Episode Six - Tracking Stories

Tracking stories present a line of tactile material on each page and learners follow the storyline with their fingertips on both hands, starting from the left and moving to the right, exploring elements that they encounter along the way.

This episode can be viewed in the video player above and is also posted on the PRCVI YouTube channel where you will find links to other resources as well as the comments thread for this video.

Linked here is a PDF version of the Early Tracking Stories recipe.

Introduction

Welcome to Braille Bites, the series where we explore bite-sized ideas and activity recipes to build early braille literacy skills. Tracking stories present a line of tactile material on each page and learners follow the storyline with their fingertips on both hands, starting from the left and moving to the right, exploring elements that they encounter along the way.

Check out the video that accompanies this resource on the PRCVI website!

Key ingredients

• A sturdy piece of paper such as cardstock or braille paper
• Materials for a raised line:
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Small wooden dowels
  • Fabric puff paint
  • Consider using real materials, such as a branch
• Small objects as story characters:
  • Wooden beads

Mixing it together

• An example of a page for tracking may be a small tree branch that represents a log and small wooden beads placed above and below the branch to represent frogs.
• An example story might be: “We’re going to visit a pond where some frogs live. There is a big log in the pond. Where do most frogs like to sit – on top of or under the log?”
• Start at the left side of the line and move to the right, exploring elements that are encountered along the way.

Topping off the recipe

• This activity can be personalized to your child’s interests and tactile exploration skills.

Story Ideas

Some of our favourite examples of early tracking stories can be found in Beginning with Braille by Anna Swenson:

Swenson, A. M. (2006). Beginning with Braille: Firsthand experiences with a balanced approach to literacy (2^nd ed.). American Foundation for the Blind.