(Ideas for Sensory-Rich, Meaningful Learning)
These materials are designed to spark wonder, inspire curiosity, and invite discovery.
Use them flexibly—there is no “right way.”
Short, joyful interactions—repeated often—create the strongest learning connections.
Follow the child’s lead.
SET UP THE ENVIRONMENT
The environment where you read can either support or overwhelm a child’s visual system.
Try adjusting or minimizing:
Sound: Turn off background noise (TV, music, chatter)
Movement: Limit distractions like pets or ceiling fans
Lighting: Adjust to your child’s visual needs. Close curtains, dim or brighten overhead lights, use a desk lamp, or spotlight pages.
Background: Present cards and objects on a plain, high-contrast surface (black or solid color).
Positioning: Place materials at the child’s best visual field and comfortable viewing distance.
Consider
Are you holding the book in your child’s preferred visual field or distance?
Are you offering pause time after reading to allow visual search and recognition?
Would it help to show one page at a time using a black sheet or folding the book?
Use tactile objects that:
Are essential to conveying story concepts
Are commonly found at home or school
Are as realistic as possible
Are large enough for tactile discrimination
Are made from materials that provide tactile feedback
Story boxes are an interactive way for emerging readers to experience a story, understand concepts, and connect to real-world applications.
Students who are blind or have low vision often miss out on the magic and imagination gained from looking at pictures in a book.
Emergent readers use pictures as cues to retell a familiar story long before they can interpret the words on a page.
Gathering a few real objects that represent key images or concepts helps a child make meaningful connections as they manipulate and explore while reading.
TIPS
You don’t need an object for every image—just those that best convey the story’s main concepts.
Everyday items often work well; check around the house, a dollar store, or a craft store.
Handle and talk about each object before reading. This sparks conversation about real-life experiences and builds understanding of key concepts.
Encourage both guided exploration during reading and independent imaginative play afterward.
MAKE IT MULTI-SENSORY
Along with the objects in the story box, you can also add:
Multi-Sensory Enhancements
Braille: Overlays or embossed braille.
Tactile: Textures- felt, foil, textured paper, sequins, vinyl, feathers, flowers, leaves, fabrics, faux fur, or raised lines.
Audio: Sound buttons, recorded sound effects, make playful noises, and sing a song.
Smells: Real foods, spices, or scented markers or candles.
Movement & Action: Movement that encourages imitation and acting out parts of the story.
NOTE: Some children benefit from adding one sense at a time—start small, then gradually combine more as comfort grows.
Image cards can be used to highlight key vocabulary and support comprehension, generalization, and abstract thinking.
Present real objects with the cards and talk about each object’s salient features and visual characteristics
Add tactile enhancements (textures or raised outlines).
Match real objects to the image cards.
Match images to each other or to the book.
Use images to retell the story (sequencing).
Match images with Word cards.
Play a memory-matching game with the images.
Use images to retrieve, use, and put away familiar objects.
Finish a sentence frame (e.g., “I like ____.”).
Use the objects or images with choice boards.
Use the objects or images with calendar schedules.
Create an Experience Story or Social Story using the objects and images.
Quick, hands-on ideas that support concept development.
TIPS
Explore multiple meanings, actions, and uses.
Highlight parts-to-whole relationships.
Emphasize that a _____ is still a _____ regardless of how it looks or feels.
Create sentence frames (e.g., “The ______ is smooth.”) to model language and expand literacy output.
With permission from Julie Unatin, TCVI, COMS, DeafBlind Specialist, Oakland Schools, MI
Touch & Sort
Collect real objects and sort into two groups (e.g., smooth vs. rough, big vs. little, hard vs. soft).
Slide fingers over each item first, then decide where it belongs.
Be A Detective
Go on a scavenger hunt around the house or classroom.
Challenge: “Can you find something smoother than an apple? Rougher than an orange? Bigger than a chair?”
Use the Image cards and real objects as clues.
Compare & Contrast
Pick two objects with clearly different features (soft blanket vs. scratchy doormat).
With eyes closed, feel each and describe the differences.
Feely Box Match
Hide pairs of objects with different textures in a bag or box.
Invite the child to reach in and match by touch only.
Use the Image cards and real objects as clues.
Describe & Discover
As you explore, add rich verbal descriptions:
“This rock feels rough with bumpy edges.”
“This banana feels smooth and curved.”
Encourage the child to repeat or add their own words.
EVERYDAY EXTENSIONS
Parts to Whole: Explore an object that takes on many forms. (e.g. Whole apple, apple slices, applesauce, apple juice, apple pie. )Take apart a familiar object (like a flower or toy) and talk about each part.
Action Play: Act out what the object does (roll a ball, crinkle paper, bounce a kickball).
Category Sorts: Sort by color, size, or function (things that bounce, things that roll).
Talk about shared moments: Connect the image to something the child has experienced (“Remember when we crunched leaves on the sidewalk?”).
ABOUT THESE MATERIALS
These strategies build on shared from teachers of students with visual impairments, families, and organizations such as Perkins School for the Blind and Paths to Literacy.
They may support children as they progress from real-object exploration to picture recognition and emergent literacy.
