39
VIDBE-Q Volume 63 Issue 2
The goal of the presentation was to share strategies and resources that can be
used to teach Nemeth code to students who read braille as well as how to make
meaningful connections between learning the Nemeth code and learning math.
Developing resources is especially important since many states in the U.S. recently
transitioned to Nemeth within Unified English Braille (UEB) Contexts (Braille Authority of
North America, 2012, 2014, 2016), and there are limited resources available in the
updated code (Hong, Rosenblum, & Campbell, 2017). In addition, the highest level of
math achieved in high school has been shown to be linked with successful completion of
college in any field of study (Adelman, 1999; Hill, 2006). Thus, it is essential to increase
mathematical competencies for K-12 students who are blind and/or visually impaired and
support the efforts of removing access barriers for all learners.
We began with an overview of a comprehensive Nemeth Curriculum we are
designing for elementary students. It is grade-level specific and aligned with the Common
Core State Standards (CCSS; CCSS Initiative, 2010). The curriculum incorporates best
practices for teaching students with visual impairments and includes hands on activities
and games for younger students that reinforce grade-level math concepts. The curriculum
also includes teacher scripts, braille ready files (commonly called brf files) for student
worksheets, answer keys, recording sheets, review activities, and assessments.
The curriculum makes connections to the math standards and concepts. For
example, the Kindergarten curriculum includes activities that promote the following CCSS
(2010) counting and cardinality standards: a) Count to 100 by ones and by tens; b) Count
forward beginning from a given number within the known sequence; c) Write numbers
from 0 to 20; d) Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0
