Charts are a favourite format in the sighted world. They allow
quick fact finding and quic k comparisons of data. In one G rade 9
chemistry unit, a Grade 9 student would likely need to organize
information in a chart on about 25 -30 occasions and read
information from a chart at least 10 —12 times. These charts
can represent a wide range of complexity, size and content. In
this one unit, there were:
Charting observations in 9 investigations
Charting in 3 research categories
Chart data on history of the at om from 1 homework
assignment
Chart of physical properties of 5 elements
Chart of chemical properties of 8 elements
Chart of first 20 elements on the Periodic Table with
atomic number, name, symbol, atomic mass, protons,
neutrons and electrons
Unit test in 14 braille pages that requires the
completion of 3 separate charts.
Charts are the required answer format for geography, science,
history and mathematics and increase in popularity as the grade
level increases. They are also the preferred question format for
an equal amount of teacher handouts.
Charts lined up in neat columns can be easily created in print but
a total nightmare in Braille… count the cells of the longest
possible item divide 40 cells, allow for space between each
column, count leader do ts, and section the chart over 2 or maybe
3 pages. Not going to happen in any Science 9 class and keep up
with the information being spoken or written on the board by the
teacher
Try this…
Charts On The Run!
A r e vo lutio nar y ide a… Cr e ate ch ar ts o n a l ine ar ho r izo ntal f r am e and
ind icate a ch ange in co lum n w ith th e 3 d o ts o f an e llips is … I t’s a ch arm !
Line 1: I nd icate th at a ch ar t is s tar ting w ith the wor d “Ch ar t:” f o llo we d
by th e title o f the ch ar t.
Line 2: Subh e ad ing “H e ad ings :”
Line 3: Br aille e ach h e ad ing w ith an e llips is s e par ating e ach . R e m e m ber
th e s pace be f o re and af te r th e e llips is … '''
Line 4+: N um be r each line th e n Br aille w ith an e llips is s e par ating e ach
co lum n.
Sample
Ch ar t: O lym pic Me d als f ro m 1924 to 2005
H e ad ings :
Co untr y … Go l d … Silv e r … Bro nz e
1. Ge rm any, Eas t Ge r m any, We s t Ge r m any … 108 … 105 … 87
2. R us s ia, U nif ied Te am … 114 … 83 … 78
3. N or w ay … 94 … 94 … 75
4. U nite d State s … 69 … 72 … 52
5. A us tr ia … 41 … 57 … 64
6. F inland … 42 … 51 … 49
7. Sw e d e n … 39 … 30 … 39
8. Sw i tz er land … 32 … 33 … 38
9. Canad a … 31 … 28 … 37
O r ganiz e th e d ata into a ch ar t to co m par e e ach o f the 3 m e d al s tand ings
and th e o v er all me d al s tand ings o f th e f o ur r e gio ns : Scand in av ia, N or th
A m er ica, The A lps , R uss ia.
Q ue s tio n fr om Nels o n Ma th em a tics 8 T extbo o k
Quick and Simple…
Stud e nts h av e bee n quick to r e ad and cr e ate th e se ch ar ts . Th e y h ave no
pr o ble m lo cating inf o r m atio n, h av e an e xce lle nt m e m o r y f or th e h e ad ings
in s e que nce , and can cr e ate a v er y lar ge num ber or wo rd ch ar ts w itho ut
w orr ying ab o ut lining up co lum ns .
** Br aille N o te w ill pr int o ut s im ilar by us ing 3 co m m as ( d o t 2) or
apo s tr o ph es ( do t 3) . Se nt o ut to a pr int pr inte r the co m m as ar e
pr e f err e d.