Welcome to Thursday ! Did you know that January is Braille month ? Read on
What is Braille?
Braille is a system of touch reading and writing for blind persons in which raised dots represent the letters of the alphabet. It also contains equivalents for punctuation marks and provides symbols to show letter groupings.
Braille is read by moving the hand or hands from left to right along each line. The reading process usually involves both hands, and the index fingers generally do the reading. The average reading speed is about 125 words per minute. But, greater speeds of up to 200 words per minute are possible.
How Was Braille Invented?
Louis Braille was born in Coupvray, France, on January 4, 1809. He attended the National Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, France, as a student. At that time, books were created using raised print which was laborious to produce, hard to read, and difficult for individuals to write. While attending the Institute, Braille yearned for more books to read. He experimented with ways to create an alphabet that was easy to read with the fingertips. The writing system he invented, at age fifteen, evolved from the tactile “Ecriture Nocturne” (night writing) code invented by Charles Barbier for sending military messages that could be read on the battlefield at night, without light.
Educational sites :
American Printing House (APH) Braille Bug is a kids’ site that teaches sighted children grades 3 through 6 about braille, and encourages literacy among sighted …
A Great Book :
Learn braille by sight.
Dots are printed, not embossed so that a sighted person can easily learn braille to assist a visually impaired person.
The type of braille in this book is called UEB (Unified English Braille) which is the international standard for English speaking countries.
In this book, you will learn Grade 1 and Grade 2 braille, which is now known as uncontracted and contracted braille.
Lisa s Everyday Life 