The bear is the favorite animal of J. Lee Leason and Sara Baird while Taylor Gleichman and Kai McKisson liked learning about how bats sleep upside down.

Sign language has been described as a language of hand shapes, facial expressions and movements used as a form of communication, and 20 Pre-K students spend 15 minutes each Tuesday and Thursday morning learning to sign.

It’s one of two new classes helping elementary students communicate better. The other class is “Communication Station,” a class taught to each of the five third-grade classes.

So far the Pre-K students have learned their colors, numbers, A,B,Cs and names of animals. Last week they gave their first all-school performance signing the “Days of the Week” song.

“They have learned to sign the ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear’ book, and they love to play Bear Bingo,” speech pathologist Jenni Hoffman said.

When Hoffman and Pre-K teacher Beth Scott found they were teaching a student with a hearing impairment, it was only natural to talk about how students learn.

“We thought that teaching sign language to the students would help them communicate with him and others all the way through school,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman learned that sign language can help with reading, vocabulary and language skills while working on her advanced degree in speech language pathology at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Sign language also helps children who can hear build synapses in both sides of the brain, and these synapses increase overall learning ability.

Using sign language and English in tandem provides a much richer language base for brain activity and development.

Hoffman and Anne Marshall also teach “Communication Station” to each of the five third-grade classes.

“In Communication Station we teach all types of communicating skills including listening, turn taking, observation and social skills,” Hoffman said.

Third-grader Hanna Barton looks forward to Communication Station each week.

“My mom, (Cynthia Barton) is a teacher here, and she has two foreign students in her class, and they can’t speak English very well,” Barton said.

“I helped Mom by teaching her about body language and how it helps us learn to communicate with others, and I told her how encouraging words can help other students learn.”

By Patty Miller
http://www.edmondsun.com/schools/local_story_072173329.html