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Commitment to
Literacy
Hearing
impairment affects language development and language deficits affect the
development of reading ability. Thus, the task of reading is often a
challenge for children who are deaf.
Literacy may be the most important skill for children with hearing loss.
Literacy provides the foundation for academic success and helps children
with science, social studies and math. Teachers in the CID
preschool-kindergarten use best practices from the mainstream and from
auditory-oral deaf education to
foster the development of emerging literacy skills
in deaf children.
At CID, story time lessons are introduced in the nursery class at age 2 and daily pre-reading activities are introduced
in the pre-k at
age 3. Daily reading instruction starts by age 5. Teachers build skills in phonemic awareness, alphabet knowledge, print awareness
and comprehension. Our creative staff also makes a wide variety of
reading-related materials designed to meet the needs of children who are
deaf and hard of hearing. We also have teachers trained in using the SPIRE
program to help at-risk readers.
Reading and literature are also incorporated into the children's language
arts period. The focus is on comprehension, skills instruction and
high-quality children's literature. Literature helps stimulate language
comprehension, listening ability, literacy and cultural awareness.
Selections of fiction and nonfiction provide exposure to fables, folk tales,
adventure stories, fantasy, science fiction, biography and more.
CID teachers read to the children regularly and encourage parents to do the
same. We have exciting, language-rich learning activities and storytellers
and guests related to children's literature. We have reading incentive
programs and offer books to loan, books to buy, books for school and books for
home.
CID kids select reading as a free time activity at
home and at school. Their parents tell us how the literature program has
increased their child's interest in reading and has increased the quantity
of time their child spends reading. |
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