Keys to English Print:

As published in Odyssey, Fall 2003
Cracking the Code.. in PDF (6 pages, 226 kb)

Cracking the Code
Reading & Writing— And the Challenge of “How”

Since at least the Renaissance, deaf children have learned to read and write, banishing forever the myth that they could not be taught to decipher a code for language that was primarily aural. Today reading and writing are rich and vital everyday activities for many deaf adults who developed their skills through a wide variety of programs.

Here in these Odyssey articles re-published in KidsWorld Deaf Net, presented are some of the philosophies, techniques, and innovative strategies that are used throughout the United States to enable deaf children to develop literacy skills. We are pleased that Dr. Jane Fernandes, the provost of Gallaudet University, was our guest editor and solicited these articles. The Clerc Center provides the variety of perspectives in response to a recommendation from our National Mission Advisory Panel that we distribute information about literacy practices and in accordance with our national mission.

We divided the issue into thematic sections, each representing a potential key to literacy— through American Sign Language, cued speech, phonics, fingerspelling, and different learning strategies. Each section contains articles by dedicated and creative teachers and researchers who have worked actively with deaf and hard of hearing students to develop their literacy skills.

Whatever one feels about any given method, the achievement of deaf adults demonstrates that literacy is not only an achievable and realistic goal for all deaf students, but a starting point from which the rest of education proceeds. At the Clerc Center, we remain committed to the highest standards of literacy for deaf and hard of hearing students throughout the United States.

—Katherine A. Jankowski, Ph.D., Dean
Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center
Gallaudet University

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The following articles are also available in PDF form through the Fall 2003 issue of Odyssey:

In Search of Keys to English Print
By Jane K. Fernandes

Phonics
Phonological Awareness and Vocabulary Experiment in Preschool
By Paula J. Schwanenflugel, Stacey Neuharth-Pritchett, Jamilia Blake, Claire Hamilton, and M. Adelaida Restrepo

See that Sound
Visual Phonics for Deaf Children
By Bettie Waddy-Smith & Vanessa Wilson

A Deaf Child Teaches a Community about Fingerspelling
An interview by Mary Ellen Carew

When Fingerspelling Replaced Signs
Remembering an Encounter with Visible English
By MJ Bienvenu

Fingerspelling Ain't Easy (But I Use It Every Day)
By David R. Schleper

Cued Speech
Research and Theory Support Cued Speech
By Carol LaSasso & Kelly Lamar Crain

Phonemic Awareness through Immersion in Cued American English
By Kitri Larson Kyllo

Cued Speech and American Sign Language
Hand in Hand
By Harry Wood

My Experience
Communicating via Cued Speech
By Ami Tsuji-Jones

American Sign Language
Learning How to Read and Bypassing Sound
By Sam Supalla & Laura Blackburn

Incorporating Phonics into an American Sign Language and English Program: A Conversation
By Sara Schley & Gary Wellbrock

Putting Bi-Bi Theory into Practice with Dolch Cards
By Connie (Ruth) S. Schimmel & Sandra G. Edwards

Different Learning Strategies
Bridges in Illinois: Connecting Students to Learning
By Joan M. Forney & Andrea Simeone

Bridges in Arizona: Readying Minds for Reading
By Kim Atwill, Sara Briggs, & Maureen Gallucci

Manipulative Visual Language: Crack the English Code
By Jimmy Challis Gore & Robert Gillies

Reading Recovery with Deaf Children
By Susan King Fullerton, Nancy Brill, & Christine Carter

A Model for Communicative Practice with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students
By David Stewart, Connie Mayer, & C. Tane Akamatsu

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Washington, DC 20002
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