Student+Activity+Page

American Sign Language 1

Student Activity Page

This page lists your assignments from December 6th through December 10th. The Web sites will provide you with valuable information for each assignment. Group projects and presentations are due on December 14th.



American Sign Language is about more than simply communicating with your hands. One must first understand the basic linguistic principals of the language. This begins with the study of the Five Parameters of ASL.
 * Monday: The Five Parameters of ASL and Other Linguistic Principals **


 * 1) Handshape
 * 2) Location
 * 3) Movement
 * 4) Palm Orientation
 * 5) Non-manual Markers

These "characteristics" of a sign are further explained in my Module 1 video.

Feel free to watch this video as often as you'd like. Once you are comfortable with the five parameters, visit one of the most helpful ASL websites around, ASLPro and search for three different signs in the video dictionaries. Print out the Five Parameters Document found on the Module 1 page. For each sign, fill in the five parameters. If the sign you chose does not meet a certain parameter, feel free to leave it blank. Further information (and examples) on this project can be found on the Module 1 page of this wiki.

Now that you've familiarized yourself with the 5 parameters of ASL, you are better suited to learn how to sign the alphabet and numbers in ASL. As with any language, learning the alphabet in ASL is all about practice and memorization. Sometimes it is easy to think of the alphabet as a "childlike" activity, but keep in mind: American Sign Language is not like English. There are many words that do not translate into signs. For these words, we must rely on fingerspelling. The same can be said for names and certain places. That being said, mastering the alphabet in ASL is the first of many exciting steps to learning a new language. By the end of this assignment, you will also be able to sign the numbers 0-10.
 * Tuesday: Fingerspelling and The Alphabet **

Refer to my @Module 2 videos. Again, you may watch these videos as many times as you feel the need to. Test yourself by signing each letter before I get to it in the video.

Once you feel comfortable, I'd like for you to follow this link to "Dr. Bill Vicars' American Sign Language Fingerspelling Practice." Here you will find a great practice tool. Try practicing first on the "medium" speed with "any" maximum number of letters. You can replay the fingerspelled word as many times as you need to before you submit an answer. This is not a graded assignment, but I will be testing each of you individually on both your fingerspelling and your ability to read fingerspelling by the end of class time today--so try your best!

<span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Before we continue on our journey of learning ASL, it is important to understand just what it means to be a Deaf person living in the United States. Follow this link to learn more about Deaf Culture and Community. Here you will find three very informational videos about Deaf culture. After watching all three videos, write a 1-2 page reflection paper on what you have learned. Then, I would like for you to make a short Powerpoint on Deaf Culture and Community (minimum of 5 slides). Feel free to conduct your own research on the subject!
 * <span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wednesday: The History of American Sign Language--Deaf Culture and Community **

<span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">You will present and share your findings on December 14th.


 * <span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thursday: ASL Musical Interpretations **

<span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Have you ever wondered how a Deaf or Hard of Hearing person can listen to and enjoy the same music as you and I can? Usually, they "feel" the music through vibrations but sometimes (like on the computer for example) there are no vibrations to feel. However, there are sign language students and speakers just like yourselves who take the time to interpret, sign, and record videos of different songs to share on sites like YouTube. Below is an example of a video that I made to a song by Bruno Mars called "Just The Way You Are."

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<span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Take this time in class to choose your own song. Make sure that you choose a song that you can access from the internet to play in the background of your video (i.e. on Youtube) as we will likely not have the song you are looking for in our class computer's music library. Research the lyrics online and spend 10-15 minutes interpreting the chorus. Continue practicing the chorus without music until you've memorized the signs. Before you are ready to record yourself signing the chorus, practice // with // the music playing in the background.

Now, open iMovie on your classroom laptop. From the file menu, select "New Project." MAKE SURE THAT THE ASPECT RATIO IS SET TO STANDARD AND NOT WIDESCREEN. I would prefer if you did not choose a theme. Once you've created your new project, click on the "open camera import window" icon on the lefthand side of iMovie. From here you will be able to record yourself signing to the chorus of your chosen song. Keep your internet browser open and begin the music. Record as often as you feel the need to. Once you've finished recording, you may edit your clip. If you are in need of assistance, iMovie has many helpful videos on how to do this in their "Help" section. After you have completed your project, rename it to "yourlastname_ASLsong." From the menu bar, click "Share" and "iTunes." Medium videos provide the best quality. Select "Publish."

Your video is now in our class iTunes playlist for your peers to see and for me to grade. Congratulations!


 * <span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Friday: ****<span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">ASL Number Story, Name Story, and ABC Story **

<span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">By now, you should be more comfortable with American Sign Language. You've learned about the 5 parameters, you've mastered the alphabet, the numbers 0-10, and maybe even a few signs from ASLpro. Today, I am going to introduce you to three different ASL story techniques: Number stories, name stories, and ABC stories. All three of these story techniques are very popular among the Deaf community and they are a fantastic way to practice your signing.

<span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Below is a video made by a friend of mine that exemplifies each very nicely. There are endless videos just like this one on Youtube so feel free to browse!

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<span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Your assignment for this weekend is to create your own story. You have the option of creating a similar video to the one assigned in class yesterday OR you may opt to present in front of the class instead. Each student must complete three stories--all of which are due on Monday for a grade. Best of luck!

<span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">This Sunday from 11AM-2PM, our local library is hosting it's bimonthly Deaf event: "Signing Stories" <span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The morning will begin with an hour of signing stories to the children who are in attendance, followed by lunch, and then later an hour-long presentation by a surprise guest speaker. <span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">I will be there the entire time. Should you choose to show up, you must find me to sign in an out. You will only receive credit if you stay for either an entire hour of signing stories or the entire hour for the special guest. A one-page reflection paper is due on Wednesday of next week for those of you who attend.
 * <span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">EXTRA CREDIT: **

<span style="color: #7d4a7d; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope to see you there!

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