators, art materials for making tactile faces (Wikki Stix®, fabric, buttons, pipe cleaners, glue, yarn, feathers), colored paper cut in shape of a face, hat (optional)
Activity
Expressions: afraid, angry, embarrassed, happy, sad, surprised, wink
Author's Note: Students should complete "Guiding Friends" before beginning this activity. Allow extra time for this lesson.
Objective: Students will experience how it feels to play on different play structures while under blindfold. Students will learn to pay attention to their senses other than sight (i.e., hearing, touch, and smell) while playing on the playground.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain to students that they are going to go outside and play on different play structures and with different equipment while wearing a blindfold or low vision simulator. Review with students what play structures and equipment they will use while showing them the objects you have chosen to represent each activity. Explain to students that they will choose each activity by reaching into a bag and pulling out an object that represents their activity. While playing, they need to think about one thing that they touch, smell, or hear. When everyone has had a chance to play, explain that students will come back to the classroom to make a book of their experiences.
Materials: blindfolds; low vision simulators; play structure (e.g., swing set, jungle gym); beeper ball; jump ropes; hula-hoop; bag; symbols to represent each play activity (e.g., small ball to represent beeper ball; rope to represent the swing set; and small metal bar to represent the play structure); art supplies; braillewriter; CD file: Experiencing Play Under Blindfold - Premade Book Template (see photos at the end of this lesson for examples of completed book pages)
Activity:
Author's Note About Book Activity: The book can have several pages for each structure and activity so that all students' experiences are represented. For example, there may be six to eight pages of what each student heard while swinging, or six to eight pages on what each student felt while playing on the play structure. If teachers would like, they can expand this activity into an art project by having students decorate the pages of the book. As an additional activity, teachers may want second grade students who are braille learners to braille the words in their peers' books.
Author's Note: It is recommended that a TVI or O&M instructor co-teach this lesson.
Objective: Students will learn to face people they are talking to and hold their head up during a conversation.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Discuss with students the importance of facing people and having your head up during a conversation; this action shows you are interested in what the other person is saying. Give an extreme example by standing with your back to the group and your head down. Then, ask the students if they feel like you are talking to them. Ask them how you should stand and where your head should be to make them feel included in the discussion.
Materials: two audio recorders/players, age-appropriate music for audio players, noisemaker (e.g., kazoo, squeeze toy, plastic egg shaker, clicker)
Activity:
Author's Note: For non-readers, another idea would be to have students play an alphabet name game. Two students name as many animals as they can beginning with A, B, C ...
Objective: Students will learn how to listen and take turns in a conversation.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain to students that they are going to learn about listening and taking turns in a conversation.
Materials: big ball, small ball, timer, blindfolds or low vision simulators (optional)
Activity:
Author's Note: Remind students to turn and face each other when talking. Refer to Showing Interest lesson.
Objective: Students will experience tactual discrimination in game format.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain that students will play a game under blindfold that will let them experience what persons who are learning braille do as part of their tactual discrimination training.
Materials: Go Fish Cards, blindfolds, low vision simulators
Author's Note: Go Fish Cards are provided in the Getting to Know You kit. However, the teacher and/or students must add tactile items to the backside of the cards. Paste, sew, or Velcro® different objects (such as tactile or scented stickers, safety pins, buttons, braille, keys, plastic forks or spoons, etc.) onto the cards. In the original "Go Fish" game, there are four matching cards per deck (e.g., four Jacks, four 10s). For this age group, it is best to have only two cards with identical objects on each (i.e., two cards with matching round buttons, or two cards with sandpaper squares). The number of cards in the deck can vary depending on the number of students playing. Young students have a harder time discerning between subtle differences.
Activity:
Objective: Students will learn to express their feelings and become sensitive to the feelings of others.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Discuss with students how sometimes when they are playing, another student might want to join the activity. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it is not what the players want. Feelings can get hurt when this happens. Explain that students are going to practice some situations where this might occur and then discuss the feelings that might arise and how they can best be handled.
Materials: CD file: How Would You Feel - Scenario Cards; blindfolds; low vision simulator; beeper ball; playhouse; jump rope; computer and computer game; movie camera and playback monitor (optional)
Activity:
Author's Note: Teachers can record these scenes with a movie camera, and then students can watch them as a fun way to reinforce and conclude the activity.
Objective: Students will learn how to ask a friend to play.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Discuss what students like to do at recess. Ask students how they might get a friend to play with them if they wanted to play one of their favorite games. Discuss how students go about finding their friends.
Materials: blindfolds, low vision simulators, jump ropes, hula-hoops, beeper ball or large ball, swing set, jungle gym
Activity:
Author's Note: Be sure to choose three activities that the student who is visually impaired is comfortable with and enjoys. Practice activities prior to doing this lesson.
Objective: Students will develop a better understanding of the steps involved in making a simple snack for a person with limited vision and how different sizes of print and color contrast affect a person's ability to follow written directions such as a recipe.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain some basic non-visual strategies for making a snack. For example, demonstrate how to locate items on a table using the back of one's hand and explain how to systematically search for items.
Materials: blindfolds, low vision simulators, containers for food items, granola, raisins, chocolate chips, nuts, pretzels, measuring cups, kitchen tongs, Ziploc® sandwich bags, adhesive picture labels for containers
Activity:
Author's Note: This lesson can be included in the curriculum at all grade levels.
Objective: Students will have an opportunity to learn about their peers through questions about likes, dislikes, and personal attributes.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Sighted people are able to gain much information through their vision and are therefore able to learn a lot about others and their environment. For example, sighted people are inundated with visual images of what might be appropriate and fashionable dress. A visually impaired person does not have the visual access to this information. The following activity allows all the students to learn more about each other.
Materials: Bingo boards (print/braille) and chips; CD file: Bingo Questions (The Bingo questions are also listed at the end of this lesson.); CD file: Bingo Callout Sheet
Activity:
Author's Note: Teachers should feel free to add or delete any questions that may or may not be appropriate to their group of students.
Bingo Questions
Objective: Students will learn how to walk safely with a person who is visually impaired in indoor and outdoor environments.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain "human guide" and demonstrate the basic techniques.
Discuss times when a visually impaired person might choose to walk with a human guide:
Author's Note: Ask visually impaired students to contribute to the discussion.
Materials: blindfolds; low vision simulators; The Listening Walk by Paul Showers (optional)
Activity:
Author's Note: It is recommended that a TVI or O&M instructor co-lead this activity.
Objective: Students will learn and use basic orientation and mobility techniques used by visually impaired students.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Read Through Grandpa's Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan. Explain how students will be able to move through a familiar environment like the boy in the storybook.
Materials: Through Grandpa's Eyes by Patricia MacLachlan, blindfolds, low vision simulators, scavenger hunt items (e.g., candy, small toys, stickers)
Activity:
Author's Note: It is recommended that a TVI or O&M instructor co-teach this lesson.
Objective: Students will become aware of non-verbal facial cues that communicate feelings during a conversation.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Discuss how facial expressions are an integral part of conversations. A person who is visually impaired has to learn about the variety and appropriate use of facial expressions, as well as how to make them.
Materials: Facial Expression Cards; blindfolds; low vision simulators; container to hold cards (optional)
Activity:
Expressions: afraid, angry, embarrassed, happy, sad, surprised, wink
Author's Note: If the visually impaired student chooses an expression that is hard for her to describe, help her to do so. Or, have her choose another card that is easier for her to describe.
Author's Note: Allow extra time for this lesson.
Objective: Students will experience how it feels to play on different play structures while under blindfold. Students will learn to pay attention to their other senses other than sight (i.e., hearing, touch, and smell) while playing on the playground.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain to students that they are going to go outside and play on different play structures and with different equipment while under blindfold or while wearing a low vision simulator. Review with students what play structures or equipment they will use: playground structure (e.g., swing set, jungle gym), beeper ball, jump rope, and hula-hoop. The teacher will print/braille the name of each play activity onto an index card. Then, students choose an activity by reaching into a bag and pulling out a card with an activity written on it. While playing, they need to think about one thing that they feel, smell, or hear. When everyone has had a chance to play, explain that students will come back to the classroom to make a book of their experiences.
Materials: blindfolds; low vision simulators; play structure (e.g., swing set, jungle gym); beeper ball; jump rope; hula-hoop; index cards; bag; art supplies; braillewriter; CD file: Experiencing Play Under Blindfold - Premade Book Template (see photos at the end of this lesson for examples of completed book pages)
Activity:
Author's Note About Book Activity: The book can have several pages for each structure and activity to that all students' experiences are represented. For example, there may be six to eight pages of what each student heard while swinging, or six to eight pages of what each student felt while playing on the play structure. If teachers would like, they can expand this activity into an art project by having students decorate the pages of the book. Be sure the student who is visually impaired has appropriate tactile materials to decorate pages (e.g., string to represent jump-roping, rubber bands to represent hula-hooping, etc.).
Author's Note: It is recommended that a TVI or O&M instructor co-teach this lesson.
Objective: Sighted students will learn how to ask a visually impaired student if they need help, and students with visual impairments will learn how to appropriately accept and decline assistance.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain how it is difficult for both sighted students and students who are visually impaired to know when and how to help and when and how to refuse help. The group will do role-plays to let everyone see some great ways to help each other and nice ways of saying when you don't need help.
Materials: CD file: Setting Limits - Scenario Cards; blindfolds; low vision simulators; hat; cane; movie camera and playback monitor
Activity:
Objective: Students will learn how to start a conversation that includes a group of people. Students will also learn the importance of posture and using group members' names to indicate with whom they are talking.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Discuss the importance of having good posture, looking at or facing everyone in the group, and using names to indicate with whom you are speaking when having a conversation. Discuss how easy it is to become confused when appropriate conversation skills are not used. For example, a person may not respond to a question because he may not realize the speaker is directing the question to him. The speaker's feelings may then be hurt.
Materials: blindfolds; low vision simulators; CD file: Making Conversation - Conversation Starters (Third through Fifth Grade)
Activity:
Author's Note: Allow for pauses in the conversation and only interject if necessary.
Conversation Starters (Third through Fifth Grade)
Objective: Students will experience tactual discrimination in game format.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain that students will play a game under blindfold that will let them experience what persons who are learning braille do as part of their tactual discrimination training.
Materials: Go Fish Cards, blindfolds, low vision simulators
Author's Note: Go Fish Cards are provided in the Getting to Know You kit. However, the teacher and/or students must add tactile items to the backside of the cards. Paste, sew, or Velcro® different objects (such as tactile or scented stickers, safety pins, buttons, braille, keys, plastic forks, spoons, etc.) onto the cards. In the original "Go Fish" game, there are four matching cards per deck (e.g., four Jacks, four 10s). For this age group, it is best to have only two cards with identical objects on each (i.e., two cards with matching round buttons, or two cards with sandpaper squares). If you find the game is too easy for your group, try increasing the number of matching cards. The number of cards in the deck can vary depending on the number of students playing.
Activity:
Objective: Students will learn to express their feelings and become sensitive to the feelings of others.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Discuss with students how sometimes when they are playing, another student might want to join the activity. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it is not what the players want. Feelings can get hurt when this happens. Explain that students are going to practice some situations where this might occur and then discuss the feelings that might arise and how they can best be handled.
Materials: CD file: How Would You Feel - Scenario Cards; blindfolds; low vision simulators; beeper ball; playhouse; jump rope; computer and computer game; movie camera and playback monitor (optional)
Activity:
Author's Note: Teachers can record these scenes with a movie camera, and then students can watch them as a fun way to reinforce and conclude the activity.
Objective: Students will become aware of basic cane skills.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain that there are a variety of cane techniques that people who are visually impaired use. The intent of this lesson is for students to become aware of what information a person can receive from a cane. Demonstrate the constant contact and two-point touch techniques. Allow students to practice briefly without blindfolds or low vision simulators. Encourage the visually impaired students to demonstrate and assist with explanations.
Materials: blindfolds; low vision simulators; canes (a variety if possible); orange cones, chairs, or other obstacles; sound source (beeper, radio, person talking)
Activity 1:
Activity 2:
Author's Note: It is recommended that an O&M instructor co-teach this lesson.
Objective: Students will learn how to ask a friend to play.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Discuss what students like to do at recess. Ask students if they wanted to play one of their favorite games how they might get a friend to play with them. Discuss how students go about finding their friends.
Materials: blindfolds, low vision simulators, jump ropes, hula-hoops, beeper ball or large ball, swing set, jungle gym
Activity:
Author's Note: Be sure to choose three activities that the student who is visually impaired is comfortable with and enjoys. Practice activities prior to doing this lesson.
Objective: Using homemade puppets, students will begin to learn how looks often play a significant role in how we perceive others.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Talk to students about different types of personalities that people have (shy, outgoing, talkative, quiet, funny, etc.). Next ask students about other attributes that make a person interesting, such as hobbies or interests, unique physical characteristics, or where someone lives. Make a list of these different attributes. Ask students what someone with these personality types might look like. Explain that students are going to make a puppet under blindfold with a partner. Each pair will be given a list of attributes that they need to incorporate into their puppet. Once the puppets are made, students will introduce their puppet to the group. Students should try to keep the attributes of their puppets a secret until it is time to reveal the puppet to the group.
Materials: paper and pen for the list of traits; paper bags for the face and body of puppets; art materials (glue, scissors, buttons, yarn, fabric, etc.); containers to keep items organized and easily identifiable; blindfolds
Activity:
Author's Note: Teachers should have all art materials organized in separate bins and easily accessible so that students can easily locate the materials they want to use on their puppet. All students, including any low vision students, should wear blindfolds for this activity.
Objective: Students will learn non-visual techniques for identifying coins and currency.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Discuss the techniques a person who is visually impaired uses for organizing and discriminating between different types of coins and currency. Coins are identified by examining their sizes and edges. Dollar bills are identified by using specific folding methods. Some people also choose to separate their bills within different compartments in their wallets. (It is now possible to identify bills using special equipment.) It is recommended that people who are visually impaired organize and identify their currency before and after making each purchase. (See photos at the end of this lesson.)
Materials: blindfolds, coins (penny, dime, nickel, quarter), dollar bills ($1, $5, $10, $20)
Activity 1:
Activity 2:
Author's Note: Be sure to use real money.
Objective: Students will develop a better understanding of the steps involved in preparing a lunch without the use of vision.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain some basic non-visual strategies for making a sandwich. For example, demonstrate how to efficiently and successfully locate items on a table using a systematic search pattern.
Materials: blindfolds, paper goods, condiments, lunchmeat, cheese, bread, fruit, chips, cookies, and drinks
Activity:
At the end of each unit, reward the student's hard work and time commitment by having a pizza party. Blindfolded, of course! Students love this grand finale lesson.
Objective: Students will have an opportunity to learn about their peers through questions about likes, dislikes, and personal attributes.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Sighted people are able to gain much information through their vision and are therefore able to learn a lot about others and their environment. For example, sighted people are inundated with visual images of what might be appropriate and fashionable dress. A visually impaired person does not have the visual access to this information. The following activity allows all the students to learn more about each other.
Materials: Bingo boards (print/braille) and chips; CD file: Bingo Questions (The Bingo questions are also listed at the end of this lesson.); CD file: Bingo Callout Sheet
Activity:
Author's Note: Teachers should feel free to add or delete any questions that may or may not be appropriate to their group of students.
Bingo Questions
Objective: Students will learn how to walk safely with a person who is visually impaired in indoor and outdoor environments.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain "human guide" and demonstrate the basic techniques.
Discuss times when a visually impaired person might choose to walk with a human guide:
Author's Note: Ask visually impaired students to contribute to the discussion.
Materials: blindfolds, low vision simulators
Activity:
Author's Note: It is recommended that a TVI or O&M instructor co-lead this activity.
Objective: Students will become aware of the history of orientation and mobility and will learn some techniques used for indoor mobility.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain the terms "orientation" and "mobility" and give examples of types of O&M instruction.
Discuss the history of orientation and mobility.
Materials: blindfolds, different types of candy or fruit (be sure that the candy or fruit have a unique shape and texture); Small school supplies can be used in place of the candy or fruit.
Activity:
Objective: Students will become aware of non-verbal facial cues that communicate feelings during a conversation.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Discuss how facial expressions are an integral part of conversations. A person who is visually impaired has to learn about the variety and appropriate use of facial expressions, as well as how to make them.
Materials: Facial Expression Cards; blindfolds; low vision simulators; container to hold cards (optional)
Activity:
Expressions: afraid, angry, embarrassed, happy, sad, surprised, wink
Author's Note: If the visually impaired student chooses an expression that is hard for him to describe, help him to do so. Or, have him choose another card that is easier for him to describe.
Objective: Students will become aware of basic cane skills.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain that there are a variety of cane techniques that people who are visually impaired use. The intent of this lesson is for students to become aware of what information a person can receive from a cane. Demonstrate the constant contact and two-point touch techniques. Allow students to practice briefly without blindfolds or low vision simulators. Encourage the visually impaired students to demonstrate and assist with explanations.
Materials: blindfolds; low vision simulators; canes (a variety if possible); orange cones, chairs, or other obstacles; sound source (beeper, radio, person talking)
Activity 1:
Activity 2:
Author's Note: It is recommended that an O&M instructor co-teach this lesson.
Objective: Students will gain an appreciation and understanding of the complexity of using a cane in a familiar outdoor environment. Students will become more aware of the types of information a cane can provide to the user.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Review cane techniques from Cane Skills Part I. The intent of this lesson is to give students the experience of using a cane outside on their school campus.
Materials: blindfolds, canes (a variety if possible)
Activity:
Author's Note: Teachers should remain close to all students who are using canes.
Author's Note: It is recommended that an O&M instructor co-lead this activity.
(Adapted from 1998 CTEVH Workshop presented by Seeing Eye, Inc.)
Objective: Students will become aware of how posture affects how a person is perceived.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain that the activities conducted in this lesson demonstrate important non-verbal cues people use to communicate. For example, sitting slumped with head in hands may convey boredom. Discuss that a person with a visual impairment may need to be taught what these postures convey.
Materials: blindfolds
Activity 1:
Activity 2:
Author's Note: Select one posture for every student.
Objective: Students will learn how to start a conversation that includes a group of people. Students will also learn the importance of posture and using group members' names to indicate with whom they are talking.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Discuss the importance of having good posture, looking at or facing everyone in the group, and using names to indicate with whom you are speaking when having a conversation. Discuss how easy it is to become confused when appropriate conversation skills are not used. For example, a person may not respond to a question because he may not realize the speaker is directing the question to him.
Materials: blindfolds; low vision simulators; CD file: Making Conversation - Conversation Starters (Middle School & High School)
Activity:
Author's Note: Allow for pauses in the conversation and only interject if necessary.
Conversation Starters
(Middle School & High School)
Objective: Students will experience tactual discrimination in game format.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain that students will play a game under blindfold that will let them experience what persons who are learning braille do as part of their tactual discrimination training.
Materials: Go Fish Cards, blindfolds, low vision simulators
Author's Note: Go Fish Cards are provided in the Getting to Know You kit. However, the teacher and/or students must add tactile items to the backside of the cards. Paste, sew, or Velcro® different objects (such as tactile or scented stickers, safety pins, buttons, braille, keys, plastic forks, spoons, etc.) onto the cards. In the original "Go Fish" game, there are four matching cards per deck (e.g., four Jacks, four 10s). For this age group, try using the rules for the original game, so students find four matching cards. A deck of 32 cards works well. There will be eight different tactile symbol cards. The number of cards in the deck can vary depending on the number of students playing and their level of success.
Activity:
Objective: Students will develop an understanding of how body language, facial expressions, and conversations are affected when one is visually impaired.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain how someone who is visually impaired may interpret situations differently due to a lack of visual input and how sighted people may misinterpret situations based on the body language of the person with a visual impairment.
Materials: CD file: Missing Visual Cues - Scenes; blindfolds; potato or some other item to be used in "Hot Potato" scene
Activity:
Author's Note: This lesson should follow the "facial expressions" lesson so that students can practice using the facial expressions they learned. These scenes were based on past experiences with actual students. Feel free to add new scenes that may be appropriate for your students.
Objective: Students will develop an understanding of the difficulty of locating friends in a crowded area.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain how voices of people can be difficult to discriminate in various settings. Large indoor spaces make it difficult to locate the direction of particular voices. Navigating through crowded, noisy rooms and outdoor, open spaces presents additional challenges. For example, there are often extraneous sounds such as lawn mowers, airplanes, or construction noise.
Materials: blindfolds, low vision simulators, cane
Activity 1:
Activity 2:
Objective: Students will discover that everyone has unique interests that are both interesting and different.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: As a group, discuss what makes people want to interact with each other, their interests, likes, and dislikes. Explain that it is sometimes difficult to discover other people's interests. In the following activities, students will have a chance to think about the things that make them interesting and different. They will have a chance to share their uniqueness as well as discover the interests of their peers.
Materials: blindfolds (optional)
Activity:
Objective: Students will learn non-visual techniques for identifying coins and currency.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction:, Discuss the techniques a person who is visually impaired uses for organizing and discriminating between different types of coins and currency. Coins are identified by examining their sizes and edges. Dollar bills are identified by using specific folding methods. Some people also choose to separate their bills within different compartments in their wallets. (It is now possible to identify bills using special equipment.) It is recommended that people who are visually impaired organize and identify their currency before and after making each purchase. (See photos at the end of this lesson.)
Materials: blindfolds, coins (penny, dime, nickel, quarter), dollar bills ($1, $5, $10, $20)
Activity 1:
Activity 2:
Author's Note: Be sure to use real money.
Objective: Students will develop a better understanding of the steps involved in preparing a lunch without the use of vision.
Skills Addressed:
Introduction: Explain some basic non-visual strategies for making a sandwich. For example, demonstrate how to locate items on a table using the back of one's hand and explain how to systematically search for items.
Materials: blindfolds, paper goods, condiments, lunchmeat, cheese, bread, fruit, chips, cookies, drinks
Activity:
At the end of each unit, reward the student's hard work and time commitment by having a pizza party. Blindfolded, of course! Students love this grand finale lesson.
Permission Form
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Your son or daughter is invited to participate in a lunchtime Social Skills and Ability Awareness class with students who have visual impairments and their sighted peers. The class, called Getting to Know You, will be taught by ________________ .
Your child attends a school with students who are visually impaired and included into general education classes. The purpose of our class is for students to learn how people with visual impairments function on a daily basis and to help all students feel more comfortable around each other. This class will be taught in a relaxed and fun setting at the school site.
We would like your permission for your son or daughter to participate in this class. Please complete the bottom portion of this page and return it to _______________ by ______________________.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at
_________________________________________________ .
Thank you,
__________________________________________________
I give my permission for _____________to participate in the lunchtime Getting to Know You class taught by __________ .
Parent/Guardian Signature: ____________________________
Date: _____________________________________________
By Elizabeth Phillips
Just last week, walking back from class, I ran into my friend, Noel. We both had some time to spare, so we decided to stop and talk for a while. The conversation quickly turned to our mutual friend, Mary, and how we both were very concerned about her. Mary is a totally blind student around 19 years old. Ever since coming to college, she has had an incredibly difficult time making friends and participating in social activities. She simply lacks a sense of how to interact with others and often unknowingly puts herself and those around her in an uncomfortable position.
When I first met Mary, I automatically assumed that her behavior had nothing to do with her blindness. I was, and am, aware of how often able-bodied individuals incorrectly view such character traits as a part of a disability. So for some time, I attributed Mary's lack of social know-how to her naturally introverted and private personality. However, as I continued to try to befriend her, it became apparent that some of her difficulties in reaching out to others were directly related to her blindness and, I suppose, to the fact that no one had ever explicitly discussed social skills with her. Noel and I decided we were not in the appropriate position to confront Mary about this. Even so, as her only friends, we recognized that she desperately needed to learn some very simple things that would free her tremendously from her loneliness and isolation.
Mary, for instance, always works with her door closed. While she doesn't realize this, her closed door is a direct visual cue that she wants to be left alone. She is always wishing for company and, perhaps, keeping her door open would draw more people in to say, "Hello." At dinner, she sits quietly without engaging anyone in conversation. When finished eating, she unfolds her cane and walks silently out of the dining hall without a word. Since she can't see, she is also not returning anyone's eye contact or body language. In effect, she fails to acknowledge anyone's presence. It is one thing to not want to talk, but quite another to present yourself as the ghost party to a group. Unfortunately, no one feels close enough to Mary to tell her how opting out of social communication entirely makes everyone uncomfortable.
I offer these examples not just to evoke sympathy but to stress urgency. Mary is not the only young blind student without social skills, and she will certainly not be the first adult with a visual impairment who lacks them. In fact, many successful people in the blind community, even those who are famous or well-off, do not understand (or have never been instructed to follow) basic table manners or the etiquette of eating in public. They are unaware of the importance of staying reasonably relevant when making conversation, the importance of eye contact, and so on. Having met many such people, I am struck by the extent of the social gap between those with sight and those of us without it.
My own story, however, has been very fortunate. I was the very first participant in Stephanie and Nita's social skills program as a freshman in high school. Though they have not, by any means, been the only people who provided me with an understanding of interpersonal relationships, their efforts certainly helped me become more sensitive to how I present myself and how I interact with others.
When my friends and I participated in the social skills program, we learned a great deal from each other about differences between the ways that sighted and nonsighted people communicate and navigate the world. For instance, I learned that I should make eye contact with people and that sitting with certain postures gives the impression that I don't want to be bothered while other postures convey openness and receptiveness. In open postures, I am more likely to stay engaged with those I am talking to. My friends, in turn, found out how hard it really is for a blind person to find classmates in a crowd; and they gained an appreciation of what it's like to make and eat food under blindfold.
We were young then. Though the program didn't yield any lasting relationships for me right away, I believe it tremendously strengthened my ability to advocate for myself, understand and respond to my sighted friends and colleagues with an appreciation of their perspective, and engage with them in ways that they find meaningful. As far as what my high school friends gained from experiencing some aspects and challenges of blindness, I suppose I will never know for certain. But I hope they took with them a new appreciation of what it is like to be blind both physically and within our wider culture and that they are now more receptive to interacting and developing friendships with other visually impaired individuals whom they might encounter in the future.
Fortunately, I had the resources available to me when I was young that allowed me the opportunity to acquire enough social experience that I am now fully accepted and respected by the able-bodied people I meet. For instance, I am now much more in tune with anticipating what body language or facial expressions my friends might be using in different contexts. Often anticipating others' actions and depending on certain situation-dependent cues is the key. When my friends are wanting to leave a movie theater, for example, I am able to tell; I am cued not just by the end of the movie, but by my friends' movements and gestures as they get up to leave. I don't need to see the gestures. I simply need to infer that they will be made and know generally what such motions mean. That said, in order to be truly accepted and acceptable in social settings, people with sight must meet us halfway. While I anticipate what my friends will do, they have learned to be more verbal--to use more words than gestures to convey what they want and expect from me.
I have found that it is crucial to encourage sighted people to be more vocal around those of us without sight, just as we learn how to communicate visually with them. Since participating in the social skills program, I can think of several occasions when I've explained to people that it is best to share information verbally and that body language isn't enough for me. This applies in many situations: when someone enters or exits a room, is busy, wants to end a conversation or change topics, or needs to leave. I explain that instead of just waving hello, it would be great if they could also say, "Hi." Such things are simple but get me very far in making other people more comfortable with my blindness.
When others can see past the differences we have, friendship becomes possible. All too often, children and young people with visual impairments miss out on developing their social skills because they do not learn vicariously like their sighted peers. In fact, I find that whenever I am presented with an unfamiliar social situation, I must make an effort to learn any implicit, visual social customs expected of someone in that situation. Inevitably, it takes people with visual impairments--especially those who have been blind from near birth--longer to develop socially because every visual cultural norm must be made explicit to them.
The social skills and ability awareness program that Stephanie and Nita have piloted has begun to fulfill the need for students--blind and sighted alike--to develop socially in an environment where norms can be made explicit and discussed openly. Such an environment allows people who can't see the opportunity to learn skills that will serve them in forming relationships in a structured way with the people they are constantly trying to relate to. If a student such as Mary had had this opportunity, she might have learned the essential skills necessary for living a well-integrated and fulfilling life; this is far from the solitude she now experiences. The important thing is to continue building the bridge from exclusion to acceptance, and this is already being done.
I have been fortunate to learn how to have a successful social life. Since I began college, and in the years that followed, I have made many lifelong friends. When the ins-and-outs of social skills became second nature to me, I was able to focus on the more exciting and personal connections that are truly the stuff that friendships and other kinds of social relationships are made of. At one time, not only did I not have friends but I didn't know how to make them. Now I can say that I not only know how to make friends, I am a very close friend to many.
© 2012
Phone: 502-895-2405
Toll Free: 800-223-1839
Fax: 502-899-2274
E-mail: info@aph.org
Web site: www.aph.org
Getting to Know You - Guidebook
(Part Number 61-163-025)