Gallaudet University Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center Becoming Bilingual: Facilitating English Literacy Development Using ASL in PreSchool Writing Development

About the Authors Introduction Emerging Literacy Metalinguistic Awareness Shared Storybook Experiences Writing Development Conclusion References Sharing Ideas Home Page

Although this section addresses writing development, it is our position that reading and writing develop in tandem. Therefore, any discussion of writing development, especially at the preschool level, will also at times include reading. We can facilitate our children's emerging knowledge of print in terms of writing in several ways. First, we need to provide them with a risk-free environment where they know that their efforts will be accepted and valued. Developing a positive attitude towards their ability to draw and write is the first step towards becoming a reader/writer. We have found that most children between two and five years old enjoy drawing and writing to some degree, especially if they are showered with positive reinforcement for their efforts. When working with very young or reluctant drawers/writers, we have been known to make quite a fuss over the smallest of scribbles. In the words of Lucy Calkins (1986) "we celebrate what the child can do" (p.36). Next, our classrooms should be rich with all ways that encourage exploration of print, including books, environmental print and writing materials. Research with young hearing children suggests that children perform better on tests of reading achievement when they have been exposed to an abundance of functional print in their classroom environment (Taylor, Blum & Logsdon, 1986). Even our youngest children notice letters and words on bulletin boards, charts and signs. These are golden opportunities to connect their observations with fingerspelled letters or words, or to connect them with an ASL explanation. Case studies of the literacy learning of both hearing and deaf preschoolers provide evidence that the first letters and words they learn come from meaningful environmental print and in familiar persons' names (Baghban, 1984; Ewoldt & Saulnier, 1992; Lass, 1982; Maxwell, 1984; Rottenberg & Searfoss, 1993). In their study of the free writing of deaf kindergartners, Andrews and Gonzales (1991) found that the children's names as well as those of their classmates became some of the first sight words they learned. Some of the two, three and four year olds in Ms. Erting's class this year can already identify their names in print as well as those of their classmates while others are just beginning to develop this awareness. Third, daily writing time should be set up as a social experience, where praise, comments and questions about the writing are commonplace. Research reveals that both hearing and deaf children can learn from one another as they interact about reading and writing (Lamme & Childers, 1983; Kamii & Randazzo, 1985; Long & Bulgarella, 1985; Williams, 1993). Facilitative rather than directive interactions used by the teacher in this context have been linked to more mature written products (Hoffman, 1987). Ms. Erting has noticed that when the children and the teacher sit together during writing time, the interaction and modeling that can occur often facilitates a better quality product than the child would produce if sitting alone. Often the younger or less experienced writers in the class will solicit assistance from or imitate the writing of their more skilled peers (Williams, 1993). We have seen this happen with children as young as two years old. Older preschool children can work together on a project, pooling their knowledge and discussing their writing. The teacher can also take advantage of the social nature of the writing time by making comments on or asking questions about the children's writing in order to facilitate the child's understanding that the marks on the paper have the power to convey meaning (Calkins, 1986). When appropriate, some of this interaction can be added to the child's work in print form. It is within these types of interactive experiences that direct links can be made between the language of communication, ASL, and the language of print, English. Developing an early sense of authorship is another part of preschool writing development (Williams, 1993). When children view themselves as authors, they are more willing to participate in the writing process and they quickly learn more conventions of written English (Calkins, 1986). We publish our students' writing as soon as possible in order to help develop their growing understanding that their writing is important and that they, too, can participate in writing stories and books. In their earliest form, the children's books may consist of the mounted drawing/writing of each child which has been laminated, clipped together with metal rings and displayed in the class book area. Later, they may be illustrated dictation that was recorded during show-and-tell or language experience activities. These books are quite popular and are the ones which are chosen most often during free reading time because they are directly linked to the children's experiences. As a follow-up to the storysharing experience involving a big book about a mouse and a mole cleaning their house, Ms. Pfau suggested that her class make their own big book based on the story. The children responded with enthusiasm and the project was launched. It began with a planning discussion. They collaboratively decided who would illustrate which rooms in the house. Each child drew two pages; one showing the dirty room, the other showing the clean room. The last few pages were done as a cooperative learning activity in groups of two. The whole group decided what to draw on the cover. They discussed all of the drawings in terms of adding text; then the children were encouraged to add text to their pictures. One girl included the words 'no, no' in her writing. The others saw what she had done and asked her for help. In an effort to facilitate risk taking, Ms. Pfau encouraged them all to try, emphasizing that this was not a right or wrong situation. All the writing was accepted. The above example is full of ways that the teacher helped the children make connections between ASL and English print. First, the children began to focus on the print of the book when they added text to their own book. They used the text as a model for their own writing. When the children got stalled in their writing, they were able to consult the teacher as well as each other for explanations and help. Second, their book was shared and kept in the book area of the classroom with other valued books, and was available to them whenever they wanted to read their work. It contributed to their growing sense of authorship and added to their confidence about writing. Finally, the book was of high interest to the students because they were able to discuss it (through ASL) and relate it to their own knowledge and life experiences, reinforcing the concept that books hold meaning for them. The most striking aspect of this project was the enthusiasm with which the children approached the task. They were excited and eager to participate! This positive attitude is vital if our students are to become successful readers and writers of English. One area for research in the area of writing that is of particular interest to us is related to visual attention. Both writing and signing require visual attention. When a child is writing, it is not possible to make comments on the written product. Hearing children are sometimes able to listen to instruction encouragement while still maintaining attention to the writing. Deaf children obviously cannot. Some young deaf children are very skilled at controlling their visual attention and are able to move between tasks (i.e. writing and watching signing). It is our experience, however, that many are not. There is a need for longitudinal classroom research that documents the development of visual attention for deaf children of all backgrounds so that we can better understand the appropriateness of the demands we are making on the children in this area. We are also interested in documenting the kinds of interactions that occur among the children as well as with the teacher during writing time and how these interactions affect the children's writing.

Contact Sidney Lasry with comments or suggestions about this web page. Last modified September 23, 1997 Copyright © 1997 All Rights Reserved Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center Gallaudet University 800 Florida Ave. NE Washington, DC 20002-3695