4 Interesting Back to School Activities for CVI Students

Back to school season is here! Planning for back-to-school activities can be overwhelming as there is SO much to set up and plan for. In this blog post, I will share 4 back to school activities for CVI students. As a bonus, these activities are multi-sensory so they will be beneficial to many students in your classroom. 

Adapted Books

For back to school season, I am sharing the CVI Series: School Fun Adapted Books resource. This resource includes 7 versions of adapted books. These books range from level  1, which is wordless, to level 2, which has a single sight word written in bubble words OR large yellow font, to level 5, which has interactive pieces. All the levels include bright-colored images on a black background. For this back to school activities for CVI students, I recommend pairing this book with real items that students use throughout their school day. This will help students make the connection to their school supplies and items around the classroom, Find these adapted books here. 

Sensory Bin

For the next back to school activity, I recommend using sensory bin activities during centers, 1:1 work, and small group instruction. Sensory bins make activities more engaging and add a multi-sensory component to lessons. You can use the vocabulary cards included in the previously discussed CVI Series: School Fun Adapted Books resource for the sensory bin. You can use any sensory bin filler. Some of my favorites are pom poms, gift bag filler, black beans, Easter grass, etc. Some activities that can be done with this vocabulary card sensory bin activity are:

• a non-identical matching activity. Students can be given real items (i.e. a pencil, backpack, etc), and students can find the corresponding vocabulary card in the sensory bin. 
• an identical matching activity. For this, you will print two copies of the vocabulary cards.  Put one set in the sensory bin and keep the second set out. Hand students one card at a time, and students can find the matching card in the sensory bin. 
• a picture identification activity. For this, a teacher, assistant, or even another student can name one of the items in the bin. The student will then find the named item in the sensory bin.

The best part of sensory bins is that you can adjust the field and differentiate for each student. You can put one card in at a time, or you can put all of the cards inside. 

Light Table

Since many units and activities revolve around “all about me” topics during the back to school season, the light table is the perfect place to have students explore some of their personal information. To do this, I recommend using Translucent Letters and Numbers. (Both of these are non-affiliate links.)

• Students can work on exploring or identifying the first letter of their name. 
• They can explore all the letters of their name or even spelling their name, as seen in the image above. 
• Students can explore how old they are.
• They could even work on identifying the numbers in their bus number.

The list can go on and on! Whether your students are ready to learn their name, how old they are, etc, it is never too early to at least expose them to their personal information.

Back to School Craft Activities: School Bus Craft

To create a CVI-friendly bus, you will need the following materials:

• yellow textured paper (holographic paper, tissue paper, felt, foam paper, etc)
• glitter textured paper (gold or silver is perfect)
• black paper (cardstock, foam paper, felt, etc)

To make this craft with your students, complete the following steps. 

1. Google “school bus outline printable” and print it out.
2. Place this cut out on black paper. Do not glue it, it is simply to provide contrast.
3. Have students cut the yellow textured paper,  or it can be precut for students. Students will cover the bus template with yellow paper and glue it down.
4. Next, cut out small squares, and one rectangle from the silver or gold glitter paper. These squares and rectangle will be glued on as the windows and door.
5. Lastly, cut out circles for the tires. Students will then glue these on the bus. 

For other CVI themed blog posts, be sure to check these out:

5 Engaging Toys for Children with CVI

My Favorite Textured Materials for CVI

“Go” Core Vocabulary Activities for Students with Cortical Visual Impairment