Unified English Braille Made Easy

Product Description

Welcome to the Braille Trail! Contrary to what many people will tell you, reading and writing Braille is not difficult at all. In fact, blind children are taught the braille alphabet in kindergarten--at the same time their sighted peers are learning to read regular ink-print. All you really need is a little instruction to get started, and the dedication to memorize something new. The rest will come with a little time ... and a lot of practice!

This course has been designed with eighteen unique lessons. The intent is that students work through one lesson every week (for a one-semester completion); or one lesson every two weeks (to perfectly coincide with a thirty-six-week school year).

The book opens with descriptions of the Braille cell, dot positions, and good techniques for tracing Braille lines. From there, we move into the individual letters - with hints on why they are made the way they are and tips for remembering each one.

The initially-daunting Braille contractions are divided up into nine easy lessons: Alphabetic Word Signs, Shortform Words, Symbol-Letter Words, Symbol Words, Contractions, Cluster Words, Contracted Endings, Contraction Words, and Dependent Contractions. Finally, we conclude with some practice exercises, and some great ideas for using your Braille skills in an optional learning kit.

By the time you've finished this course, you will know the 26 letters of the Braille alphabet by heart. It will be second nature to use dots to capitalize letters, form numbers, and use punctuation. Last but not least, you'll be familiar with all the contractions that make up the Unified English Braille system, and you'll know how to use each one correctly. Now, you're all set to begin exploring the brand-new world that is now as close as your fingertips!

There is no better resource available to blind people who want to learn to read and write Braille. If you're blind yourself, you will need a Braille reader to go through this book with you, until you know enough Braille to read the course on your own. If you're thinking of teaching a Braille course, you can simply follow the lessons in this book, to teach a group of students to be competent, proficient readers. Whatever your situation, if you're a blind person wanting to learn or teach Braille, you won't want to be without this clear, concise course.

Remember, this 72-page book is designed to teach blind high-school and adult students how to read and write uncontracted and contracted (UEB) Braille. This Braille book has absolutely no print whatsoever, so is a good choice only for people who wish to read Braille by touch. For Sighted folks wanting to learn Braille, please consider the Braille for the Sighted package instead.

Note: A booklet is available for Original Grade 2 Braille upon request.