This trio of lessons showcases some of the most iconic Blissymbols in combination with the most universal of all concepts – parts of the human face.  The lessons are intended to progress from A to B to C.  The Bliss Head explorer serves as a proxy for the student’s and teacher’s faces in Lesson B and provides a nice tactile bridge to the raised shapes on the Bliss Tactile Symbols.  In Lesson C, the bridge is removed and the student learns the direct relationship between the symbols and the parts of their own face.

At any time, a doll’s head may serve as a substitute for the student’s and teacher’s faces.  Endeavor to find a doll’s head that is approximately the same size as the head on the Bliss Head explorer.

Prerequisites: – none (see “Remedial Supports” below, if necessary)

 

Lesson A (DOCX, PDF) – provides a foundation for Blissymbols as simple, raised shapes, that can directly correspond to real-life shapes. The student and teacher alternate between parts of their face and raised elements of the Bliss Head explorer.

• • Lesson A Supports – 
    1. Bliss Head explorer
    2. (optional) large doll (as a substitute for the student’s and/or teacher’s face)

Lesson B (DOCX, PDF) – introduces the association between the the raised elements of the Bliss Head explorer and the corresponding Bliss tactile symbols. The student and teacher alternate between parts of Bliss Head explorer and the corresponding Bliss Tactile Symbols.

• • Lesson B Supports – 
    1. Bliss Head explorer
    2. Bliss Tactile Symbols for “eye”, “nose”, “mouth”, and “ear”

Lesson C (DOCX, PDF) – the student associates their own eyes, ears, nose, and mouth with the corresponding Bliss tactile symbols. The student and teacher alternate between parts of their face (or the doll face) and the corresponding Bliss Tactile Symbols.

• • Lesson C Supports – 
    1. Bliss Tactile Symbols for “eye”, “nose”, “mouth”, and “ear”
    2. (optional) large doll (as a substitute for the student’s and/or teacher’s face)

 

Remedial Supports – if required, the following supports can be used to build tactile awareness of the sub-shapes that comprise the symbols in this lesson:

Bliss Head basic shapes explorer	“ear” basic shapes explorer and challenge tiles	“eye” basic shapes explorer and challenge tiles	“nose” basic shapes explorer and challenge tiles

Motivational Supports – if the student is progressing rapidly in their recognition of the four facial Blissymbols, they may be able to reinforce their skills and spatial awareness by assembling the Bliss Head puzzle.

 

Next Steps:

• with a foundation of the concepts: “eye”, “nose”, “mouth”, and “ear”, the student may be ready to learn their verb/action sensory relatives: “see”, “smell”, “taste”, and “hear”.
• the student may be ready to move to the body as whole, with the concepts : “head”, “body/trunk”, “arm”, “hand”, “legs and feet”.  This step is supported in lesson plan Body Concepts 1.

 

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