| SignWriting List Archive 1 October 1997 - May 1998 |
January 22, 1998
MESSAGE TO THE SIGNWRITING EMAIL LIST
SUBJECT: "SignWriting Literacy Project"
Hello Everyone!
Thank you for your interest in our SIGNWRITING LITERACY PROJECT.
Please forgive my delay in responding to your many important
private email messages. I am answering each one in order of receipt,
and there are 29 messages waiting right now.
If you are interested in participating in the program described
below, please don't hesitate to write to me anyway (smile). Sooner
or later I will catch up and we will definitely communicate!
So, here is the information on the project for everyone to read...
THE SIGNWRITING LITERACY PROJECT 1998
The DAC received a small grant from the Legler Benbough Foundation
for the SIGNWRITING LITERACY PROJECT. With this funding, the
DAC will donate the SignWriting Children's Stories Series
and the Lessons In SignWriting Video Series & Booklets
to teachers of Deaf children. In return the teachers are required
to give the DAC documented feedback. The documentation will then
be published on the SignWriting Web Site for others to study.
It will also be sent to the Legler Benbough Foundation, which
requires a detailed report on the use of their funding. The documentation
may someday be used in published journals discussing the use
of SignWriting in Deaf education.
No money changes hands between the DAC and the teachers. It is
a free exchange of "materials and technical support in return
for written documentation". In total, we will need exactly
one letter and three "short reports" from the participating
teachers.
Here is how the program works. Imagine that you write and say
you want to participate. Then...
1. The DAC will send you (snail mail) the SignWriting
Information Packet, plus a written description of the SIGNWRITING
LITERACY PROJECT. We ask that you share this information with
your co-workers, the parents of your Deaf students, and school
administrators.
2. If you decide to participate in the program, we will
then need an official confirmation from you (a letter on stationery
with letterhead). Along with the confirmation, we will need "Short
Report 1" about the school, the teachers and the students
who will be involved (no names of course). This is important
as background information. We need to know who will be participating
in the program, the level of the student's literacy skills before
starting the project, and so forth. We will provide you with
specific questions to answer.
3. We will then send you the "Lessons In SignWriting
Video Series" which includes two "half-hour" instructional
videos and two booklets. You (and any other teachers or parents
involved) will need to view the videos in their entirety, to
feel comfortable with reading SignWriting. The videos will be
free. In return we request "Short Report 2" on how
you feel about the videos. Were they hard? Did you understand
the symbols? and so forth.
4. Next, we will send you free copies of three children's
stories: Goldilocks & The Three Bears, Humpty Dumpty
and Cinderella. Included with the stories will be written
technical support from the DAC. You are welcome to develop your
own way of teaching. That is important - you will have TOTAL
FREEDOM to teach as you choose. We are only here to help when
you need us. You are always welcome to contact us with questions
and suggestions.
5. When you have taught the Deaf children to read the
three Children's Stories, then we will need "Short Report
3" summarizing how the students responded, the opinions
of students, parents and teachers, what your teaching methods
were, and whether you feel SignWriting has value in Deaf education.
We are hoping to start a Teacher's Forum on the SignWriting
Web Site in 1998. Your "letter and three reports" will
be posted there, to give information to other teachers.
If this sounds good to you, then please write to me and we can
begin with Step 1 above.
I want to thank all of you for your interest and time. Hopefully,
as we work together, the information we collect will benefit
future classrooms :-)
Many good wishes -
Valerie