Common Lit - Louis Braille Lesson
Louis Braille Lesson by CommonLit
*This lesson was developed by CommonLit and links to an external source.
Summary:
Students read a short biographical text about Louis Braille and explore how he developed a tactile reading and writing system that became a tool for access used around the world. Through reading and discussion, students consider how barriers to literacy shaped Braille's innovations and how those innovations continue to open doors for blind and low-vision communities today.
Our suggestions when teaching this lesson:
The definition of braille at the top of the lesson describes it as letters only. A more complete definition: Braille is a tactile system using raised dots to represent alphabets, numbers, punctuation, words, and symbols. It is used far beyond just letters.
For Question 2, consider adding this discussion prompt: “This passage mentions three systems blind people used to read. Why do you think blind people preferred braille over raised text books and night writing?” An important follow-up: Louis Braille was blind himself, while the people who created the other systems were not. This is a good opportunity to discuss whose perspective shapes design and innovation.
Braille (capitalized) refers to Louis Braille, the person. braille (lowercase) refers to the tactile communication system. This distinction is worth making explicit with students.
Braille is not a language. It is a system for representing written language through touch.
Subject and topic:
English Language Arts (ELA)
Grade level:
3rd
Duration:
30 - 45 minutes
Links to download lessons:
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See the lesson plan on CommonLit: https://www.commonlit.org/texts/louis-braille-1