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children on the weekends.
A teacher in Pueblo, Colorado, w a s
the first to work with Shared Reading in
the classroom. She saw that the students
did not have the opportunity to see deaf
adults and realized that they would
benefit from the contact. She benefited
from the contact, too. A hearing
professional, the teacher was eager to
have the tutor, who was deaf, model how
to share printed stories and help her
improve her sign skills.
This teacher and tutor essentially
adapted the Shared Reading Project
model to fit the needs of the classroom.
The tutor read to the class and led a
discussion of the story. The students were
then involved in an activity related to the
s t o r y. The teacher sat down with the
tutor and together they worked on the
appropriate sign language to convey the
printed narrative that the tutor had just
conveyed to the students through the air.
Using the knowledge that she had
gleaned from the tutor, the teacher
would read the book to the class on
subsequent days. Now teacher and tutor
have worked together for three years. The
teacher is very positive about what she
and the students gain from the
experience.
This year we are expanding to five
other classrooms throughout Colorado
and continue to experiment with how to
best meet the needs of students and staff.
Students benefit from having a deaf tutor
come into the classroom and model the
use of adult American Sign Language.
They also enjoy meeting deaf adults and
watching stories unfold.
R e f e re n c e
Delk, L., & Weidekamp, L. (2001).
Shared Reading Project: Evaluating
implementation processes and family
o u t c o m e s . Washington, DC:
Gallaudet University, Laurent Clerc
National Deaf Education Center.
Starting With Assessment:
A Developmental Approach to Deaf Childre n ’s Literacy
Martha M. French
For Teachers/Psychologists/Administrators/Other Professionals
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