- Chart
- Wheel
Activities that stimulate enjoyment of learning materials and appreciation for the usefulness of modalities motivate students to engage with magic of the words.
Understanding and using language is fundamental to developing language skills. Teachers need to provide rich opportunities for students to communicate in the classroom.
New learning builds upon what students already know. Exposing them to novel concepts and encouraging inquiry and exploration enhances their overall success.
Explicitly show students the features of language and how they serve as an essential introduction to language learning.
Young children need to be taught that the words they use can be broken into parts. Having this morphological awareness plays an essential role in fingerspelling out/sounding out and spelling words.
Understanding the relationships between fingerspelled/spoken sounds and letters in text is also essential for developing language and literacy, particularly in the early elementary years. Students best learn these letter-fingerspell or letter-sound connections through systematic and explicit teaching.
To be successful language users, students need to learn spelling patterns, which are the building blocks of most words, through word analysis and useful spelling strategies, and they also need to view/read and spell automatically those tricky, irregularly spelled words that they encounter frequently both in ASL and in English. Understanding word meanings is essential to high levels of comprehension and expression, so students need to have many opportunities in the classroom to see/hear and use signs/words to promote vocabulary growth.
It is not enough for students to identify words to understand the meaning in sign/text. They also need to recognize words effortlessly in order to focus their attention on the ideas. Teachers need to use effective strategies to promote the growth of fluency and expression.
To communicate effectively, students must be explicitly taught the mechanics of the language.
Exploring structures and genres in fiction and nonfiction signed productions/texts develops students’ understanding of the importance of purpose, audience, and message. Teachers must provide opportunities for students to sign/write for authentic purposes and teach them structures and genres to support those purposes.
Students must be aware when they do not understand what they perceive and problem solve to figure out the meaning. Teachers need to model and promote effective comprehension strategies.
Learning to express is a complex process involving sub-processes such as choice, organization of ideas, and foundational skills. Teachers must provide many engaging opportunities for students to learn to plan, organize, edit, and revise expressed compositions.
A positive and well-organized language-rich classroom environment is fundamental for student productivity and success in all subject areas. Teachers need to prepare activities and plan instructional time to build an engaging learning community in which students feel confident and are motivated to learn.
Assessing students’ language skills and understanding and providing them with formative feedback on a regular basis is essential to the promotion of student growth and learning. In addition to guiding the students, language assessment provides direction to the teacher for whole class and small group instruction.
Language Abilities and Approaches Wheels
Language Abilities and Approaches Wheels (LAAWs) are interactive tools designed to assess and foster a language-rich environment for deaf and hard of hearing students. The LAAWs are composed of:
6
3
2
- wheels
-
core language abilities:
signacy, literacy, and oracy. - pathways: comprehension (input) and composition (output).

COMPREHENSION
COMPREHENSION
COMPREHENSION
COMPOSITION
SIGNACYCOMPOSITION
LITERACYCOMPOSITION
ORACYCOMPREHENSION
COMPREHENSION
COMPREHENSION
COMPOSITION
SIGNACY













Collaborators | Researchers
Language Abilities and Approaches Wheels Development Team
Project Lead
Tammy Murphy Burns
Project Consultant
Tarja Lewis
PROJECT CONSULTANT
Heidi Burns
Language planning CONSULTANT
Stephen Nover
PROJECT ADVISOR
Barbara Robinson​
Project Advisor
Jill Radford
PROJECT DESIGNER
Matthew Lee Vita
Editor
Cat Valcourt-Pearce​​
Supported by the Team Members
Early Intervention Director, National Programs and Outreach
Sarah Honigfeld
Early Intervention Project Manager, National Programs and Outreach
Stacy Abrams
PreK-12 Project Manager, National Programs and Outreach
Lia Bengtson
Director, Monitoring, Evaluation and Research
Lori Lutz
Manager, Public Input and Research, Monitoring, Evaluation and Research
Amber Marchut
Project Manager, Monitoring,
Evaluation and Research
Susan Schatz
DISCLAIMER | This website and related documents are provided for informational purposes only. Individuals are advised to stay informed about any updates or changes in research terminology as progress is made in the field of Deaf Education. The terms included are meant to represent current research terminology. Out of respect for the creators and designers involved with this project, do not replicate or alter this content without written consent.
DISCLAIMER | This website and related documents are provided for informational purposes only. Individuals are advised to stay informed about any updates or changes in research terminology as progress is made in the field of Deaf Education. The terms included are meant to represent current research terminology. Out of respect for the creators and designers involved with this project, do not replicate or alter this content without written consent.
- Chart
- Wheel
Activities that stimulate enjoyment of learning materials and appreciation for the usefulness of modalities motivate students to engage with magic of the words.
Understanding and using language is fundamental to developing language skills. Teachers need to provide rich opportunities for students to communicate in the classroom.
New learning builds upon what students already know. Exposing them to novel concepts and encouraging inquiry and exploration enhances their overall success.
Explicitly show students the features of language and how they serve as an essential introduction to language learning.
Young children need to be taught that the words they use can be broken into parts. Having this morphological awareness plays an essential role in fingerspelling out/sounding out and spelling words.
Understanding the relationships between fingerspelled/spoken sounds and letters in text is also essential for developing language and literacy, particularly in the early elementary years. Students best learn these letter-fingerspell or letter-sound connections through systematic and explicit teaching.
To be successful language users, students need to learn spelling patterns, which are the building blocks of most words, through word analysis and useful spelling strategies, and they also need to view/read and spell automatically those tricky, irregularly spelled words that they encounter frequently both in ASL and in English. Understanding word meanings is essential to high levels of comprehension and expression, so students need to have many opportunities in the classroom to see/hear and use signs/words to promote vocabulary growth.
It is not enough for students to identify words to understand the meaning in sign/text. They also need to recognize words effortlessly in order to focus their attention on the ideas. Teachers need to use effective strategies to promote the growth of fluency and expression.
To communicate effectively, students must be explicitly taught the mechanics of the language.
Exploring structures and genres in fiction and nonfiction signed productions/texts develops students’ understanding of the importance of purpose, audience, and message. Teachers must provide opportunities for students to sign/write for authentic purposes and teach them structures and genres to support those purposes.
Students must be aware when they do not understand what they perceive and problem solve to figure out the meaning. Teachers need to model and promote effective comprehension strategies.
Learning to express is a complex process involving sub-processes such as choice, organization of ideas, and foundational skills. Teachers must provide many engaging opportunities for students to learn to plan, organize, edit, and revise expressed compositions.
A positive and well-organized language-rich classroom environment is fundamental for student productivity and success in all subject areas. Teachers need to prepare activities and plan instructional time to build an engaging learning community in which students feel confident and are motivated to learn.
Assessing students’ language skills and understanding and providing them with formative feedback on a regular basis is essential to the promotion of student growth and learning. In addition to guiding the students, language assessment provides direction to the teacher for whole class and small group instruction.
Language Abilities and Approaches Wheels
Language Abilities and Approaches Wheels (LAAWs) are interactive tools designed to assess and foster a language-rich environment for deaf and hard of hearing students. The LAAWs are composed of:
6
3
2
- wheels
-
core language abilities:
signacy, literacy, and oracy. - pathways: comprehension (input) and composition (output).

COMPREHENSION
COMPREHENSION
COMPREHENSION
COMPOSITION
SIGNACYCOMPOSITION
LITERACYCOMPOSITION
ORACYCOMPREHENSION
COMPREHENSION
COMPREHENSION
COMPOSITION
SIGNACY












