Instruction at the NFB BELL Academy

General Overview

The NFB BELL Academy provides intensive Braille and nonvisual skill instruction to students ages 4-12. Students coming into an NFB BELL Academy have a variety of skill levels due to the wide age range and various service delivery models throughout the country.

We developed the NFB BELL Academy schedule and activities with the individual needs of the students in mind. The schedule allows for small group instruction, which provides students with the opportunity to learn in concert with peers and to retain the benefits of more individual attention.

Each lesson plan equips the instructor with ideas for differentiation for students with more advanced or beginner skill levels. Differentiation allows for the concurrent instruction of students at various levels in a particular skill area. When an activity or skill lesson is not appropriate for a student, that activity will be replaced with an activity more appropriate to the student’s strengths and needs. Similarly, if a student (or the group) requires more/less individual attention than the sample schedule furnishes, it is adjusted accordingly.

The NFB BELL Academy curriculum provides suggested lesson plans; the plans are not scripted, and the curriculum is not a prescription. We recognize and celebrate that all students are different. This curriculum can be adapted to serve all students no matter their abilities or skills. Each site’s team of instructors tailors the program of instruction to the individualized needs of the specific group of students involved in their NFB BELL Academy.

The Curriculum

The NFB BELL Academy curriculum addresses many areas. While some lessons are focused on a particular skill, such as a reading lesson designed to help students accurately and consistently differentiate “e” from “i,” many lessons integrate multiple skills. For example, a STEM-Science lesson will integrate reading (instructions), nonvisual skills (identifying materials, measuring, stirring), writing (hypotheses, observations, conclusions), etc.

Standards alignment

Each lesson is also aligned to relevant standards: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy, Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practice, and Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for Unified English Braille. Additionally, each lesson sets forth the areas of the Expanded Core Curriculum addressed in the lesson.

Format makes teaching easy

Each lesson plan follows a common format and is divided into several sections. The Objectives section defines the purpose for the lesson and what skills students should acquire through the lesson. Prerequisite skills alert instructors to the skills students need to successfully participate in the lesson. If a student has not yet mastered one of the prerequisite skills, instructors may refer to a later section, “Differentiation” for ideas on how to adapt the lesson. Under the Materials section, you will find a list of everything required to teach the lesson. Some of the materials are other documents (i.e., Braille files) in the curriculum, which can be found in the “Resources” section of the overall curriculum. Also in “Resources” is a comprehensive list of all lessons and the materials required for each. Back to the lessons plans, under the section labeled Procedures you will find step-by-step instructions for implementing the lesson. The Differentiation section provides ideas for adapting the level of difficulty of the lesson according to student needs. Some of the lessons have another section —Teacher’s Note — which provides additional information for the instructor. As noted above, each lesson also contains a section relating to its alignment to one or more of the following: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy (ELA); Common Core State Standards for Mathematics; and/or the Expanded Core Curriculum for Blind and Visually Impaired Students and Youths, which sets forth the relevant standards and ECC areas addressed by the lesson. Additionally, each lesson sets forth the relevant Braille, Formatting, and Tactile Graphics Checklist, by grade, from the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards for Unified English Braille (found here: http://mdk12.msde.maryland.gov/share/frameworks/MD_CCRS_UEB_BrlChklst.pdf).

Learning Shade Use during Lessons

The NFB BELL Academy teaches Braille and other nonvisual techniques, and the use of learning shades (also called “sleep shades” or “eye masks”) is an integral part of the instruction. It is difficult to perfect a nonvisual technique like Braille when the use of residual vision is permitted. Learning shades must be presented in a very positive, non-threatening way. (The first lesson of the First Day Lesson Plans includes an engaging, positive means with which to introduce students to the NFB BELL Academy and learning shade use.) Some NFB BELL Academy sites choose to introduce the game of goalball to the students. This is a good way to introduce learning shades to the students in a fun way, as the whole point of the game is to play it without vision and to listen to where you hear the ball. (Please contact a member of your state affiliate if you need more information about rules and instruction of the sport of goalball.)

Throughout the remainder of the NFB BELL Academy, encourage students to wear learning shades during as many activities as possible in order to help them fully learn the nonvisual skills being taught. The mantra,”We wear learning shades when we are learning.” can be a helpful and objective means of explaining the purpose of learning shade use. Alternatives to using learning shades in certain activities include; conducting instruction in a very dark room with no external or internal lighting, holding an file folder above the student’s hands while he or she reads, or using a box which has had hand holes cut out of it and is then placed over the student’s page and hands. Please note that many students are more willing to wear learning shades if their instructors are wearing them, too.

NFB BELL Academy staff members educate parents about the importance of learning shades prior to the start of NFB BELL Academy so the parents may also reinforce the importance of using the shades to learn the nonvisual techniques so important to our student’s independence and success. We point out to parents and students that the purpose of learning shades is not to “make everyone equally blind” or to say that “vision is bad.” Rather, using learning shades allows for the true mastery of nonvisual skills so that they can become both competent and confident in that particular skill.

Blind Peers and Blind Adult Role Models

As we know, many blind and low vision students receive their Braille, cane travel, and non-visual skill instruction from professionals in one-on-one education settings. While there are many benefits from attending one’s neighborhood school, it can feel isolating to be the only Braille learner in the grade—or the school—or the school district. At NFB BELL Academy, every student learns Braille. We provide students the peer learning model they often miss in regular education settings. NFB BELL Academy students learn from and teach one another. Collaboration builds both relationships and skills.

Similarly, many blind and low vision children do not have blind adult role models in their lives. NFB BELL Academy allows students to interact with blind adults—sometimes for the first time in their lives. Adults teaching the students use non-visual skills every day and are living role models. All children benefit from many caring, competent adults in their lives who share their interests. For children with blindness or low vision, positive blind role models are essential.

NFB BELL Academy provides unparalleled opportunities for children to create long-lasting relationships with both peers and blind adult role models. In this manner, our students learn the skills they need, develop self-confidence in these skills, and form friendships that help them live the lives they want.

Instruction at the NFB BELL Academy