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Activities
What you will find in this section:
In this section you will find activities organized by science field. We have successfully used these activities in our classrooms and we want to share them with you. Many of these experiments can be found in books or other websites, but we have adapted them to meet the needs of our students. We did not include lesson plans because we know that you will develop your own plans to meet the needs of your students. We encourage you to search the internet and experiment with various activities. Just because it doesn’t say “for the visually impaired" doesn’t mean it won’t work!
What to consider when planning activities for students who are visually impaired:
In planning science activities for students who are visually impaired there are several factors to consider. These include: useful vision (lighting and contrast); gross and fine motor skills (hand skills, pouring, cutting, measuring, etc.); orientation and mobility (spatial awareness and travel skills); laboratory safety; and science background knowledge.
Many of these factors are encountered by teachers of the visually impaired when planning any learning activity. A teacher often needs to determine if a student's vision will be of use to him or her during an activity. Safety is another major consideration when choosing a science experiment. Almost all activities can be easily modified to allow all students to participate.
The APH publication, Adapting Science for Students with Visual Impairments has some excellent suggestions on adaptations.
Activities arranged by science field:
Click on the categories below to see lists of concepts and ways we have found to teach them. Please remember to observe all lab safety practices including wearing goggles!