UC San Diego

Deaf children are a unique group of learners. They are second language learners who are other thought of as hearing children with a disability. They are not viewed as children who are members of a different cultural group. There is a need for Deaf children to develop their own natural language of American Sign Language. Research has provided adequate evidence that there must be a solid foundation in a child's first language in order to learn a second language. It is crucial for Deaf children to develop a solid foundation in ASL so they can learn English with ease. It is import to provide Deaf children with not only a solid academic foundation but also provide social development. By adapting Jeanne Gibb's Tribes (2001) curriculum, deaf students will have the opportunity to develop both academically and socially. The activities allow the students to explore their thoughts, feelings and ability to express themselves in both ASL and English. This also provides an arena for students to improve their writing and social skills. During the field testing of my Respectful Listening curriculum the students behaviors were observed and recorded on a daily basis using field notes, rubrics and students work. This information from field notes and student observation was analyzed and evaluated. The results of the field-testing showed the students benefited from the curriculum designed. I found that my Respectful Listening curriculum could be used in more than one grade level setting