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After a new student joins midyear, the article describes daily routines that combine English and ASL for math and language arts, plus a socialization-first approach. It details how a full kindergarten class was taught ASL, how the district later added a full-time ASL DLI teacher, and how ASL games support communication and language development.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/odyssey-dual-language-immersion-program-creates-a-language-rich-environment-for-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-students/580599/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/odyssey-dual-language-immersion-program-creates-a-language-rich-environment-for-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-students/580599.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Miles","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-22","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":8},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What triggers the start or expansion of the ASL DLI approach described in the article?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The program begins when four deaf kindergarteners enter the school in the same year, prompting teachers to plan a way to differentiate instruction and eventually teach ASL to the whole kindergarten class. Later, the district hires the first full-time ASL DLI teacher to deepen implementation.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the program support socialization for deaf and hard of hearing students?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The author explains that deaf and hard of hearing students often face limited opportunities for social and emotional learning with peers. The program’s first focus is socialization, using ASL access and shared classroom activities to build interaction.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What role do ASL games play in student learning?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"ASL games make learning enjoyable and provide hearing students with early ways to connect even before they know many signs. Activities like The Elephant Game and other classroom favorites help students practice ASL and language skills through structured play.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},580599,1792662278,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":8,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":19,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":52},13056703019404,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","Rob Hammel, MS, is the proud parent of a deaf child. He teaches in the American Sign Language Dual Language Immersion program at OB Gates Elementary in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Hammel received his master’s degree in special education, with a concentration in deaf studies, from Radford University in Virginia. He welcomes questions and comments about this article at rhammel23@ [gmail.com](gmail.com).  \nODYSSEY  \nDual Language Immersion Program  \nCreates a Language-Rich Environment for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students  \nBy Rob Hammel  \nIn October 2023, a new deaf student,“Zuri,”showed up in my second grade classroom. This often happens. Parents move into and out of the district for work, and it is common to get a new student in the middle of the year without warning. Zuri’s eyes were wide when she came into the classroom, and she looked scared. Who were all these hearing children, and what were they doing? Who were these hearing adults, and what were they saying? Was she doing the right thing? She froze.  \nI waved Zuri over to our table, where I was about to start a small group. I told my hearing students that Zuri was new, and she would be joining our group on Fridays. One of the hearing girls immediately introduced herself in American Sign Language (ASL).“HELLO! MY NAME \\#ALLISON,” she signed excitedly. Zuri visibly relaxed. Her shoulders let go of some of the tension from this new place and all the new people. She smiled, waved back to Allison, and sat down on a stool. I started the group, and we discussed ways to use ASL classifiers to describe how frogs jump. Zuri did not know it yet, but she had just joined the only Dual Language Immersion (DLI) program for ASL in the United States. At OB Gates Elementary, just outside of Richmond, Virginia, we teach math and language arts in both English and ASL at the same time. We have found that we can create a language-rich environment for both our deaf/hard of hearing students and our hearing students without sacrificing content or instructional time.  \nPhotos courtesy of Rob Hammel  \n2024  \nLeft: Hammel works with two deaf students on basic handshapes with a group of third and fourth graders.  \nSetting Up a DLI Program  \nFive years ago, OB Gates had four deaf kindergartners start at our school in the same year. We usually have one, sometimes two, but four was unprecedented. As the teacher of the deaf and the classroom teacher began to plan, the task of differentiating the instruction for these four students, all with different language needs, seemed daunting, if not impossible. They came up with a clever solution: teach the entire kindergarten class ASL. They realized they could conduct calendar time and math instruction in ASL for the entire class. These are new concepts for almost all kindergartners, so teaching them in a foreign language would not be that much more challenging than teaching math in their first language. Atthe same time, our principal was working on a DLI program for Chinese. Everyone combined their ideas, and our ASL DLI program was born.  \nTwo years later, the district hired me as their first full-time ASL DLI teacher. I had worked as an interpreter in the county for more than five years. I also hold a master’s degree in deaf education from Radford University. I knew that one of the biggest challenges deaf and hard of hearing students face in a mainstream school is a lack of opportunities for social and emotional learning with their peers. They also face a general lack of exposure to language itself. While hearing students overhear an abundance of information every day, deaf and hard of hearing children wait for us to teach them what they need to  \nknow. I had seen that turmoil of isolation for deaf and hard of hearing students play out many times in my role as an interpreter. We all agreed that the first focus of our program had to be socialization.  \nGames in ASL Make Learning Fun  \nThe main goal for ASL DLI at OB Gates is for our hearing students and de","cbCaiom8SaP3DKOc","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiom8SaP3DKOc","pdf",478314,"English","# Setting Up a DLI Program\n## Games in ASL Make Learning Fun","[{\"question\":\"What triggers the start or expansion of the ASL DLI approach described in the article?\",\"answer\":\"The program begins when four deaf kindergarteners enter the school in the same year, prompting teachers to plan a way to differentiate instruction and eventually teach ASL to the whole kindergarten class. Later, the district hires the first full-time ASL DLI teacher to deepen implementation.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the program support socialization for deaf and hard of hearing students?\",\"answer\":\"The author explains that deaf and hard of hearing students often face limited opportunities for social and emotional learning with peers. The program’s first focus is socialization, using ASL access and shared classroom activities to build interaction.\"},{\"question\":\"What role do ASL games play in student learning?\",\"answer\":\"ASL games make learning enjoyable and provide hearing students with early ways to connect even before they know many signs. Activities like The Elephant Game and other classroom favorites help students practice ASL and language skills through structured play.\"}]","ODYSSEY - Dual Language Immersion Program - Creates a Language-Rich Environment for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students | PDF",1792037924]