Reply To: Teaching Spatial Fractions

Thank you for sharing your question! I love the question, "Which fractions should be transcribed as spatial material?"

One good place to start is considering the benefits of spatial layout. (Spoiler: after listing a couple of benefits, we will weigh the benefits against the drawbacks.)

Spatial layout has the benefit of making a direct connection between a label and the specific component that is being labeled.

In addition, spatial layout can pretty closely reproduce the print layout. This can make it easier for a sighted teacher or classmate to discuss content with the braille user.

Now let's talk drawbacks.

Reading a spatial layout can be a challenging proposition, forcing the braille user to recognize and remember connections both horizontally and vertically simultaneously while also traversing some utterly blank space. Another challenge is that if a label applies to multiple components, a spatial layout can make it seem like it applies only to one.

With that, and a few other things in mind, I might use something like the following criteria to identify which fractions should be transcribed as spatial material:

• Each label in print applies to one component ... ... or the components to which any label applies can clearly be indicated with two (or maybe three) tactile graphic lead lines
• The text explicitly discusses the spatial nature of the content.

Lastly, remember you can present a fraction twice – once linearly without labels and then again spatially. (This is like what we do with a poem with scansion marks. Braille Formats 2016 §13.9.3)

Please let us know if you need anything more or different!

–Kyle