By Jillian Morency, Teacher of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing
With the ever-evolving and expanding entertainment options available to children today, it may be easy to overlook the option of the good old-fashioned traditional story time. While tablets, videos and gaming may appear to hold the attention of children longer, nothing can quite replace the benefits of frequent reading with an adult. This is especially true for our deaf and hard-of-hearing students with hearing aids and cochlear implants.
Taking extra time to read aloud with our students provides a unique opportunity to model diverse language structures that they may not regularly be exposed to in basic conversation, tv, games etc. Reading exposes students to flowery language structures, figurative language, a wider range of vocabulary and even encourages higher level thought processes, such as critical thinking, problem solving and imagination. Children often miss out on these benefits when their main focus is participating in day-to-day routines. Reading with an adult is a chance to step out of those routines and the passive engagement of other popular activities. It is an opportunity for students to interact with a text, ask questions, make predictions and connect.
Students with hearing loss often require more direct instruction in listening, reading and vocabulary development and reading is such a fun way to address all these areas. Additionally, listening to a story, often accompanied by illustrations, helps a child to expand their auditory memory and auditory comprehension skills. It is also a great way to expand their attention span for auditory tasks. Many of our kiddos are tempted to “check out” during extended listening tasks and lectures and to assume or “fill in the blanks” themselves. Reading a story that they are truly interested in will help to keep them engaged for longer durations while listening. This also benefits older students! Let the child select the book, help them make real life connections, and encourage them to re-enact scenes from the book. The options are endless!
When I was studying to be a Teacher of the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, something that truly stuck with me was the recommendation to “prescribe” the reading of up to 100 picture books a week to each parent of a young child who was recently amplified. While this may seem overwhelming and/or excessive as children get older, schedules grow tighter and daily demands pile up, it is important to remember the many benefits of “feeding” diverse language and stories into minds that are “hungry” for this information. While we may not be able to read 100 books a week at school, we can do our best to incorporate reading opportunities into our everyday routines. Even if we are only able to read aloud once per week, we can make it as engaging, thought-provoking and fun as possible to encourage our children to want to read at home.
With the holiday break approaching, please consider assigning a reading goal for students to complete at home. There are many options to make this a fun activity including rewards for most books or pages read. Rewards don’t have to be pricey or tangible but might include extra free time, exciting classroom responsibilities or a story-share party where kids can share about or dress like a favorite book character. Nowadays, we do often have to get creative to promote reading, but the benefits are everlasting for ALL of our students!