Encouraging Students Who are Blind or Visually Impaired to Express Their Feelings and Explore Imagination.

By Activity Bank on May 02, 2013

This activity has been revised and was originally created by Charlotte Cushman and published in the Perkins Activity and Resource Guide (1st edition, 1992). The second edition is available for purchase.

It’s important to give students an opportunity to discuss their emotions and to express their feelings when appropriate. This activity encourages self-expression and the development of imagination. Lessons include English Language Arts, Social Skills, and Early Cognitive Skills/Concept Development.

Materials

None required

Procedure

Have students fill in the blank to share their opinions on a given topic or to express their feelings. This may be dictated into a digital recorder or written down by someone. Topics might include the following:
- I feel happy when I _____.
- My favorite thing to do when I get up in the morning is to _____.
- I like to hear _____ because _____.
Students can take turns sharing their feelings and opinions with others in class. Encourage an empathic response to others, for example, “How do you think it would feel to be John today? This is his first day in our classroom.”
Some students might like to use their imaginations to make up stories or to describe how it might feel to be somewhere they have never been or do something they have never done. They might imagine what it would be like to be a particular animal or object.

Variations

Identify a particular subject for students to think about – a season, a holiday, etc.
Students could act out their stories for others.
This activity could be done as a structured conversation or interview where students find out what others think or feel.