Fingerspelling Our Way To Reading

The Fingerspelling Our Way to Reading (FOWR) program is an evidence-based, supplementary early literacy program for deaf and hard-of-hearing students who require an alternative approach to sound-based phonological awareness that supports the development of literacy skills.

The program provides valuable opportunities for young deaf children to decode words and strengthen print recognition through developing phonological awareness via fingerspelling.
Fingerspelling Our Way to Reading was developed by Professor Brenda Schick and her research team from the University of Colorado and was adapted for use in Australia in 2018 through a partnership with VDEI and the Queensland Department of Education. All USA resources have been translated from American Sign Language (ASL) into Australian Sign Language (Auslan).

Fingerspelling Our Way to Reading is an Australia-wide program, with lead trainers coordinating the implementation of the program and training of Teachers of the Deaf in each State. Training and accreditation by a lead trainer is required for all teachers wishing to implement the FOWR program.

There are two components of Fingerspelling Our Way to Reading:

• phonological fingerspelling

• reading comprehension.

The fingerspelling component of the program provides a pathway to decoding words and strengthening print recognition while the reading comprehension component provides a pathway for understanding connected English text through repeated opportunities to read target words in meaningful sentences.

Prior to implementing the Fingerspelling Our Way to Reading program, teachers are required to complete training via an online training module or a two-day face-to-face workshop, depending on the availability of Lead Trainers. All teaching materials and resources are housed in an online hub, hosted on VDEI’s Learning Management System. Access to the hub is provided to teachers who have successfully completed assessment tasks designed to demonstrate fidelity to the main teaching components of phonological fingerspelling and reading comprehension.

VDEI offers training sessions for the Fingerspelling Our Way to Reading program at various times during the year, depending on demand. Please check our website for details of future training sessions or email us at vdei@education.vic.gov.au(opens in a new window)

For more information about the Fingerspelling our Way to Reading program, the following online resources are available on our website: