However this time I limited the number of sight words I taught to allow more time to teach the finger alphabet and finger spelling as a way to strengthen phonics skills. The Cal Poly Kindergarten students were soon reading simple sentences and stories as well as using finger spelling to help them blend sounds. The studies reviewed in this report discuss how students of all ages including those with disabilities can benefit from signing and fingerspelling when learning to read. Signs can be used as a highly effective teaching tool for students who do not respond to traditional instructional methods as well as be part of a regular reading program for an entire class. A reading program that includes the use of signs has the added advantage of bringing a kinesthetic dimension to learning as well as making learning fun.
Students enjoy the physical involvement that signing brings.
Manual Communication as an Alternative Mode of Language Instruction for Children with Severe Reading Disabilities. Early Letter Recognition, Letter Naming and Reading Skills in a Signing and Speaking Child. Sign Language Studies, 271-289. Using Sign Language For Teaching Sight Words. Teaching Exceptional Children.