Strategy

LEGOs in Education

Incorporating LEGOs into the classroom with students who are visually impaired or blind.

LEGOs are a favorite childhood activity – did you know that LEGO are also educational?  Educational Technology and Mobile Learning shares 7 Skills Kids Can Develop from Playing Lego article.  Education.com shares more information about LEGOs in The Learning Power of LEGO article

LEGO Educational Activities

We know that LEGOs can be educational. So, how do we incorporate LEGOs into the classroom?  Scholastic shares math ideas in the Using LEGOs to Build Math Concepts article.  Using the basic LEGO bricks, these hands-on math activities are perfect for students with visual impairments or blindness (VIB). 

1st picture is set of 6, 2, 5 and 3 bricks; 2nd picture is one stack of 16 bricks; 3rd picture is 4 sets of 4 bricks each.

Are you interested in more LEGO learning activities?  Check out these Montessori school LEGO activities:  Free LEGO Printables and 70+ LEGO Learning Activities.  These creative activities cover a range of topics and are geared for younger students.

LEGOs for students with VIB

Mark Riccobono, a father who happens to be blind, shares his personal story of how he and his sighted son build LEGO kits together.   Here are Mark’s condensed tips:

  1. Start simple
  2. Develop a common language
  3. Share a common orientation
  4. Build spatial awareness skills
  5. Turn visual instructions into words
  6. Intentionally point out patterns
  7. Identify common techniques
  8. Fool around, try stuff!

To read all of Mark’s comments, go to  Dad’s 8 LEGO Tips on the Great Expectations website.  While on their website, be sure to check out the Iggy Peck, Architect book and related activities for students with visual impairments!

The following video shows Mark and his sons creating a LEGO kit.

 

Written LEGO Instructions vs. Pictorial Instructions

Matthew sitting  in his room, with numerous large LEGO buildings and completed kits covering his desk and bookshelves.For his thirteenth birthday, Matthew received the best present ever!  A family friend, Lilya, created an accessible version of the Battle of Almut LEGO kit, describing every blueprint, giving names to every LEGO piece and organizing the pieces into zip-lock bags with braille labels.  With these accessible directions, Matthew was finally able to create his LEGO kits independently!  Since then, Matthew has had a number of LEGO kit instructions converted to be accessible.  Matthew has shared two sets of digital instructions with Paths to Technology.  (See attachments below for LEGO 60032 Artic Snowmobile and LEGO 41103 Pop Star Recording Studio.)  Matthew promises to share more instructions in the near future!  

Read about Matthew and his Love Affair with LEGOs.

Interested in Braille Bricks – LEGO-like bricks with Braille letters?  See the  Braille Bricks: Braille LEGOs post.

The classic LEGO bricks have now gone hi-tech in the classroom! For information about the LEGOs Education program, that includes LEGO kits, curriculums and software, read the Hi-Tech LEGOs post.

UPDATE: Braille Lego Farm Book on Amazon.

Pinterest collage for legos

Attached File(s)

https://www.perkins.org/sites/elearning.perkinsdev1.org/files/lego%2060032%20arctic%20snowmobile_0.doc https://www.perkins.org/sites/elearning.perkinsdev1.org/files/lego%2041103%20pop%20star%20recording%20studio_0.doc
By Diane Brauner

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