Tactile graphics: A beginner's guide to graphics for visually impaired children

As visually impaired children are now being integrated into mainstream education, more teachers are finding themselves in the position of having to address issues of graphic literacy ('graphicacy') with these children. This article aims to help these teachers by providing a basic introduction to 'tactile' graphics, that is diagrams, charts, maps, graphs and so on, that can be felt as well as seen. In our article in Primary Science Review, Issue No. 64, we argued that graphic literacy is now expected of any educated adult and that primary school science teachers are in a unique position to lay good foundations for the development of this important communication skill.