How do I read at home with my student and ensure that s/he is understanding? For deaf/hard of hearing students, this can be a challenge. Here are a few tips: 
 
1. Keep in mind that I have my students check out books that are at their independent reading level. This means they should be able to read them with no or minimal assistance.  
 
2. Have your child read to you. Students can sign every word, but have no idea what the sentences mean. Instead of signing each English word in order, have your child silently read a sentence, then put the sentence in ASL and sign what it means. This demonstrates reading comprehension rather than simply decoding English words. 
 
3. Encourage your student to use context clues. If the text has photos, illustrations, or diagrams, these give support to the text. If a student does not understand what a word means, encourage him/her to guess at the meaning, based on the sentences around the word. Also, encourage your student to use resources, such as a dictionary.  
 
Watch for more tips in the future.