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This visual informs people the true facts compared to what they might have been told. I think this is a great visual to have in classrooms because it gives the students a reminder of not to be critical of others and to consider how others might feel.

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This video is a TED Talk that shows different ways students make music. I think this can be very inspirational for many students. By seeing or hearing others it can influence them to want to do what they're doing.

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Making music with the blind | Marie Naffah | TEDxCourtauldInstitute

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Raising Awareness About Living with Low Vision Through Poetry

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Raising Awareness About Living with Low Vision Through Poetry

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This website has a beautiful poem that sums up how a man feels with his visual impairment. This poem could be great for students so they can feel the effect of what it may be like. This poem can easily be used in the classroom by having the students analyze it and find a deeper meaning.

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Editor's note: In today's post, Maribel interviews Dave Steele, a visually impaired poet and song writer. We first learned of Dave and his inspiring poetry during Valentine's Day when he shared a poem on retinitis pigmentosa. Learn more about Dave by reading his personal story.

Raising Awareness About Living with Low Vision Through Poetry

Did you know that the month of April each year is set aside to celebrate National Poetry Month? It's a time when poets get to shine a light on their craft through a variety of events with the support of the Academy of American Poets and other poetry organizations. Teachers in schools are also encouraged to explore poetry in its many forms with their students and to appoint a "poet of the day" during the month.

At VisionAware, we welcome a visually impaired poet, Dave Steele, who is creating quite a following with his book, "Stand By Me RP", as he raises awareness to what it is like to live with vision loss after being sighted. The message in Dave's poems can help those going through similar issues to feel that they are not alone in what can be an isolating stage of vision loss.

Read Dave Steele's poem, "This Thing They Call RP," to learn about his experience living and coping with vision loss.

"This Thing They Call RP"

A Poem by Dave Steele

I know you've never heard before
of this thing they call RP
So let me help you understand
how it affects people like me
It's always lived inside me from ancestors faulty gene
To untrained eye unnoticed lie
remained for years unseen
Whilst in my early twenties
it began to show first trace
I noticed eyes would struggle
moving from dark to light place
But felt I wasn't ready
so this RP I'd deny
No helping hand stick head in sand
as seeing days pass by
For years I hid it from myself
as wrong as that might be
Till one day it was obvious
that it was hard to see
So off I went to specialist
to take the blindness test
I knew that I would fail them
but that's probably for the best
When doctors diagnosis came
delivered hard and cold
I may be seeing nothing
by the time that I grow old
It hit me like a hammer
when confirmed what we both knew
Chance my children were affected
would be simple 1 in 2
The guilt I felt another tear
as I began to grieve
Yet to the outside world
it's difficult to just believe
My blindness creeping inwards
like a speckled hazy tunnel
My grip on independence vanished
down this darkened funnel.

Began to feel so anxious
every time that I went out
No longer do the simplest things
be filled with fear and doubt
My world was caving in on me
I needed to adjust
I lost some friends and family
I learned just who to trust
I never needed sympathy
Just someone to understand
No need for full time carer
just sometimes a helping hand
I battled for my confidence
I learned to use my cane
I learned to see the best in things
go dancing in the rain
With time my wounds were healing
even though my eyes got worse
Began to write it down for you
through poem song and verse
To fight to raise awareness
for those going blind alone
So through my words our voice be heard
Not isolate at home.

Copyright (c) 2017 Dave Steele

More About Dave Steele, Poet and Songwriter
Visually Impaired Poet and Songwriter, Dave Steele, Is Raising Awareness About Living with Retinitis Pigmentosa A Poem on Retinitis Pigmentosa to Shine on Valentine's Day
DVD Blind-Sighted: Featuring Dave Steele and his wife discussing how sight loss challenged their family life
Stand By Me RP Facebook Awareness Page

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Raising Awareness About Living with Low Vision Through Poetry

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Editor's note: In today's post, Maribel interviews Dave Steele, a visually impaired poet and song writer. We first learned of Dave and his inspiring poetry during Valentine's Day when he shared a poem on retinitis pigmentosa. Learn more about Dave by reading his personal story.

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This video is that helps people further understand what its like to have a visual impairment. It goes through a few common kinds that people may get and shows you what its like to have that vision. I think this can be good for students because it gives them the opportunity to actually get a chance to visualize it.

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This is a comic strip for people who need a good laugh. It pertains a young man who is joking about having to wear glasses. I think this cartoon would be good for middle schoolers. I don't think many elementary students would get it. I think this could be used in a mini lesson/presentation to add a little pizazz to it.

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By Dana Meachen Rau
Illustrator Bari Weissman
Publication Date August 1, 1998
Genres Fiction, Textbook
Approximate Interest Level K-2
Approximate Text Level K-2
Teaser Oscar is a blind student and decides one day that he wants to teach Lucy how to read his Braille book.
Teaching Idea
Before reading this book the students will get the chance to look at what a braille book looks like. Then they will work in groups and discuss the different ways people with visual impairments can navigate with braille. After they will discuss as a class.

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By Jan L. Coates
Illustrator Alice Priestley
Publication Date  2005
Genre Fiction
Approximate Interest Level PreK-3
Approximate Text Level PreK-3
Teaser Abby hates a lot of things until she meets Joanna and Charlie. Charlie is Joanna's guide dog, a loyal friend and worker who helps her to see, but when it comes to style, he's not the best. And this is when Abby steps in.
Teaching Idea The book revolves around a girl and her service dog. The teaching idea could be bringing in a guest speaker with a service dog to talk to the class what its like. Then doing some kind of reflection after. This would give some the of students more of a sociocultural background on things.

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By Andrew Larsen
Illustrator Mike Lowery
Publication Date September 6, 2016
Genre Fiction
Approximate Interest Level PreK-2
Approximate Text Level PreK-2
Teaser A little boy is trying to mirror his sisters ability to write and illustrate a story. He quickly learns that he too can create a story of his own with his unique abilities and creative talents.
Teaching Idea The different ways the little boy figures out how to write will be incorporated in this teaching idea. Students will be in different stations and each will have a different writing activity for them to try. One station will have a braille activity to introduce them to it.

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By/Illustrator Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
Publication Date April, 2008
Genre Fiction, Children's Literature
Approximate Interest Level 1-4
Approximate Text Level 1-4
Teaser Jenny Sue's eyes are not the same as other people's eyes. Her right eye looks in one direction, while her left eye sometimes wanders. Although it makes her different, it also helps her see the world in a special way.
Teaching Idea Students could do an art activity. Creating there own pair of glasses to look through and then writing down what makes them so unique to them.

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By Mark Brauner Hayward
Illustrator Nancy Lee Hartman
Publication Date August 18th, 2009
Genre Fiction
Approximate Interest Level K-2
Approximate Text Level K-2
Teaser A young girl tells her story of how she is blind and teaches others how she takes on life. This little girl does not let her disability slow her down.
Teaching Idea In this book the little girl teaches us about how her other senses are much more stronger. So doing any activity involving the 5 sense to get the students comfortable with knowing about all of the senses will help them further understand the story.

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By Patricia Wilson
Illustrator Sharon Bean
Publication Date December 15, 2003
Genre Fiction
Approximate Interest Level PreK-K
Approximate Text Level Not Available
Teaser Patty's grandmother is blind. Curiously, Patty asks her grandmother what its like to be blind. Her grandmother then describes to her how her imagination helps her be creative with her vision.
Teaching Idea Individually students will write a story and then they will get in partners and read there stories. The partner who is listening to the story will draw a picture describing the story they are hearing. Then they will talk about the pictures and then switch.

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By/Illustrated Barney Saltzberg
Publication Date May 22, 2012
Genre Fiction, Children's Literature
Approximate Interest Level PreK-1
Approximate Text Level PreK-1
Teaser Arlo is a great dog. He loves running around and playing catch with his owner. But one day, Arlo stopped being able to catch the ball. Arlo and his owner need to get the bottom of this issue and figure out how Arlo can catch the ball again.
Teaching Idea In this story you get to see some of the tests and equipment that Arlo uses at the eye doctor. Having four different stations set up in the classroom gives the students an idea of what the different equipment Arlo used in the story.

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By Nicola Moon
Illustrated By Alex Ayliffe
Publication Date July 01, 2010
Genre Fiction
Approximate Interest Level K-1
Approximate Text Level K-
Teaser Lucy is trying to make a pretty picture for her grandpa. Her grandpa however is blind. Lucy has to figure out a way for her grandpa to enjoy the picture. With different materials Lucy makes a beautiful picture for her grandpa which they both enjoy.
Teaching Idea The students would get the same opportunity as Lucy did to create a beautiful picture with twigs, sand, velvet, and leafs. This would give the class the ability to visualize what she created in the story. Then the students could walk around and feel the other students projects getting the sense of what Lucy's grandpa felt.

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By Kristin Ellsworth
Illustrated By Christina Turner
Publication Date January 31, 2011
Genre Fiction
Approximate Interest Level K-2
Approximate Text Level K-2
Teaser Annie is a adventurous, brave, and fun princess. Something that’s a bit different about Annie is that she wears glasses! Annie is super curious about dragons. When she finally runs into one something amazing is uncovered.
Teaching Idea Writing assignment. Students are given a sheet of paper with a section to draw a picture of the princesses with glasses and the dragon and then they write their thoughts down below the picture.

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By George Ella Lyon
Illustrated By Lynne Avril
Publication Date June 22, 2010
Genre Fiction
Approximate Interest Level K-2
Approximate Text Level L
Teaser Seeing double can really be a struggle. Ginny is a kindergartener struggling with her vision. She keeps seeing double of everything. Chairs, books, and even people! With the help of a simple eye exam Ginny's whole world is about to change.
Teaching Idea A crafting activity. Students could all create eye patched just like Ginny. After the activity students could write down there thoughts about the book and then share it with the class.