ABSTRACT
This chapter explains about problems which deaf or hearing impaired children may experience in the Literacy Hour. It looks at some classroom strategies to assist the teacher in including these children within the Literacy Hour. The chapter presents particular issues for sign bilingual learners. Younger children, who are still acquiring their first language, need to concentrate on using British Sign Language (BSL) to access early reading skills. This should be provided by deaf adults who are native users of BSL. The most important point to bear in mind is that new vocabulary has to be explained and specifically taught. The deaf child does not learn language from hearing it. As pupils start to acquire communication skills in BSL it is important to focus on the differences in language structure, the different order of words and the complexities of using the same signs to represent different words.
