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Students with hearing loss or hearing-impaired students are often at risk of having social challenges and not being able to fit in with the rest of the group. They are intelligent and can study just like any other student, however they struggle with many issues related to language and communication. Many of the needed communication skills are language-based. The following are types of activities for the hearing impaired that help a student build up language, foster communication and feel included in the classroom.
Classroom Responsibilities
Give students with hearing loss or hearing impairment responsibilities in the classroom, like cleaning the board. These responsibilities will make them feel valued and important and help them gain confidence in the classroom.
Arts and Crafts
Hearing-impaired children can do basic art activities like any other, think of cutting, drawing, finger painting etc., to promote their creativity and expression. To use it as a language activity, have children ask each other questions about what art materials they are using and what they will be using it for. In the end children have a fascinating art project, while practicing their vocabulary and language along the way.
Arts and Crafts (Emotions)
Sometimes students with a hearing impairment have difficulty expressing themselves. Have students create posters with different emotions in each section. Let them fill each section with pictures from magazines expressing that emotion. This will help teaching hearing-impaired students to portray and read emotions in social settings.
Music
Students with hearing loss miss out on hearing music and appreciating and enjoying it. Some might think teaching students with hearing loss is useless, however they are able to learn how to understand vibrations. Help them by demonstrating how to feel vibrations and follow the rhythm. Use drums or other instruments with vibrations for activities, allow them to feel and play with those instruments.
Role Play
Activities for students where they act and pretend can help them with language and listening and prepare them for actual experiences like it. An example of a role play activity could be at a restaurant, students get to practice ordering from the menu and the roles could even be switched as to experience different roles. Students will practice vocabulary and language. Another fun activity is charades, students are able to practice reading non-verbal communication skills. The game of charades can have all kinds of different themes, from movies to emotions.
Story Time
Story time activities should include short stories with pictures and only a few words per page. This is a great way to develop literacy skills in students with hearing loss. Read the words and sign them during the story, let students sign some words together with you. Students enjoy learning and practicing signs. Use the story to talk about other issues related to the topic of the story and allow the students to explore and look at the books that have been read during story time at their own pace.
Paired Activities
Hearing-impaired students struggle with communication skills and find it difficult to work with their peers. Make paired activities more comfortable for the hearing-impaired student by starting with simple and more structured activities that require the sharing of materials. Afterwards, start to slowly work into unstructured activities that would require communication. This works for any type of activity and will help the student develop their communication skills.
Find more language activities for students with hearing loss at https://professionals.cid.edu/five-language-activities-children-hearing-loss-age-language-level/
