Braille and our classroom codes
Some people cannot see well, or cannot see at all. They can read by touch with braille. Braille is a code of raised dots that we feel with our fingertips. The dots sit in a cell with six places, in three rows of two. We number them 1, 2, 3 down the left side and 4, 5, 6 down the right. Different groups of raised dots stand for different letters, numbers and even music. Louis Braille, who lost his sight as a child, improved this code when he was a teenager. Codes can use light or sound too. To plan a classroom code: choose a message, choose light or sound, make a pattern, test it with a friend and improve it.
Feel the code. With a grown-up, make a braille cell on thick card: use six small dots of play dough or sticky tack in the places. Make dot 1 for the letter a. Close your eyes and feel it. Then plan a classroom code: choose three messages, choose light (a torch, never in eyes) or sound (gentle taps), write the patterns in a table, try them with a friend and improve one thing.