Charting the Cs logo. Charting the Cs Conference 2025: Cooperation, Communication, Collaboration. Refusal to Grade Level: MyStory ofUnlocking aSuccessfulBraille Reader April30,2025 KimWilkeTeacher:Blind/VisuallyImpairedSaintPaul School District Hello, There! Image of contracted braille that says, "Hello There!" “Confidence is the willingness to TRY. It is the willingness to take action, even if it’s not perfect. It’s the secret to everything.” -Mel Robbins Flip Flop General Education •Teaching readingskills & strategiesthrough print. •Concepts of print. Image of stick figure holding a sign above head that says "ME". Me Special Education •Teaching readingskills & strategiesthrough braille. •Concepts ofbraille. Warm-Up Print Versus Braille: “Progression from the basic mechanics of decoding letters to actively using reading to acquire new knowledge and information.” -American Printing House for the Blind Image of a cute pink brain with stick arms and legs with a smile on its face and a lightbulb above its head. Braille Reading Simulation Ready, Set… An image of a young african american boy thinking in front of a chalkboard with question marks written on the board, and a bright yellow lightbulb above his head How did you do? When Jim saw what was under the rock, he gasped. Image of a little pink brain with stick arms and legs lifting a heavy barbell above its head. Reading braille is very different. The memory itself gets a workout! Reading is complex Image of a cute pink brain with stick arms and legs with a smile on its face and a lightbulb above its head. …braille readers must rely more on memory to decode and understand words. -Rex, Koenig, Wormsley, & Baker, 1994 Morphology Matters Word: REREADING Print rereading •prefix: re •base word: read •suffix: ing Braille r(er)(ea)d(ing) Image of contracted braille saying the word, "Rereading" Meet Doob! ●Curious fifth grade student. ●🩷🩷’s music, baking, yogurt covered raisins and her Ojibwe culture. ●Visual diagnosis of Optic Nerve Hypoplasia-no light perception. Photo of a happy, smiling young Ojibwe girl sitting at a 3rd grade classroom table with a sticker on her nose. She is leaning on a braille writer in front of her loaded with braille paper. Meet Doob! (2) ●IEP Team: Orientation & Mobility, Occupational Therapy, Developmental Adapted Physical Education, & Social Work. -Therapy expected Photo of a happy, smiling young Ojibwe girl sitting at a 3rd grade classroom table with a sticker on her nose. She is leaning on a braille writer in front of her loaded with braille paper. The Starting Line (then) ●2nd grade ●Pre-reader, isolated skills ●Number system (10) ●1 year after starting to build rapportwith Doob, her family, and herIndividualized Education Plan Team. (Video play on next slide…) The Starting Line (then) -video The Finish Line (now) ●Beginning of 5th grade ●Guided Reading Level: R-S ●Emotional Regulation isshowing growth. ●Respect and Approachabilityhas reached a new level. Best reading so far Video of of an Ojibwe girl sitting at a 5th grade classroom table reading braille text with both hands. The Finish Line (now) -video The Messy Middle How Did We Get Here? ●Building Relationships & Integrating Culture ●Repetition and Routine ●Let’s Make This Fun! Photo of an Ojibwe girl in a blue T-shirt, laughing while reading a braille book with both hands. Building Relationships & Integrating Culture Image of a stick figure pointing to text on the slide. “One’s content knowledge & cultural knowledge in one’s family & community, affects one’s reading comprehension.” -Duke, Ward & Pearson, 2021 Book Reading Connections Relationships & Culture Photo of small bag of M&Ms with a braille note attached with a ribbon. Photo of a brown foam cut out of a person. A tactile earth representation, 2" in size is attached to the chest. Braille is printed on one leg, and print is attached on the other leg. Photo of a black foam cut out with a smiley face and long, yarn braided hair. A red 1.5" felt heart is on the chest. A white note is attached to the body that describes the student. Relationships & Culture (2) Photo of a smiling, 10-year old Ojibwe girl sitting at a table in her 5th grade classroom. A braille writer is to her left. A smudge kit, with a large shell an sweetgrass is in front of her. Photo of a hand holding a felt chocolate chip pancake, felt syrup, and felt pat of butter. Photo of a pink and green 3-ring binder. The student's name and grade is printed and in braille on the front cover Daily Repetition and Routine Photo of small orange plastic basket on classroom table with 4 clothespins attached to the front of the basket. There is a plastic round container with yogurt raisins inside. Repetition and Routine Photo of young Ojibwe girl reading braille posted on bulletin board. Photo of printed positive thoughts and affirmations on a blue sheet of paper with white writing. . Repetition and Routine…in Literacy! Photo of a young braille readers hand reading a braille book. Photo of a vertical bar graph showing reading growth over two years. Each bar is a different color and texture. Let’s Make This Fun! Adapted Bulletin Board Picture of an horizontal bulletin board. Title in black printed letters and braille saying "You are a Rainbow of Possibilities" Heart shapes in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple are curved at a right angle. A close-up photo of the heart shapes in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple are curved at a right angle on the bulletin board. Pen Pal Letters From California Photo of an interlined letter written in braille to a Pen Pal. Two small jingles from a Ojibwe dress are sitting on the bottom right of the paper. The jingles are triangular and metal. Photo of a 10-year-old Ojibwe girl feeling a windchime. A bird is on top with five metal chimes at the bottom. What’s a Potato Sack Race? Photo of three young girls jumping up, down , and forward in pillowcases pulled up to their waste. All three girls are laughing. Photo of a young girl wearing a green jacket and jumping up, down, and forward in a pillowcase. She is laughing. Lifesize Ojibwe Constellations Photo of a young Ojibwe girl reading braille with two hands in a hallway at school. There is a life size remake of a constellation out of plastic stars and yarn surrounding the braille text. Photo of a young Ojibwe girl reading braille with two hands in a hallway at school. There is a life size remake of a constellation out of plastic stars and yarn surrounding the braille text. THANK YOU! Charting the Cs. Statewide Professional Development to Support the Workforce and Low Incidence Disability Areas in the State of Minnesota. Kim Wilke, kim.wilke@spps.org Cell: 651-783-2120 Resources •APH Hive Online Course: Unlocking the Foundations of Reading for Students with a Visual Impairment (Science of Reading.) https://aphhive.org/#/home •Building on Patterns. https://aphbop.org/ •Paths to Literacy, https://www.pathstoliteracy.org/ resource/braille-mechanics-guidance/ •Project Life Craft Cards https://www.shopbeckyhiggins.com/collections/project-life-card-collections •Reading Connections: •Reading Connections: Strategies for Teaching Students with Visual Impairments