A Deaf Child Learns to Read

The purpose of the present study was to document the literacy development of a deaf child in a preschool setting. The child, Jeffrey (a pseudonym), was observed in his preschool deaf class for 9 months. Data came primarily from extensive field notes from observations of Jeffrey throughout the school day, with particular emphasis on his actions during literacy-related events. A secondary source of data was the transcript of an interview with Jeffrey's parents. Findings indicated that Jeffrey went through several levels as he learned to read: (a) focusing on pictures and illustrations in books, (b) reading familiar words in context, (c) focusing on sign print, (d) relating sign print to written English, and (e) reading written English independently.