# Full text and tactile alternatives for three A4 aids

The SVG/PDF labels are selectable text. A large-print page, screen reader, AAC script, neutral reader or tactile cards can use **all information below** without seeing lines or colour. Print A4 at 100% if desired; no colour is required. Use raised strips or counters only when labels/quantities are explicit. The learner still chooses the algebraic step.

## [Expression grouping board](expression-tiles.pdf)

Title: **Expression grouping board**. Three rows are shown. In **each** row there is one rectangle labelled `x` followed by four separate unit squares, each labelled `1`. Thus each row means `x+4`. Three equal rows mean `3(x+4)`. Counting all units gives `x+x+x+4+4+4=3x+12`. The `x` rectangle represents an **unknown variable amount**, not a single card. At bottom are blank lines to choose another numeric input and show both forms give the same total.

**Tactile:** Make three separated groups. Each has one large card marked `x` in print/Braille/raised label and four individually marked `1` counters. Read the number of groups, then count the `x` terms and unit terms separately. Do not use touch alone to imply `x=1`. Equivalent spoken route: “three brackets, each x plus four; three x terms and twelve ones.” The same structure can be recreated with ordinary text lines.

## [Balance and rearrange mat](balance-rearrange.pdf)

Title: **Balance + rearrange mat**. Top fields ask for original left side, right side, variable and allowed values. Then four blank numbered rows, each with two columns: **operation on both sides** and **new equality or reason**. At the bottom, fields ask for substitution into the **original** relation, both results and whether the answer fits the model domain.

**Text-only template:** `Original: [left]=[right]. Variable/domain: ... Step 1: [same operation on left and right] -> [new equality]. Step 2... Step 3... Step 4... Check: substitute [value] into original; left [ ], right [ ], domain [ ].` A tactile route uses two labelled piles, “left” and “right”. Whenever a learner removes/adds a labelled term from one pile, do the same to the other and dictate/write the symbolic line. For an inequality, **do not** treat it as an equal balance when multiplying/dividing by a negative; check the relation with values and reverse its direction.

## [Line and boundary board](line-and-boundary.pdf)

Title: **Line + boundary board**. Upper Cartesian grid: horizontal input ticks labelled whole values `0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8`; vertical total ticks labelled `0,5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40`. The axes are blank except for “input (batches/posters/turns)” and “model total”; the teacher/learner must label the actual problem units. A plotted point `(6,30)` means input six and total thirty **only after** units are named. The lower number line has ticks `0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10` for marking allowed input values. A **closed** boundary dot includes its value (`≤`/`≥`), while an **open** dot excludes it (`<`/`>`). The actual solution set also depends on the problem's domain.

**Tactile:** Use two orthogonal raised strips with brailled/large-print tick cards for the upper grid, or dictate ordered pairs in a table instead; graph shape is not required to carry the answer. Use a linear row of 0–10 labelled cards for the lower number line, a solid boundary token for included and a ring token for excluded, then explicitly list which integer cards are allowed. Avoid relying on left/right arrow orientation alone: say “all values at most 5” or “all values below 4”.

An access change (neutral reading, enlarged labels, tactile representation) is separate from a hint such as “subtract 9”. Record them separately. Original SubjectNest alternatives © NeuroForgeIO Pty Ltd 2026, [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).