Teaching devices - effective communication
Remember that storytelling is tiring for deaf children who lip-read. And decoding fingerspelling is a strain on the eyes too.
Make sure that all the children have sufficient communication support to understand and participate in the storytelling experience. Will they need additional support from someone who knows BSL? What will you do if they’re not available?
Arrange the seating so your face and lips, the books, the illustrations and the text can be seen by everyone. You could put the book onto a slide show, an overhead projector or use Signed Stories on a big screen.
When you’re reading from a book, pause before turning the page, and remind deaf children where in the text you’re up to so they can follow that along with the signing. This helps reinforce the links between the words, pictures and the signs.
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Holding children's attentionUse action, gestures and facial expressions to hold your audience. Focus on the gripping parts of the story – the children who want more background information are sure to ask for it!
Try to maintain eye contact with every child through the story. Eye contact is an important part of communication in deaf culture as it shows respect and that someone is concentrating – and of course it also helps you identify those who are listening and those who need more stimulation.
Repetition – re-reading stories, chapters, or even pages – allows deaf children to pick up on more details, fill in gaps in information which they may have missed, learn new signs more quickly and improve memory.
Leave them wanting more – telling dramas in instalments will keep your audience wanting to come back for more!
Hearing children with deaf parentsTeachers also need to be aware of the unique challenges facing hearing children who have deaf parents. The communication system they use at home may be different to how they communicate with teachers and friends at school which may affect their language skills.
Adapt homework so deaf parents can take part – use visual material wherever possible. See our resources section for printable BSL resources.
Fingerspelling is an excellent and fun way to teach spelling to both deaf and hearing children. See ITV’s free interactive FingerSpeller (an education resource recommended by BECTA) at http://www.signpostbsl.com/learnBSL/fingerspeller.
