SignShine Gives Back!

Last week I got an invitation to participate at the 3rd Annual Leimert Park Book Fair . What an honor! Leimert Park Book Fair's mission is promoting Literacy among underserved communities in Los Angeles.

Signing is also a great way to emphasize the content of the books you read with a child. If you sign when reading, you are constantly underlining the characters and action you are narrating, which deepens your child’s understanding of the books you and he read.

Research regarding signing with children shows that continuing to sign with speaking children actually acts as an effective tool for expanding kindergarteners’ receptive and expressive English vocabularies, and raises their emergent reading level, too. (Daniels, Marilyn, Dancing with Words: Signs for Hearing Children’s Literacy.)

SignShine™ Gives Back to the community:

Promoting Educational Literacy among underserved Los Angeles communities.
3rd Annual Leimert Park Book Fair
Saturday, June 6th, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Etel's performance: 11:30-12:00

We look forward to celebrate books with you.

Let the Sign Shine!
etel

Etel Leit, M.S.
Founder & Owner http://www.signshine.com/
Publisher http://www.babysignshine.com/

Case Study: integrating sign language into a preschool curriculum

Learning English as a Second Language: A Case Study of a Chinese Girl in an American Preschool
Several studies have shown that including sign language in play and activities with teachers' instruction in preschools helps young children retain information and provides a richer language base in their later life (Crawford, 2001; Daniels, 1994a, 1994b, 1996; Reynolds, 1995). For example, Daniels (1994a) found that integrating sign language into a preschool curriculum can help children gain receptive English vocabulary.

Crawford (2001) indicated that "preschoolers build vocabularies much faster when taught to identify words by sight, sound, and sign" (p. 30). Sign language enables young children to learn through movement and they respond with enthusiasm and enjoyment (Reynolds, 1995). Reynolds (1995) posits that "the greatest learning occurs when the tactile and kinesthetic channels are engaged or paired with the auditory and visual modalities" (p. 5). Thus, dynamic interactions between teachers and children can offer multiple ways for strengthening young children's language development through interaction and play, including sign language in preschools.

Chizuko Konishi. Childhood Education. Olney: 2007. Vol. 83, Iss. 5; pg. 267, 6 pgs
to read full text: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1295272511&sid=21&Fmt=3&clientId=58194&RQT=309&VName=PQD