Process and Product: Creating Stories With Deaf Students

Abstract

This article describes the implementation of one element of an adapted language arts curriculum for Deaf students in a bilingual (American Sign Language and English) educational setting. It examines the implementation of writing workshops in three elementary classrooms in a school for Deaf students. The typical steps of preparing/planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing were carried out by all students in both languages to create stories and produce final products in both videotaped American Sign Language and written English. The effective practice of writing workshop was adapted to meet the learning needs of Deaf students by including visual processing, meaning-based teaching strategies, and bilingual methods. By having opportunities to create and revise stories in their first language (ASL), students experienced an increased sense of ownership of their work and developed some of the metalinguistic skills that are essential to becoming effective writers.