The Customer Service team is unavailable on June 28th due to a scheduled training. They will return to normal hours on Monday, July 1st.
CloseLearning to Braille with a Slate and Stylus: Pop-It Braille Basics
![A row of seven colorful “Pop It” fidget toys, each with two columns of three bubbles. The numbers 1-6 are written on the bubbles. In front of the toys is an APH branded slate and stylus sitting on top of a rectangular piece of green paper.](https://www.aph.org/app/uploads/2024/01/Pop-It-Braille62.jpg)
Writing braille with a slate and stylus doesn’t have to be scary. In fact, it can be a lot of fun! In this post, you’ll learn the mechanics of writing braille with a slate and stylus, using Pop-Its toys as your guide.
Why a slate and stylus?
You can use a slate and stylus in the same context that print writers and readers use pen and paper, such as:
- Grocery lists
- Flash cards
- Task lists
- Jotting down phone numbers when you’re using or are away from your smart phone
- Labels for household items and food containers
- Keeping a journal
- Making greeting cards
Understanding standard and “mirror” braille cells
When reading print or braille or writing braille with a Perkins or a refreshable braille display, you move your eyes or hands from left to right. When writing braille with a slate and stylus, you move from right to left. Imagine a “standard” braille cell. Dots 1, 2, and 3 are in the left column, and dots 4, 5, and 6 are in the right column. Now, mentally flip over the standard braille cell and imagine its mirror image. Starting from the right, dots 1, 2, and 3 are in the right column and dots 4, 5, and 6 are in the left column.
Practicing with Pop-Its
We’ll use homemade Pop-It braille cells lined up right-to-left above a slate to write the word “braille” in Grade 1 UEB. (You can also use APH’s Pop-A-Cells to practice.)
- Create seven braille-cell Pop-Its by trimming a Pop-It toy down to six bubbles. Make sure the two columns of bubbles are lined up evenly, like a braille cell.
- Pop each Pop-It braille cells’ bubbles into the “up” position.
- Load your preferred slate with paper and set it on the table.
- For the first Pop-It, depress bubbles 1 and 2 to create the letter “b.”
- Flip over the Pop-It, and place it above your slate, aligned right.
- Note the bubbles in the “up” position represent a mirror image of the letter “b,” where Dots 1 and 2 are in the right column.
- Starting with a new Pop-It, depress dots 1, 2, 3, 5 to form the letter “r.”
- Flip it over and place it above your slate to the left of the first Pop-It. This seems counter-intuitive, but remember you’re writing right-to-left. Notice the bubbles in the up position are a mirror image of the letter “r,” where Dots 1, 2, and 3 are in the right column and Dot 5 is in the left column.
- Repeat for all letters in the word “braille,” ensuring you place each subsequent letter to the left of the one before.
- Now, use the line of Pop-Its as a guide as you braille right-to-left on your slate. To help with muscle memory, always depress a symbol’s dots in the same order. Start in the right column and depress the dots from top-to-bottom, then move to the left column and depress the dots from top-to-bottom. When brailling the letter “r,” for example, depress Dot 1, then 2, then 3 in the right column, and then move to the left column and depress Dot 5.
Once you get the hang of brailling right-to-left, set aside the Pop-Its and then braille to your heart’s content!
Share this article.
Related articles
![A woman with long hair types on the Monarch at a desk in an office.](https://www.aph.org/app/uploads/2024/05/Image-5-1024x768.jpeg)
APH’s Jessica Minneci Discovers a Literary World on the Monarch
Jessica Minneci, APH’s Communications Associate, composes blogs during work and spends her nights drafting novels. One-line braille displays assist with...
![A woman in a striped sweater helps a young boy use the Monarch on a table in a school library.](https://www.aph.org/app/uploads/2024/05/MicrosoftTeams-image-491-1024x778.jpeg)
Leveling the Playing Field: Perspective of a DeafBlind User
Danielle Burton, APH’s Communications Accessibility Editor, has long hoped for a piece of access technology that levels the playing field...
![Two adult hands guide a child's hands across a tactile graphic of a fish displayed on the Monarch's refreshable braille display.](https://www.aph.org/app/uploads/2024/05/Monarch-at-KSB-P1111232-RI-small-1024x682.jpg)
Enhancing Early Educational Experiences with the Monarch
Imagine opening the classroom door on your very first day of school, the excitement of meeting new friends and learning...