Louis Braille Called Studs, on Each LEGO Brick Are Arranged to Match a Braille Letter, Number, Or Math Symbol
In 1819, Louis switched to a school for blind people in Paris. The books were big, heavy, and hard to read. Students read slowly by tracing huge raised letters on each page.
In 1821, a soldier named Charles Barbier (CHARLZ BAR-bee-ay) came to the school. He had invented a way for soldiers to read and write in the dark. His system used sets of twelve raised dots on paper. Each set stood for common French sounds. Students touched the dots
In the Braille system, blind people read by placing their fingers over special raised with their fingers to read. characters. Do You Know? LEGO is now making LEGO Braille bricks. The raised bumps, Louis Braille called studs, on each LEGO brick are arranged to match a Braille letter, number, or math symbol. This is a fun way for children who are blind to learn Braille. There is also a printed letter or number on Louis Braille (LOO-iss each brick. This lets people who can see also learn and use Braille. BRAYL) was born in France in 1809. When he was three, Louis had an accident and later lost sight in both of his eyes. There was no medicine at the time to cure him.
Louis started school when he was seven. He could not read or write. He learned by listening to the teacher and Credits: page 1 (top): © Blurf/Dreamstime.com; page 1 (bottom): © Popperfoto/Getty Images; page 2: © ZCHE/Dorina Louis Braille remembering what he heard. Nowill Foundation For The Blind (Supplied by WENN)/Newscom © Learning A–Z All rights reserved. 1 www.readinga-z.com 2 Braille Alphabet (English Version) In this Braille system, the orange dots are the ones that are raised. Alphabet: Credits: page 3: Joerg Boethling/Alamy Stock Photo In Ethiopia, a blind child enjoys being able to read in Braille.
The system was hard to learn and use. Louis knew he could make the code simpler. By the time he was Numbers: fifteen, he had created a system that used sets of six dots. Each set stood for an alphabet letter instead of a sound.
Louis became a teacher and continued to improve Punctuation: his code. He died in 1852.
In 1878, the World Congress for the Blind made Louis’s code the system of reading and writing for all blind people. The system was called Braille after Louis’s last name. In the 1940s, Braille was adapted to almost every language. Today, blind people all over the world use the Braille system. Credits: page 4: © iStock.com/Ravennka © Learning A–Z All rights reserved. 3 www.readinga-z.com 4