Keys to English Print:

As published in Odyssey, Fall 2003
Literacy Strategies for the Classroom...in PDF (11 pages, 305 kb)

Literacy Strategies for the Classroom
Putting Bi-Bi Theory into Practice

By Connie (Ruth) S. Schimmel and Sandra G. Edwards

Latasha, 10 years old, came to the word “leap” in her text and abruptly stopped. Looking at her teacher, she isolated the vowel pattern ea and said the long“e” sound. Then she sounded out, “l _ea_ p.” With a quizzical glance, she peered back at the text. Using context clues, she pointed to the words “airplane” and“floated down.” Then she looked at “parachute,” a new word for her. Latasha commented, “If you’re in an airplane and you’re going to float down, you have to jump. So leap must mean jump and parachute must mean the thing that enables you to float down,” and she signed, “parachute.” Another score of 100! Latasha began the program at the first-grade reading level when she was in the fourth grade. Now in the eighth grade, Latasha is reading at the eighth grade reading level. She is the only deaf person in her family and her hearing loss is classified as severe/profound when unaided and moderate when aided.

Building literacy skill is the challenge for educators. Models: David Van Boxlaere and students at Kendall Demonstration Elementary School. PHOTO BY JOHN CONSOLI

Lynda, age 8, who was from an extensive deaf family, did not think that she needed the “sounds of English.” When her teacher began teaching the phonemic patterns, Lynda thought she was nuts and told her so. The teacher suggested that Lynda think of the phonemic patterns as a “cheat sheet” for the English language. She explained that there are many vowel patterns in English words that, when recognized, allow students to spell words more easily. Rather reluctantly at first, Lynda learned the patterns. Her “aha” experiences began shortly thereafter in spelling, when she brought her instructor her latest test with a perfect score of 100, the first of many to follow. Lynda began the program at the first-grade reading level when she was in the third grade. Now in the tenth grade, Lynda is reading on grade level. Lynda’s hearing loss is classified as severe/profound unaided and as moderate when aided; she chooses not to wear aids.

Latasha and Lynda are both participants in Fairview Learning, a new five-component reading program that provides direct access to American Sign Language and English and opens a window for hearing and deaf students to begin to think and sign bilingually (Schimmel, Edwards, & Prickett, 1999). Each program component is supported by materials, trainings, and assessments. The components consist of: the Adapted Dolch Word Lists, the Bridge Lists and the bridging process, phonemic awareness, reading comprehension, and American Sign Language development/written English.

[ Top ]

The Adapted Dolch Word Lists

Dolch words are those most commonly used words found in the majority of basal readers throughout the country. They frequently appear as required vocabulary for statewide reading competency tests. In conjunction with a panel of deaf adults from various parts of the country, Schimmel and Edwards considered each Dolch word on five lists, preprimer through the third grade. The goal was to match word meanings with their appropriate signs.

Reading Scores Students’ reading comprehension levels in the Multiple Skills Series are shown on the graph below. On grade level scores were the expected level of achievement. In this school, students in the first, second, fourth, and fifth grade classrooms participated in the program.

See this chart in PDF

The Adapted Dolch Word Lists, accompanied by such supporting materials as card sets, tapes, workbooks, and wall charts, have been designed specifically for the language and reading development of deaf students. For example, made has many meanings—I made a present for you; I made my bed; I made money; I made her happy; My brother made me do that. In American Sign Language, made is translated using a different sign according to the context in which it is found. When deaf students see concepts signed accurately, their understanding of English print is facilitated.

When the teacher shows the student the front of the card, the student must respond with all meanings of the word. Once these Adapted Dolch words are learned, they are used in print and in everyday conversation.

Deaf students must learn the 213 generic Dolch words; however, mastery includes 350 meanings because certain Dolch words may have more than one meaning, such as just or big, and may have more than one appropriate sign. This adds up to a total of 510 different signs required for basic understanding of the Dolch words. If a deaf student is surprised, the teacher merely replies, “Yes, this may seem more demanding, but guess what—you will be bilingual.”

The Bridge Lists and the Bridging Process

Sandra Edwards, reading specialist, uses Bridge cards with a student in an individual setting. Photo courtesy of Connie (Ruth) S. Schimmel.

Edwards and Schimmel note in multiple basal readers that Bridge lists comprise English phrases that require more than a single-word to single-sign translation for understanding; in other words, these phrases require American Sign Language translations. For example, down the street is translated very differently depending on the context of a given sentence. The Bridge phrases supply different American Sign Language translations for this frequently used English phrase. The Bridge lists are divided into grade levels, from preprimer through third grade, to demonstrate commonly used meanings with their appropriate signs and supporting materials. When the teacher shows the student the front of the card, the student must respond with all the listed sign translations of the phrase.

Once the translations are learned, they are used in print and in everyday conversation. There are 265 Bridge phrases on five lists, preprimer through third grade. Deaf students learn the generic phrases and the 455 different meanings. In addition, many phrases may have more than one appropriate sign, totaling 579 different signs for basic literacy.

Once a student begins to master the Bridge lists, reading word for word is abandoned, thereby increasing fluency and comprehension. One student who learned the concept of bridging became so enthusiastic about reading that one night she bridged an entire newspaper, drawing brackets around all the phrases in the entire newspaper that she thought should be bridged!

[ Top ]

Phonemic Awareness

Even though skilled deaf readers make use of phonological information, just how they utilize this information remains a mystery. Therefore, Fairview Learning has developed a shortcut to basic phonemic awareness. Our shortcut consists of 21 consonant sounds and 21 vowel patterns presented in such a way as to make these patterns accessible to students, no matter what their level of hearing. Teachers are urged to teach this shortcut to the phonemic code quickly, within two to four weeks, so that students can get on with the business of truly decoding and reading.

For example, the long “i” sound is taught as having three possible patterns in words that include _igh, i_e, or _y. Consonants fit where the lines are. Students are asked to sign and/or speak these patterns, and then the fun begins. The teacher might write “shy” and say to the student, “I don’t think you are this,” as she points to the word. Or she might write “smile” and say to the student, “You have a pretty smile.” Students catch on very quickly.

Why does this shortcut—21 consonant sounds and 21 vowel patterns—work so quickly? The brain is a pattern-seeking device. It gobbles up information and constantly looks for meaningful shortcuts or “chunks” of information (Ramachandran & Blakeslee, 1998; Sylwester, 1995; Jensen, 1998). The patterns, once learned, enable students to use their working memory in the most efficient way (Gladwell, 2000; Kotulak, 1996; Diamond & Hopson, 1998). Students begin to see patterns in words or they are able to sound out words where only a bunch of letters existed before.

Reading Comprehension

A Measure of Progress When reading comprehension progress as measured by the Multiple Skills Series is isolated and represented graphically, it shows improvement at all grade levels and that students in the fifth grade made the most dramatic progress.

See this chart in PDF

Understanding of the Adapted Dolch words, Bridges, bridging, and phonemic awareness comes together during reading comprehension and provides the foundation for reading print with comprehension. Structured reading exercises are used to teach children better comprehension and decoding skills and how to use contextual clues. A very structured series produced by SRA is typically used; however, any reading program can accompany this component. We find that students progress dramatically with the program. Once the foundation is mastered, most students can be expected to get on grade level quickly. Many students move at least two or more grade levels in their reading comprehension per year.

Wayne, an Asian American student, was struggling to make sense of three languages. At his residential school, he was living in a dormitory where deaf people used primarily American Sign Language. His teachers used various sign codes and the people in the community spoke English. On the weekends, he traveled home to his family and worked in their restaurant, where most people spoke Chinese. So Wayne juggled three completely different languages—Chinese, English, and American Sign Language. Until he was given some basic building blocks to approach English, he was lost in all three languages. Once he memorized the phonemic code, including the vowel patterns, he was able to apply them to the printed text. He also quickly mastered the Adapted Dolch and Bridge lists. He stopped rote word calling and began to read for meaning and his signing improved. Wayne began the program in the third grade at the first-grade reading level. Now in the tenth grade, Wayne is reading at the tenth-grade reading level.

When Temekia was 6 years old, she arrived at her residential school for deaf students with minimal signing skills and no reading skills. She began the Fairview program immediately. Now, Temekia reads the dictionary for fun! She wants to know everything. She constantly tries to figure out what words mean. Temekia began the program in the first grade on the picture reading level. Now at age 8 and in the third grade, Temekia is reading at the seventh-grade reading level.

American Sign Development/ Spontaneous Written English

The adapted Dolch card has a diacritical mark and the numeral three, alerting students that there are three possible sign translations for the word out. Adapted Dolch cards help students bridge the gap between sign language and English by showing the English word on one side and indications about sign translation(s) on the other.

Language experience stories facilitate the development of reading skills and are one of the most powerful teaching tools available to teachers (Hammon, 1998). Fairview Learning recommends two kinds of interactive situations for this component. The first situation involves students telling personal stories to an instructor fluent in American Sign Language, who then retells the stories while modeling the correct rules and grammar of American Sign Language, such as the use of classifiers, staying on topic, and facial expression. Students then sign their stories again, implementing what they have learned. These stories are filmed four times per year and assessed.

The second situation occurs during class times when students translate their signed stories into written English or dictate spontaneous and personal short stories about themselves to their teachers. These stories are edited into correct English by the teachers, and copied and illustrated by the students. They are kept as picture books for students to share or take home at the end of the school year. These books and videotaped stories become invaluable records of the students’ linguistic progress.

[ Top ]

Temekia’s Stories

Two stories by the same child demonstrate the amount of progress that consistent use of language experience stories can produce. Temekia wrote and illustrated her first story when she was 6 years old.

Said open cabinet get food breakfast. Get ice mother stare. Said go put food later eat. Said stubborn and immature. Mother insulted. Spell m-u-l-e. Mother oh. I said sorry.

Temekia’s second story was written two years later at age 8. She had just seen a film about the tropical rain forest and she was very disturbed over what was happening.

It was Hot, about 80-100 or more. It has lots of rain! It has many kinds of animals, like sloth, monkeys, etc. It has MANY ants and butterflys, toucan, etc. The men had found the medicine for cancer, sore throat, colds, etc. Have they (people) out of their mind? People who cut the old tree down need to learn their lesson. I care about the animals who live in the top of the trees will be extinct Soon! Imagine 60 years later, it would look like the desert!!! This is a warning. And you’ll be heading for trouble!

Above: Temekia, at age 6, wrote and illustrated her first story. Right: Temekia was able to retell the story about rain forest devastation in her own (written) words.

 

References

Diamond, M., & Hopson, J. (1998). Magic trees of the mind: How to nurture your child’s intelligence, creativity, and healthy emotions from birth through adolescence. New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc.

Gladwell, M. (2000). The tipping point: How little things can make a big difference. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Hammon, D. (1998, October 29). Effective & power techniques for bringing up the bottom quarter of readers. Mississippi Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, fall workshop.

Jensen, E. (1998). Teaching with the brain in mind. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).

Kotulak, R. (1996). Inside the brain: Revolutionary discoveries of how the mind works. Kansas City, MO: Andrews and McMeely, A Universal Press Syndicate Company.

Ramachandran, V. S., & Blakeslee, S. (1998). Phantoms in the brain: Probing the mysteries of the human mind. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc.

Schimmel, C. S., Edwards, S. G., & Prickett, H. T. (1999). Reading?…Pah! (I got it!): Innovative reading techniques for successful deaf readers. American Annals of the Deaf, 144(4), 298-308.

Sylwester, R. (1995). A celebration of neurons: An educator’s guide to the brain. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.