Fingerspelling our Way to Reading Program

Phonological Fingerspelling and Reading Comprehension

Program Overview

The Victorian Deaf Education Institute (VDEI) is leading a national project to support the implementation of the Fingerspelling our Way to Reading (FOWTR) program in Australian schools.


The Fingerspelling our Way to Reading program is an evidence-based, supplementary early literacy program developed in the United States specifically for deaf and hard of hearing students who are not able to develop phonological awareness through listening to develop literacy skills. 

The Fingerspelling our Way to Reading program has two components:

  1. Phonological Fingerspelling
  2. Reading Comprehension

The national project commenced in 2018 and has involved:

  1.  A professional partnership between VDEI, the Queensland Department of Education and Professor Brenda Schick from the University of Colorado Boulder to adapt the Fingerspelling our Way to Reading program for use with Auslan
  2. The translation of program resources (Fingerspelling Our Way to Reading kits) from American Sign Language (ASL) to Australian Sign Language (Auslan).
  3. The selection of Lead Trainers from around Australia to support the implementation of the program in each State and Territory.
  4.  The development of a Train the Trainer model, whereby Lead Trainers are supported to upskill other educators to deliver the program in Australian schools.

Who is this page for?

Lead Trainers will access this page to obtain materials for the Fingerspelling Our to Reading program as necessary.

Accessing the FOWTR resources

FOWTR resources are accessible via the link below -

Lead Trainer Fingerspelling our Way to Reading

To access the content, please email fingerspelling@deafeducation.vic.edu.au for the password. 

When you log in you will see 5 folders:

  • Phonological Fingerspelling
  • Pre Standardised Test
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Tracking documents
  • Trainer files

Below is an outline of the various resources available within each folder.

PHONOLOGICAL FINGERSPELLING FOLDER

The Phonological Fingerspelling main folder contains 3 folders and 3 documents.

The folders are:

  • Entry level
  • Level 1A
  • Level 1B

The documents are:

  • Australian Fingerspelling Our Way to Reading Word List
  • Sample set of unit lesson plans
  • Teachers' Resource Guide

Each level (Entry, 1A, 1B) contains 6 folders:

  • End of year review
  • Level lesson plans
  • Module 1
  • Module 2
  • Module 3
  • Module 4

PRE STANDARDISED TEST

The Pre Standardised Test main folder contains 3 folders:

  • EOWPVT
  • Letter ID task
  • Schick FS Test in Auslan

EOWPVT contains 3 folders and 1 document

The folders are:

  • Acceptable signs
  • Example items
  • Signed prompts

The document is expressive one word acceptable signs Auslan

Letter ID task contains one documeny: Letter identification task

Schick FS Test in Auslan contains 3 documents and 1 mp4 file

The documents are:

  • Fingerspelling Abilities Additional Words PAT Protocol Auslan
  •  Fingerspelling Ability & Phonological Awareness Test Booklet
  •  Fingerspelling Ability Directs RCT Manual Auslan


READING COMPREHENSION FOLDER

The Reading comprehension main folder contains 3 folders:

  • Entry level
  • Level 1A
  • Level 1B

Each level contains 4 modules (modules 1, 2, 3 and 4)

Each Module (1, 2, 3, 4) at Each Level (Entry, 1A, 1B) contains 4 folders:

  • Unit 1
  • Unit 2
  • Unit 3 L 1-4
  • Unit 3 L 5-8

Each Unit (1 – 11) contains 3 folders:

  • Lesson Plans
  • PowerPoints
  • Printable materials

Unit 12 contains 1 folder:

  • Lesson Plans

Entry level Unit 7 in Module 3 and Unit 10 in Module 4 contain a folder called Assessment

Level 1A Unit 4 in Module 2, Unit 7 in Module 3 and Unit 10 in Module 4 contain a folder called Assessment

Level 1B Unit 4 in Module 2, Unit 7 in Module 3 and Unit 10 in Module 4 contain a folder called Assessment

Lesson Plans

Each Unit contains a lesson plan.

PowerPoints

Each Unit contains 1 PowerPoint. The PowerPoint contains 4 daily lessons.

Printable Materials

Each Unit contains:

  • Practice Story books
  • Supplemental Storybooks

Units may contain

  • Name cards
  • Practice sentences
  • Sentence strips
  • Character cards
  • Picture search
  • Bingo
  • Sentence + card match
  • Memory match
  • Practice adjectives
  • Reading vocabulary cards

Please review the attached 'Fingerspelling our Way to Reading Program - Phonological Fingerspelling and Reading Comprehension Documentation and Resources Summary' for a detailed outline of all resources.

Documentation and Resources Summary

TRACKING DOCUMENTS FOLDER

  • End of Year Review Assessment Marking Sheet
  • FOWTR Individual student Spreadsheet
  • Generic Pre and Post UNIT test collation sheet
  • Phonological Fingerspelling Unit Progress Notes template
  • School or State FOWTR Data Summary Spreadsheet

TRAINER FILES FOLDER

There are 2 files and 1 document. The files are:

  • Phonological Fingerspelling
  • Reading Comprehension

The file is an Overview and History of Fingerspelling Our Way to Reading Program from USA

Phonological Fingerspelling contains:

  • Fidelity Check Master Phonological Fingerspelling
  • Fingerspelling PD Part 1 Participants notes
  • Fingerspelling PD Part 1 Train the Trainer PPT with Nancy and Michelle's notes
  • Fingerspelling PD Part 2 Participants notes
  • Fingerspelling PD Part 2 Train the Trainer including Nancy and Michelle's notes
  • MB Train the Trainer TASK 1 answers

Reading Comprehension contains:

  • Fidelity Check for Reading Comprehension
  • Reading Comprehension PD 2019 Australia based on Nancy
  • Reading Comprehension Scope and Sequence All Levels

Questions/Queries:

If you have any questions/queries related to the FOWTR program, please send an email to - fingerspelling@deafeducation.vic.edu.au