10 Things You Should Know about Teaching Deaf Students Text Comprehension Strategies

1. Dr. Susan Easterbrooks Professor, GSUDr. Nanci Scheetz Professor, VSU 10 Things You Should Know about Teaching Deaf Students Text Comprehension Strategies

2. Learning to read poses unique challenges to students with hearing loss. The primary challenge is that we cannot assume they have the background knowledge or the language skills that most students bring to the reading process. Text comprehension strategies allow us to help students bridge between language they understand and language they do not understand.

3. I. Instruction in grammar (underlying syntax and morphology) is as important as vocabulary instruction for children with hearing loss. • Vocabulary knowledge is a necessary precursor to learning to read, but it is not sufficient to move reading past the late second/early third grade. • Most 8-10 year old children who are deaf are still struggling to learn to comprehend information that is couched in basic sentence patterns. • 2nd grade reading matter contains compound and complex sentence structures. 3rd grade reading matter contains every known grammatical structure.

4. Here are some examples of the way Sally’s uses language. Sally is in the 2nd grade and has a moderately severe hearing loss. Her language is typical of children with this amount of hearing. She communicates through speaking and listening and benefits from some sign support. She playing with new girl. Jess is playin with new in park. Mouse climb up. She stare boy. Why? Because loose tooth. He eatin carrot try get loose tooth out. The boy fell and hurt elbow. The mouse love strawberry fruit. The boy sad drop break beautiful flower glass. What do you notice about this language sample? -Is it typical for 2nd graders? -If not, at what age would you expect this kind of language? -Does she use compound sentences? -Does she use complex sentences? - Does she use compound-complex sentences?

5. Now compare Sally’s grammar with the grammar from the following 2nd grade level story, “Tony’s Bread,” by Tommie dePaola. • One day he would have a bakery of his own in Milano and become the most famous baker in all of Northern Italy. • “Now that she is old enough to marry, Tony thinks that no man is good enough for his Serafina,” the three sisters whispered to each other. • Day after day he experimented until he had mixed the lightest, richest dough with as many raisins and as much candied fruit as he could put into it. What do you notice about this language that would make it difficult for Sally to understand? You could teach her the necessary words, but that would not be sufficient for her understanding.

6. Sally’s sentences are about 5 to 6 words in length on average. She will likely break up the sentence below as shown. This will influence her ability to understand the sentence. “Now that she is old enough to marry, Tony thinks that no man is goodenough for his Serafina,” the three sisters whispered to each other. QuestionLikely answer What does Tony think? No man is good. What did the three sisters say? Whisper to each other. What does Tony think about Serafina? She have enough. As stated earlier, vocabulary is necessary but it is not sufficient when trying to help a child with a hearing loss learn to read.

7. II. If the student does not understand the underlying grammar, this poses problems in interpreting sentence-level meaning. Consider the following sentences: Which sentences go with which picture? a. The boy kisses the girl. e. The tree hit the car. b. The girl kisses the boy. f. The car hit the tree. c. The boy is kissed by the girl. g. The tree was hit by the car. d. The girl is kissed by the boy. h. The car was hit by the tree. 1 2 3 4

8. Deaf students tend to retain surface order of sentences, so they would might say that the following sentences mean the same thing: The car hit the tree. The car was hit by the tree.

9. III. The vocabulary and grammar challenges in a book need to be within the student’s Zone of Proximal Development or they will not understand the text. Zone of proximal development (ZPD) from the perspective of students with hearing loss must include: • Vocabulary • Grammar If the reading matter we are giving the student is not within his ZPD, then he or she must apply text comprehension strategies to discern meaning.

10. IV. Text comprehension strategies are metacognitive tools. Metacognitive tools provide students with a series of steps they can go through to construct meaning from print. (Teaching a child to fish.) Some of the strategies are for teachers to use when instructing students in the use of strategies. Some of the strategies are for students to use when they are reading. Strategies included are useful with decoding, comprehension, and fluency.

11. Steps for teaching a strategy • Choose an authentic strategy • Choose material that supports the strategy • Demonstrate its use • Guide its use (direct instruction guided instruction with feedback independent use) • Practice and reinforce its use

12. V. Teach strategies to use before reading • Preteach/prelearn vocabulary and grammar in the text • Heavy use of visual organizers; co-teaching support from TOD • Develop sight words for preteaching • Activate prior knowledge • Use anticipation guides • Teach various purposes for reading • Narrative, persuasion, expository, skimming and summarizing • Discuss questions presented at the end of chapters, if available.

13. Observe, review, and discuss pictures and captions to aid comprehension • Teach prediction and inference based on activation of prior knowledge Teach prediction of main idea • Teach extemporaneous summarizing skills • Teach how to develop and use self-assessment inventories • Teach key “do not” strategies Do not start reading without thinking about the subject Do not start reading without knowing why you are reading Do not ignore pictures, titles, captions, and any other visual indicators on the pages that will help you

14. VI. Teach strategies to use during reading; reading must make sense. • Revising prediction and inference (DRTA, QAR, ReQuest) as you proceed. What will happen next? Was your prediction right or wrong? • Making connections- relating what you are reading to what you already know • Asking questions that will need to be answered (SQ3R) • Searching for information segments that match questions asked • Using knowledge of story structure and themes

15. Activating mental imagery based on prior knowledge, visual cues, and information accumulated from the text- visualization • Making inferences • Using summarization skills • Using Self-Monitoring of Comprehension (clarifying misunderstandings) • Always stopping to use “clean up” or “fix up” strategies when comprehension lags.

16. Using decoding skills • Using prediction logs • Using graphic organizers • Story maps, diagrams, character charts, advance organizers, etc. • Asking for help • Applying knowledge of text organization • Expository and narrative text have different structures

17. Seeking proof of fact versus opinion • Monitoring fluency when reading out loud • Remembering your Do Nots • Do not continue reading if you do not understand what you have just read • Do not forget to use your strategies • Do not hesitate to ask for help

18. VII. Teach strategies to use after finishing the material. • Deciding if you have achieved your goals. • Retelling • Using self-evaluation of comprehension • Summarizing main ideas and important points • Thinking about what made your prediction good or bad • Extending your knowledge with outside sources • Relating what you read to your real life • Remembering your Do Nots…. • Do not pretend you understood if you don’t.

19. VIII. Read to students with hearing loss Because students with hearing loss are so delayed in language, often the parents and caregivers have not read to them as much as parents of children who can hear. Reading to (storytelling) and with (shared reading) students with hearing loss is an important way to increase vocabulary and grammar knowledge. After 3rd grade vocabulary develops because we read. Students with hearing loss do not read as much as students who can hear, so their vocabularies become even more limited. Reading to and with students also improves their knowledge base. As a general rule of thumb, read at least two more books to or with students on any subject they are reading for class.

20. IX. Re-reading is an effective way to improve a student’s text comprehension. • Repeated readings of stories help students master vocabulary and grammar and help improve text comprehension • Dowhower, Herman, Knupp, Koskinen, Larking, O'Shea, Rashotte, Richek • Read at least 4 times • 1stRead the story to the student. Ask if the student has any questions • 2ndStudent reads the story and focuses on asking the teacher questions about words and concepts not known • 3rdTeacher reads the story and checks comprehension on all figurative language (especially verb and other idioms, metaphors, similes) and passages requiring inferences • 4thStudent reads the story to himself or herself and teacher asks comprehension questions at the end

21. X. Consider programs such as “Read for Real” for middle grades and older students who are struggling readers. • http://www.zaner-bloser.com/html/RDgen.html • This program was designed for older struggling readers to help them… • develop and demonstrate comprehension skills through guided instruction in reading strategies • take ownership of new vocabulary by providing cues and clues for unlocking word meaning • gain independence in accessing information • improve test scores

22. Instruction in grammar (underlying syntax and morphology) is as important as vocabulary instruction for children with hearing loss. • If the student does not understand the underlying grammar, this poses problems in interpreting sentence-level meaning. • The vocabulary and grammar challenges in a book need to be within the student’s Zone of Proximal Development or they will not understand the text. • Text comprehension strategies are metacognitive tools. • Teach strategies to use before reading.

23. VI. Teach strategies to use during reading; reading must make sense. VII. Teach strategies to use after finishing the material. VIII. Read to students with hearing loss IX. Re-reading is an effective way to improve a student’s text comprehension. X. Consider programs such as “Read for Real” for middle grades and older students who are struggling readers.