Tips for Reading to Deaf Children

 

Reading to Deaf Children at Different Stages

 

• Children who are read stories in sign language as a part of their day ask others to read to them more often, listen to the story more, and interact with the story read to them more than children who are onlyread books upon request.

 

• When reading to Deaf children, don’t simply sign the words you see in the sentence.Children must be engaged in the story they are listening to.In a sense, the text needs to be “interpreted” by the person reading to the child.Search for the meaning of the story and strive to convey that in how you sign it.  Asking questions, as well as encouraging the children to make inferences and predictions, are also important skills when supporting the developing literacy of children.

 

• Signing actions on pictures in a storybook can help toddlers and very young children develop inference skills from what they see in the picture, as well as what has been signed on the picture.

 

• As children get older, read the story beforehand and visually what is going on through body movement, facial expressions, use of space, and the signs used when reading with them.

 

Keep in Mind...

 

• There are eight key factors to children learning literacy according to Brian Cambourne and they are:

  • Learning expectations

  • Immersion in print

  • Demonstrations of how print functions

  • Engagement with interesting materials

  • Assuming responsibility for selecting activities/texts

  • Using what they are learning

  • Celebrated approximations of literacy behaviors

  • Authentic responses from those who help them learn.

 

Making Connections

 

• Parent involvement, a language-rich environment, storybook reading, a supportive classroom environment, and direct literacy instruction are key factors in a child’s emergent literacy skill level.

 

 

• Relate to things the children experience in their own lives as you read them stories.

 

• Pointing to words and signing in ASL while referencing pictures is helpful when teaching reading to children.

 

• If the message does not seem clear to those listening at times, don’t be afraid to re-sign the story with a more meaning-based interpretation.

 

• When making meaningful connections to text, it is imperative that children can see the reader signing and the text clearly at the same time.

 

• Stopping at any time to add clarity to the meaning of the story is entirely open to the reader.If children have questions or appear confused, this too should be addressed.

 

• Picture books that teach about a given subject are ideal when reinforcing a concept while still encouraging literacy.Picture books are more vivid than most large texts, and the pictures prove helpful in aiding students who are still making the print-sign connection.

 

• Research shows Deaf bilingual readers activate their phonological knowledge of the ASL parameters when reading English.

 

• Constant access to books and shared reading time with parents will help children develop interest in both reading and writing.  Access to paper and writing utensils encourages children to experiment with writing themselves.

 

Alternate Methods to Increase Literacy

 

• Printed words are not the only way to teach literacy, feel free to use videos and other multimedia in literacy activities with your children.

 

• Use of text messages, websites, graphic picture books, and online videos in literacy teaching may help increase conversational skill in written English.Discussion about these things can also help develop children’s skill in determining cause/effect, implied meaning, metaphors, symbolism, and narrative structure.

 

• Reader’s Theater can be used quite well with Deaf children.A text for the “performance” is selected, then the children write their script, followed by an ASL performance.

 

• Encourage children to study in-depth the topics they are already interested in and keep notes on them for future study.

 

• Shopping lists, e-mails, texts, daily or weekly schedules, reminders from roommates or family members, blogs, and articles are all ordinary interactions that often, if not always, take the written form.This is true for Deaf people as well as those who hear.  Literacy skills in English is critical for these things.

 

Reading Tips Over Time

 

• Practices for Young Children

  • Sign with the reader and discuss parts of the book before, during, and after reading.

  • Pairing struggling readers with advanced readers for time reading with others close to their own age

  • Have children read familiar books to family members

  • Books on DVD or online in ASL can be useful both in family reading experiences and in teaching parents how to assist their children in reading.

 

• Practices for Middle-School Students

  • Allow children to see your thinking process as you read the text, this models critical thinking about the text that is being read.

  • Reader Response Journals encourage children to think about what they have read, as well.