Letters

Thank you so much for printing my letter about the burning of the library in Panajachel, Guatemala. The fire was a devastating blow to the people of Panajachel. It's astonishing to have so many friends of books and children coming to our aid from around the world. It's helping to heal the wounds - both inner and outer.

Our library staff has worked miracles. The morning after the fire, they were at work, looking for what could be salvaged (which turned out to be nothing), finding a temporary site for the new library and running a telethon that raised nearly $3,000 in five days. The people of Panajachel are very poor, but their spirit is tremendous.

The temporary library, in a borrowed classroom, now has over 3,000 books, thanks to U.S., European and local Guatemalan donors. It's sad to say so, but - even with only 3,000 books and 30 donated chairs, the library still ranks as one of the two or three best community libraries in the entire country.

The mayor of Panajachel recently began the construction of the new library. It will be finished in five to six months. We're still raising funds to replace books and furniture, but we know that our library will be recreated even better than before! Thanks for your help.

Ann Cameron Panajachel, Guatemala

If you 'd like to donate Spanish children's books to the Panajachel library, phone Teresa Mlawer at 212-343-6100. Large shipments can be sent to Jerry Holmes, Lake Atitlan Libraries, Inc., cIo Trans-- Cargo, 8060 N. W 71st St., Miami, FL 33166, 305-716-0990. Small shipments can be sent to Ann Cameron, c/o El Rancho, P.O. Box 526150, Miami, FL 33152. To make a cash donation for books or the rebuilding project, contact Teresa Cameron, Lake Atitlan Libraries, Inc., 449 Overlook Pass Rd., Hudson, WI 54106, or visit Ann Cameron's website at www.childrensbestbooks.com

FINGERSPELLING

I thought your readers might be interested to know how I use fingerspelling to bolster my spelling program for hearing children. Fingerspelling is an important part of the communication system for the deaf and hard of hearing community. There are 26 hand positions, each one of which identifies a letter of the alphabet. Just as a hearing person writes words using letters of the alphabet, the receiver of the American Sign Language manual alphabet "reads" the words which are spelled with hand positions.

A literary introduction. To introduce the children to fingerspelling, I make available many wonderful books. My First Book of Sign Language, by Joan Holub (Troll, 1996), The Handmade Alphabet, by Laura Rankin (Putnam, 1996) and I Have a Sister- My Sister is Deaf, by Jeanne Whitehouse Peterson (HarperCollins, 1994) are three books that offer an introduction to the language of the deaf and hard of hearing.

I spend several days reading the books aloud and discussing them in class. The following week, I begin to instruct the students in the American Sign Language alphabet. I teach the letters one at a time, reviewing the former letters daily. When they've mastered the individual letters of the sign language alphabet, we're ready to put letters together to spell words.

Names first. I use the children's first names as a starting point. Using a word pocket and their names printed on individual sentence strips, I place each student's name into the slotted pocket. We sit together in a semi-circle with the word pocket positioned in view of everyone. This visual aid helps all the students focus on the name we're spelling.

I sit next to the word pocket so the children can see my hand as I model the fingerspelling. As we form each letter with our fingers, we say the name of the letter aloud. This not only reinforces the fingerspelling, but also aids in remembering how to spell each name.

Weekly words. As students become more comfortable fingerspelling their names, we move on to fingerspelling our weekly spelling words. Students work in pairs, practicing at their own pace, taking turns giving and receiving the fingerspelling. They use our spelling word list as a guide.

As the school year progresses, I fingerspell spelling words from our earlier lists and the students are able to decipher them and spell them correctly.

I'm encouraged by the progress my students have made, and I've found that by including the teaching of fingerspelling into my spelling program, I have gained an additional method of reaching the kinesthetic learners in my class.

Nanette Avery Miami, FL