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LEGO® Braille Bricks – fun, interactive learning through play
Teaching Braille to kids who are blind or have low vision.
Developed by the LEGO Foundation, the LEGO Group and partners from the international blind and educational communities, we are proud to present LEGO® Braille Bricks to the educational sector.
The LEGO® Braille Bricks concept is a playful methodology that teaches Braille to children who are blind or have a visual impairment.
Each colorful LEGO brick is moulded with studs that correspond to numbers and letters in the Braille alphabet and has a corresponding printed symbol or letter. This allows sighted and blind kids to play and learn together on equal terms.
This ingenious combination of features brings a whole new world of playful learning that teaches kids Braille in an enjoyable, tactile environment.
With thousands of audio books and computer programs on the market today, fewer young people are learning Braille. Yet, blind and low visioned people all over the world rely on Braille to work, study and enjoy their daily lives. This educational, very practical tool will teach them a range of skills they need to thrive.
LEGO Braille Bricks have been designed to:
- Follow a pedagogical approach. LEGO Braille Bricks work to the proven pedagogical concept of powerful learning through play – making them a valuable tool for teachers and students.
- Boost confidence. By inspiring blind and low vision kids early in life in such a positive and enjoyable way, we are helping develop their independence and communication skills from an early age.
- Help develop creative, engaged lifelong learners. Learning Braille is said to be crucial for blind or low vision children as it allows them to develop a variety of life skills, ensuring they experience intellectual freedom, independence and equal access to education and work.
- Support innovative teaching. LEGO Braille Bricks pave the way for increased confidence, communication, creativity and problem-solving, all key skills required to support life goals.
About the LEGO Foundation
The LEGO Foundation aims to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow; a mission that it shares with the LEGO Group. The LEGO Foundation is dedicated to building a future where learning through play empowers children to become creative, engaged, lifelong learners. Our work is about re-defining play and re-imagining learning. In collaboration with thought leaders, influencers, educators and parents, the LEGO Foundation aims to equip, inspire and activate champions for play.
Learning Through Play
The LEGO Foundation sees learning through play as crucial for children’s positive development, regardless of their situation.
Promoting children’s drive and motivation to learn, their ability to come up with ideas and imagine alternatives, as well as to connect with others and their surroundings in positive ways, is essential in the 21st-century.
LEGO Braille Bricks Activities
The teaching materials provided by the LEGO Foundation are meant as suggestions for getting started with LEGO Braille Bricks. Each activity can be varied in the level of difficulty according to the child’s motivation and level of knowledge about Braille.
Pre-Braille Activity Groups
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Discover and get used to the bricks, learn how to handle, assemble and put them on the base plate.
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Learn how to position the bricks on the base plate and be aware that their orientation is important.
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Discover the braille cell and how studs are arranged in two columns. Learn how to differentiate the studs.
Braille Activity Groups
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Learn braille letters, numbers, mathematic symbols and punctuation signs and know how to read and write them.
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Assemble characters brick by brick and play with words in order to develop the ability to read and write.
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Assemble characters, play with numbers and develop the ability to do basic mathematics and geometry.
Creative Skills
Coming up with ideas, expressing them and transforming them into reality by creating associations, symbolizing and representing ideas and providing meaningful experiences for others.
Physical Skills
Being physically active, understanding movement and space through practicing sensory-motor skills. Spatial understanding and nurturing an active and healthy body.
Social Skills
Collaborate, communicate and understand other people’s perspectives through sharing ideas, negotiating rules and building empathy.
Cognitive Skills
Concentration, problem solving and flexible thinking by learning to tackle complex tasks and building effective strategies to identify solutions.
Emotional Skills
Understand, manage and express emotions by building self-awareness and handling impulses. Staying motivated and confident in the face of difficulties.
Questions?
LEGO Braille Bricks Q&A
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300 bricks: All 2×4 bricks
2 baseplates & brick separator
Includes letters, numbers, 4 operators ( +, -, x, ÷)
Includes period, apostrophe, number sign, comma, equals, dot 5 and dot 6
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LEGO Braille Bricks are for ages 4 and up. They are intended for students in educational settings learning braille.
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LEGO Braille Bricks are only available for a limited time and are being distributed for free. APH’s Ex Officio Trustees (EOT’s) get the first opportunity: this is APH’s primary method for getting educational tools to students.
Second and third shipments will be available to professionals and teachers affiliated with schools, education and support centers, and other institutions who are serving students with blindness or visual impairment.
The bricks will not be available for parents or general consumers to order. The goal of the LEGO Foundation and APH is to ensure the kits are available to children for years to come. By distributing them to schools and educators, we can be sure students coming in and out of the classroom will have access.
For initial distribution, TVIs will need to work with their EOT to procure kits for their students. This will look different by region. Some EOTs may work through an IRC, or check out system. Other EOTs may mail kits directly to schools or teachers.
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LEGO Braille Bricks are developed by the LEGO Foundation, the non-profit foundation affiliated with LEGO Corporation. They cannot sell anything they develop, which means kits are not available for purchase.
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Teachers should request kits through your Ex Officio Trustee (EOT). This is the person who you contact when you order other APH materials.
Don’t know who your EOT is? Check out our trustee directory.
EOT’s can order through their APH portal via APH Resources/My Documents