by Melvin Melnick (Author) PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS BOOK DOES NOT CONTAIN RAISED BRAILLE. Hello and welcome to Braille for the Sighted (Grade one + Grade two): A course in contracted braille. As a sighted learner, it shouldn't be long until you are proficient in grade one braille and looking to further your braille reading skills by advancing to learning contracted braille (also known as grade two braille). Contracted braille uses a variety of techniques to drastically reduce the number of cells needed to convey a text. For example in contracted braille we may use the "y" cell to represent the word "you". In this course we will cover both grades, first quickly covering grade one braille before moving onto contracted braille.