| |
 |
Reading to Deaf Children: A Look at the Research
Compiled by David
R. Schleper
Also available: Reading
to Deaf Children Manual and Videotape
See also: More information
about the Reading to Deaf Children manual and videotape in other
languages
| Researchers |
Synopsis of Research |
References |
| Akamatsu & Andrews (1993) |
As part of a larger study on dialogs between
parent and child, Akamatsu and Andrews taped interactions between
culturally Deaf parents and their Deaf son at six month intervals
over four years. The boy was read to almost from birth, and
he was raised in a literate environment, with parents who read
regularly, used a TTY, decoder, and captioned videotapes, and
wrote often in front of their child. One aspect of the study
examined booksharing between the parents and child. The parents
translated the stories into ASL, used eye gaze and pointing
to keep the boy's attention, connected the pictures and events
in the stories to the child's experiences, signed directly on
the book, and used fingerspelling to draw attention to the printed
text. |
Akamatsu, C.T., and Andrews, J.F. (1993).
"It takes two to be literate: Literacy interactions between
parent & child." Sign Language Studies, 81, 333-360. |
| Andrews & Taylor (1987) |
Andrews and Taylor examined the strategies
used by a Deaf mother when reading a book to her three and one
half year old son. The mother was observed giving her son necessary
support to respond correctly to questions and discussions about
ideas in the book. She rarely responded to her son in a critical
or negative manner, using touching and eye contact to maintain
attention. The mother involved the child in the reading by relating
the book to his experiences, elaborating on the text, requesting
some responses, and checking comprehension. |
Andrews, Jean F., Taylor, Nancy E. (1987).
"From sign to print: A case study of picture book 'reading'
between mother and child." Sign Language Studies, 56:261-274. |
| Bishop & Gregory (1985) |
As part of a larger study which examined the
difference in linguistic demands from home to school, Bishop
and Gregory looked at interactions between deaf children and
adults during booksharing. Twenty-four children were videotaped
in one-to-one situations while looking at books with mothers
and teachers. The researchers found that teachers dialogues
with the children were longer than with the mothers. However,
the children took less initiative and frequently responded more
passively with the teachers than with their mothers. The results
suggest that the children experience longer and more elaborate
dialogues in book-reading with teachers, but with their mothers
are able to exert more control in initiating and sustaining
conversations. |
Bishop, J., and Gregory, S. (1985). Mothers
and teachers looking at books with deaf children. Child Language
Teaching and Therapy, 1, 149-161. |
| Ewoldt (1994) |
As part of a longitudinal study of young Deaf
children engaging in literacy, parents and teachers were videotaped
annually as they shared books with 30 Deaf children. The children
were approximately 3 years old at the beginning of the study
and 7 years old at the end. During the reading sessions, the
researchers observed messages that were inadvertently being
conveyed by teachers and parents. These included the idea that
adults are authorities about reading, and that reading should
be verbatim and error-free. In spite of this, the children created
their own views of literacy. The children showed that they could
interact directly with a text (e.g., signing directly to characters
in the story), and they challenged the authority of the text,
conveying the message that the text is not infallible. |
Ewoldt, Carolyn (1994). Booksharing: Teachers
and parents reading to deaf children. In Under the Whole
Language Umbrella: Many Cultures, Many Voices, Alan D. Flurkey
and Richard J. Meyer, eds., Urbana, IL: National Council of
Teachers of English, 331-342. |
| Lartz & Lestina (1995) |
This study identified strategies used by three
Deaf mothers while reading to their children aged 3 to 5 years
old. The reading sessions were videotaped and transcribed by
a native Deaf signer. The six categories/strategies that all
mothers used include (1) sign placement (signing phrases on
the book or with a book); (2) text paired with sign demonstration
(pointing to text, elaborating with ASL explanations, then to
text); (3) real world connection between text and child s experience;
(4) attention maintenance (tapping shoulder or lap, elbow nudging,
and moving book; (5) facial tone and body posture demonstrating
character changes; (6) non-manual signals as questions (nose-twitch,
lowered and raised eyebrows, and mouth movement). The authors
contend that these strategies may promote higher reading abilities
in Deaf children. |
Lartz, Maribeth N., Lestina, L. Jill (1995).
Strategies deaf mothers use when reading to their young deaf
or hard of hearing children. American Annals of the Deaf,
140(4), 358-362. |
| Mather (1989) |
Mather analyzed a native and non-native signer
as they read a story to preschool children. The native signer
used eight distinct patterns to communicate with the children.
She (1) asked wh-questions instead of yes/no questions; (2)
elicited answers, then probed for more responses; (3) encouraged
the students to take risks; (4) used classifiers to fit actions
in the story; (5) used role playing to expose students to the
visual concepts in the pictures; (6) allowed students to see
text and signs at the same time; (7) adapted signs to fit pictures
in the story; and (8) changed English words that show sound-related
concepts to signs that show visual concepts. |
Mather, Susan A. (1989). Visually oriented
teaching strategies with deaf preschool children. In Lucas,
Ceil (ed.) The Sociolinguistics of the Deaf Community. NY: Academic
Press, 165-187. |
| Maxwell (1984) Maxwell, Madeline (1984). |
Maxwell's case study examined the interactions
of a Deaf child and her Deaf parents as the child became literate.
The child was observed over a five-year period during 22 videotaped
sessions of 2 hours or more. Beginning just before age 2, the
child progressed through six levels of story knowledge, from
labeling/naming pictures, stating propositions, reading pictures,
going beyond pictures, projecting into stories, to reading independently
for meaning. The development was similar to that observed in
hearing children. |
A deaf child's natural development of literacy.
Sign Language Studies, 44, 191-224. |
| Mogford, Gregory, & Keay (1979) |
The researchers conducted a study of the interaction
that occurs between hearing mothers and their deaf children
during picturebook reading sessions. A five-minute period of
picturebook reading was videotaped twice in every three-month
period for six children at 18 and 24 months, and compared with
groups of hearing children at the same age. The results indicate
differences between hearing and deaf groups in the way dialogues
are structured, particularly by 24 months of age. The hearing
mothers with hearing children tended to move into more complex
language and give more feedback, while the hearing mothers of
deaf children were more likely just to label the pictures. Both
sets of mothers expanded comments with reference to the book,
but mothers of deaf children tended to expand within the book
context rather than diverting the child s attention away from
the book. Mothers of deaf children also reported that they participate
less often in picturebook reading and for shorter periods, primarily
because they struggled with maintaining attention. These mothers
also tried to control and channel their children's attention,
rather than following and elaborating upon the children's interests. |
Mogford, K., Gregory, S., Keay, S. (1979).
Picture book reading with mother: A comparison between hearing-impaired
and hearing children at 18 and 20 months. The Journal of the
British Association of Teachers of the Deaf, 3(2), 43-45. |
| Rogers (1989) |
Rogers study examined primary-aged children
who were read bedtime stories four times a week for one school
year. Pre- and post-tests indicated gains in students abilities
to follow complex sequences of events, recall details, and comprehend
story structure. Students videotaped, expressive language samples
showed much more sophisticated through-the-air language. Observations
suggested that the students enjoyed having stories re-read to
them and engaged in a process of shared reading where students
predicted upcoming events in the stories. |
Rogers, Deborah (1989). Show me bedtime reading.
Perspectives for Teachers of the Hearing Impaired, 8(1), September/October. |
| Schick & Gale (1995) |
This study compared the quality and quantity
of interaction by deaf and hard of hearing children during stories
told in different language conditions. Twelve interactions during
ASL and stories were told to preschool children in English storytelling.
three conditions: using pure ASL, using pure and ASL structures.
All interactions of four profoundly deaf and hard of hearing
children, ages 4 and 5, were coded. All children had been in
a preschool program that used SEE II but had regular storytelling
in ASL. The results indicate that children participated more
and initiated more interactions during story conditions that
were either pure ASL or contained ASL signing. In addition,
children referred to the book more often during the ASL condition.
In general, the data indicated that children might find stories
told using ASL more interesting or engaging. |
Schick, Brenda, and Gale, Elaine (1995).
Preschool deaf and hard of hearing students interactions during
ASL and English storytelling. American Annals of the Deaf, 140(4),
SEE II, and using SEE II with ASL features, 363-370. |
| Schleper (1995) |
Schleper examined the research on deaf parents
and deaf teachers when reading to deaf children, coupled with
his own observations, and identified 12 strategies commonly
used by deaf adults when reading to deaf children. The strategies
Schleper identified include: use American Sign Language; keep
both English and ASL visible; elaborate on the text; re-read
stories on a storytelling to story reading continuum; follow
the child's lead; adjust sign placement and style to fit story;
connect concepts to the real world; use attention maintenance
strategies; role play to extend concepts; use eye gaze to elicit
participation; provide a positive and reinforcing environment;
and expect the child to become literate. |
Schleper, David R. (1995). Reading to deaf
children: Learning from deaf adults. Perspectives in Education
and Deafness, 13(4), 4-8. |
| Schleper (1995) |
Schleper described the process he used to
read and re-read a story to his early elementary class. The
shared reading process he used involved reading a book over
and over again on successive days, inviting students to join
in and read along, having the students role play sections of
the story, creating new written versions of the story, and reading
the story independently. Observational evidence of students
written retellings suggested that the students learned the English
from the text while signing in ASL. |
Schleper, David R. (1995). Read it again and
again...and again. Perspectives in Education and Deafness, 14
(2), 16-19, 24. |
| Stewart, Bonkowski & Bennett (1990) |
Stewart and his colleagues examined variables
that may influence teachers ability to read books to deaf children.
They attempted to improve teachers ability to read stories to
deaf children during a four-year period with teachers in several
public school programs in the state of Michigan. The researchers
taught the teachers several strategies, including: making liberal
use of animated signing; overviewing selected vocabulary prior
to reading; reading the same book over and over again; associating
signs with print; reading at a comfortable pace; helping children
draw upon their own experiences to understand stories better;
allowing students opportunities to select the book they want
read to them; reading what is written; and translating stories
into ASL. The strategy instruction on strategies improved the
teachers ability to read to deaf children. |
Stewart, D., Bonkowski, N, and Bennett D.
(1990). Considerations & implications when reading stories
to young deaf children. Occasional Paper No. 13. East Lansing,
MI: Institute for Research in Teaching, MSU. |
| Van der Lem &Timmerman (1990) |
Van der Lem and Timmerman describe an intervention
program of the Dutch Foundation of the Deaf and Hearing for
hearing parents of deaf children. The program involved a picture
book reading course for parents of children between the ages
of 1 and 6. The course is designed to give parents insight on
the importance of reading to deaf children, teach parents various
strategies for successful picture book reading, and teach parents
how to tell stories in native sign language. Three typical parents
with 3-year-old children were examined through analysis of pre-
and post- videotaping of reading sessions. The analysis showed
improvement in the use of attention maintenance strategies by
the parents, increased proficiency of the parents in telling
stories in signs (such as use of signing space and shifting
body position for various characters), and improved interactions
between the parent and child (the parents became less controlling
and learned to follow their children's lead). |
Van der Lem, Truus, & Timmerman, Debora
(1990). Vollhaber, Tomas (eds.), "Joint picture book reading
in signs: An interaction process between parent and child."
In Prillwitz, Siegmund, and Vollhaber, Tomas (eds.), Sign Language
Research and Application: Proceedings on the International Congress,
Hamburg, March 23-25, 1990. Amsterdam: Signum Press. |
| Whitesell (1991) |
Whitesell studied the instructional practices
of a Deaf teacher as she read stories with a group of kindergarten
children. This teacher had a reputation of producing good readers,
children who enjoyed reading and knew reading was a sense-making
process. She expected the children to become literate. An examination
of this teacher's efforts showed that she was modeling at least
4 types of literate behavior: (1) how to connect events within
stories to events in one's own life and to one's knowledge of
the world; (2) how to react to and talk about what is read;
(3) how to use all information available in the text to construct
meaning; and (4) how to translate print into its signed equivalent.
|
Whitesell, K. M. (1991). Reading between the
lines: How one deaf teacher demonstrates the reading process.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati,
Cincinnati, OH. |
 top
|
