Unit Lesson Plan
Sharon A. Bailey
George Mason University
EDCI 560: Methods of Teaching Foreign/World Languages
Professor: Dr. Marjorie Hall Haley
December 5, 2007
Teacher: Sharon A. Bailey
Grades: 11-12
Date: December 4, 2007
I.
Unit Lesson Plans
School: West Springfield High School
Language: American Sign Language
Number of Students: 28 Time: 90 minutes
Planning Phase
a. Identify Performance Objectives
i. Students will be able to participate in a sustained
conversation with an assigned prompt of making a
request, suggestion, or complaint.
ii. Students will be able to narrate the story “One Fine Day”
using frozen register.
iii. Students will be able to create a
presentation/commercial incorporating requests,
suggestions, and or complaints about health ailments.
b. Standards
National (ACTFL)
*Standard 1.1 Students engage in conversation, provide and
obtain information, express feelings, and emotions, and
exchange opinions.
*Standard 1.3 Students present information, concepts, and
ideas to an audience of listeners on a variety of topics.
*Standard 4.1 Students demonstrate understanding of the
nature of language through comparisons of the language
studied and their own.
Virginia State Modern Foreign Language Standards
MFLIII 1.1 Express own opinions.
MFLIII 1.2 Use level appropriate vocabulary and
structures to express ideals about events.
MFLIII 3.1 Identify main ideas and details when reading.
MFLIII 3.3 Understand and follow instructions
presented in consumer and informational materials in
ASL.
MFLIII 7.0 The student will reinforce and broaden
his/her knowledge of connections between ASL and other
subject areas.
MFLIII 10.0 The student will improve foreign language
skills and expand cultural understanding by accessing
information beyond the classroom setting for
recreational, educational, and occupational purpose.
Fairfax County Public Schools/Local
Local standards are aligned with state and national
standards.
Day 1: Health and Ailments
II.
Teaching Phase
a. Preparation:
i. Warm Up Activity: Student lead (3). Each student
leader will teach their assigned vocabulary to their group.
Each group will rotate 3 times. (Textbook required)
ii. Theme or Topic: Signing Naturally Unit 14: Complaints,
Requests, and Suggestions
iii. Day’s Objectives: Students will be able to use vocabulary
and sentence structures for complaining about physical
conditions, making suggestions, and responding
appropriately when given a prompt/picture.
iv. Verbs: Review transitive sentence structure in English as
it relates to Topic-Comment in ASL; Compare repetitive
and continuous verbs in ASL and in the English language
v. Grammar Structure:
1. Suggestion + remedy + pronoun
2. Complaints + time sign + action [me} SICK-OF
vi. Reading/Viewing selections: Dialogues based on requests,
suggestions, or complaints.
b. Presentation
i. Activities
1. PP Hospital Signs-Teacher will review and
introduce signs using real-life situations/pictures
2. Groups of 4: Teacher will pass out situation
cards/pictures. Students will discuss, plan, and
execute each prompt. Each group will role-play
using the correct vocabulary presented in class.
Groups will present one situation for the class.
3. Video Work/Worksheet: Students will view
dialogues and notice how the signers use
agreement verbs and pronouns. After watching
the video, the teacher will go over any questions
about the signing/vocabulary. Student will then
watch the video again and answer 4 questions per
dialogue.
4. Story time: My Worst Day at the Dentist
c. Practice
i. Interpersonal Activities: Students will be encouraged to
add information about the real-life situations/pictures
with the teacher using the appropriate vocabulary
structure. Students will work together in a group
reviewing/learning new vocabulary using a model.
Students will be grouped and given role-playing situations
to incorporate new vocabulary.
ii. Presentational Activities: Students will present one roleplaying scenario to the class using requests, suggestions,
and or complains.
iii. Interpretive Activities: Students will view the dialogue
and answer questions.
d. Evaluation
i. Student’s work (worksheet) on the dialogues will be
collected and graded for accuracy.
ii. Vocabulary practice/review will be assigned on 24/7
(Blackboard). Students can retake the assignment 3
times-last grade will be recorded.
e. Expansion/Extension
i. Vocabulary Check: Pictures/Signs-Students will write
the correct English equivalent for each picture. Student
can check their responses by using their textbooks.
ii. Picture It! Teacher will tell a situation and the students
will have to choose the correct picture it represents. (10)
f. Methods/Approaches/Strategies
i. TPR, Direct Method
III.
Other Activities:
a. Follow-up
b.
c.
d.
e.
i. Cultural Information: Discuss the ADA and the medical
community in regards to Deaf patients.
ii. Lab time: Student will locate and report on Deaf
community problems within the community due to the lack
of ADA compliance issues.
Assessment
i. See evaluation
Homework assignments
i. 24/7 activity-Vocabulary check/reading 2 articles
online/YOU TUBE video clip on ADA compliance issue
Use of technology
i. LCD projector
ii. Signing Naturally II Video
iii. Lab/library computers
iv. Internet/YOU TUBE
Materials used
i. Laptop computer
ii. Power Point presentation
iii. Video tape
iv. Medical items
v. Worksheet
vi. Activity cards/role playing
Day 2: Sickness and Health
IV.
Teaching Phase
a. Preparation:
i. Warm Up Activity: Class Mixer. Students will have a
chart to fill out with the following information: tooth
extraction, surgery, broken bones, used crutches,
stitches, rode in ambulance, ect.
ii. Theme or Topic: Signing Naturally Unit 14: Complaints,
Requests, and Suggestions
iii. Day’s Objectives: Students will be able to use vocabulary
and sentence structures for complaining about physical
conditions, making suggestions, and responding
appropriately when given a prompt/picture. Students will
be able to use inflected and uninflected forms of
ailment-verb signs with corresponding time signs.
iv. Verbs: Review transitive sentence structure in English as
it relates to Topic-Comment in ASL; Compare repetitive
and continuous verbs in ASL and in the English language;
Temporal aspect of ASL structure; review verb inflection
v. Grammar Structure:
1. Complaint +recurring OR +continuous
Empathize
vi. Reading/Viewing selections: Video tape exercises and
transparencies
b. Presentation
i. Activities
1. After the warm-up the teacher will show pictures
and review vocabulary including the following:
NOT-FEEL-GOOD, FEEL LOUSY. Using a simple
story/narrative sign about my son having an upset
stomach—after signing, ask students to identify
which picture/illustration matches. (10)
2. Show the “Inflected Forms” transparency. Show
how the form of the verb sign may change to agree
with the time concept expressed…whether it
happened once, was recurring, or was continuous.
3. After introducing all the sign forms, go back and
point to either “recurring” or “continuous”—give
the uninflected for and ask random students how
to sign the inflected form.
4. Review/students take notes from board.
5. Which one? Teacher will sign a sentence; students
will sign the verb back using the correct tense.
c. Practice
i. Interpersonal Activities: Students asked questions
relating to health issues.
ii. Presentational Activities: Student will sign the correct
verb tense when given a prompt.
iii. Interpretive Activities: Students will view a video
activity and circle the correct response/verb tenses.
(18).
d. Evaluation
i. Inflected Verb activity/Worksheet. After viewing a
video segment/or teacher, the student will identify the
inflected verb.
ii. “Oils and Aromas”. Partner activity. Assign workbook
page to each partner. One will ask about a particular
illness and the other partner will tell them what the
remedy would be…students will write down their partner’s
suggestion.
iii. Vocabulary practice/review will be assigned on 24/7
(Blackboard). Students can retake the assignment 3
times-last grade will be recorded.
e. Expansion/Extension
i. Student Response on the article: NAD announces
$175,000 settlement with NJ jail-locked up without
communication access; deaf man settles discrimination
complaint
ii. Sign It! Student must use recurring or continuous verb
tenses correctly and receives 1 point. If they can do 5
correctly the student receives a homework pass.
f. Methods/Approaches/Strategies
i. TPR, Direct Method
V.
Other Activities:
a. Follow-up
b.
c.
d.
e.
i. Discuss the candid observation made by members of the
Deaf community about non-compliance issues—like the
hiring of interpreters at NOVA.
ii. Video clip of hiring of the new president at Gallaudet
University.
Assessment
i. See evaluation
Homework assignments
i. 24/7 activity-Vocabulary review
Use of technology
i. LCD projector
ii. Signing Naturally II Video
Materials used
i. Laptop computer
ii. Power Point presentation
iii. Video tape
iv. Worksheets
v. Printed article/NAD
Day 3: Complaining About Others
VI.
Teaching Phase
a. Preparation:
i. Warm Up Activity: Group Work. Each group will list
accommodations for Deaf people in each setting:
hospitals, airports, DMV, NOVA, hotels, schools,
restaurants and churches. Lists will be posted on the
back wall.
ii. Theme or Topic: Signing Naturally Unit 14: Complaints,
Requests, and Suggestions
iii. Day’s Objectives: Students will be able to complain about
habitual behaviors as well as use vocabulary for
empathizing and making suggestions. Students will be
able to use mime, classifiers (descriptive, instrument, or
element) and correct spatial references as they develop
alternative strategies for expressing things they do not
know how to sign.
iv. Verbs: Review transitive sentence structure in English as
it relates to Topic-Comment in ASL; Compare repetitive
and continuous verbs in ASL and in the English language;
Temporal aspect of ASL structure; review verb inflection
v. Grammar Structure:
1. Complaint +recurring OR +continuous
Empathize
vi. Reading/Viewing selections: Power Point Presentations:
People, Poetry “You Have to be Deaf to Understand”
b. Presentation
i. Activities
1. Complaining about others: Pets, children,
roommates, neighbors, sisters/brothers, parents,
friends, and teachers. Teacher will state
complaints that are most common—then have the
students added other complaints—add new
vocabulary. (Power Point-People)
2. “I Can’t Stand It!”-Practice complaint vocabulary
Model dialogue for each category (see list above).
Role-play both A and B parts. Go around room
asking students to come up with a complaint for
each topic. Make sure they follow either of the
sentence structure that was presented and
modeled.
3. Call on two students up front and have them sign a
dialogue based on what has been modeled in class.
4. Break into Groups of 3. One student complains,
while the 2 empathizes and make suggestions.
Then switch roles.
5. At the Garage-Write out car problems on index
cards. Each student will come up and role-play a
traveler in a foreign country where he/she doesn’t
know the language. The other student will play the
mechanic. Key: The traveler must describe
his/her problems without using signs. 
c. Practice
i. Interpersonal Activities: Group work collaborating on
Deaf accommodation and ADA. Group work on
dialogues/complaints.
ii. Presentational Activities: Students will mime about car
problems without using signs and increasing their use of
classifiers.
iii. Interpretive Activities: Students will be able to identify
the classifier (descriptive, instrument, or element) when
describing car problems.
d. Evaluation
i. Teacher will sign 20 sentences and students will write
the English equivalent based on today’s vocabulary and
grammar structure. Will go over work in class.
ii. Students will generate a dialogue/or monologue with an
assigned prompt of making a request, suggestion, and or
complaint. PALS assessment
e. Expansion/Extension
i. Student(s) will prepare a videotaped commercial (Flip
Video) incorporating requests, suggestions, and or
complaints about health ailments/issues.
f. Methods/Approaches/Strategies
i. TPR, Direct Method
VII.
Other Activities:
a. Follow-up
i. Role play a hospital admission process using an
interpreter/Deaf client
ii. ADA video and questions
b. Assessment
i. See evaluation
c. Homework assignments
i. Preparation of videotaped commercial (Flip Video)
d. Use of technology
i. LCD projector
ii. Flip Video
e. Materials used
i. Laptop computer
ii. CDs
iii. Power Point presentation
iv. Index cards
v. Chart paper/markers
vi. Videos
Day 4: Making Requests
VIII. Teaching Phase
a. Preparation:
i. Warm Up Activity: In the Hospital-Students will be
given a glossed story about a hospital situation and
practice how it would be signed. Can work independent or
in groups.
ii. Theme or Topic: Signing Naturally Unit 14: Complaints,
Requests, and Suggestions
iii. Day’s Objectives: Students will be able to communicate
effectively in real life situations that require requests,
complaints and suggestions.
iv. Verbs: Students will review Unit 14 vocabulary verbs
focusing on directional verbs.
v. Grammar Structure:
1. ME BUSY ++ WORK DCL “big pile”, NOT-MIND
PAPER COPY ++
2. ONE-WEEK-PAST CAR BREAK-DOWN, ME POURMONEY –IN. NOW, ME BROKE. NOT-MIND
SKIING POSTPONE FUTURE+MONTH.
3. JUST-NOW MOTHER+FATHER TELEPHONE
TELL-TO THEY-TWO FLY-TO STAY ALL-WEEK.
REMEMBER FUTURE FRIDAY NIGHT US-TWO
EAT GO-OUT, NOT-MIND PREPONE WED
THURSDAY NITE.
4. KNOW++ MAUREEN “well” PAST-MONTH 1X
BORROW-FROM MY fs-THAI COOKBOOK. NOW
ME NEED BOOK NOT MIND YOU TELL-TO BOOK
SHE-GIVE-ME. (third person-triangle)
vi. Reading/Viewing selections: Power Point Presentations:
People, Board work
b. Presentation
i. Activities
1. Complaining about others: Pets, children,
roommates, neighbors, sisters/brothers, parents,
friends, and teachers. Teacher will state
complaints that are most common—then have the
2.
3.
4.
5.
students added other complaints—add new
vocabulary. (Power Point-People)
“I Can’t Stand It!”-Practice complaint vocabulary
Model dialogue for each category (see list above).
Role-play both A and B parts. Go around room
asking students to come up with a complaint for
each topic. Make sure they follow either of the
sentence structure that was presented and
modeled.
Call on two students up front and have them sign a
dialogue based on what has been modeled in class.
Break into Groups of 3. One student complains,
while the 2 empathizes and make suggestions.
Then switch roles.
At the Garage-Write out car problems on index
cards. Each student will come up and role-play a
traveler in a foreign country where he/she doesn’t
know the language. The other student will play the
mechanic. Key: The traveler must describe
his/her problems without using signs. 
c. Practice
i. Interpersonal Activities: Group work on
dialogues/complaints.
ii. Presentational Activities: Students will mime about car
problems without using signs and increasing their use of
classifiers.
iii. Interpretive Activities: Students will be able to identify
the classifier (descriptive, instrument, or element) when
describing car problems.
d. Evaluation
i. Video Test based on Unit 14. Students will view 5
scenarios and answer questions. Grades will be taken.
ii. Students will generate a dialogue/or monologue with an
assigned prompt of making a request, suggestion, and or
complaint. PALS assessment
e. Expansion/Extension
i. Student(s) will prepare a videotaped commercial (Flip
Video) incorporating requests, suggestions, and or
complaints about health ailments/issues.
f. Methods/Approaches/Strategies
i. TPR, Direct Method, Cooperative Learning
IX.
Other Activities:
a. Follow-up
i. Role play a hospital admission process using an
interpreter/Deaf client
b. Assessment
i. See evaluation
c. Homework assignments
i. Preparation of videotaped commercial (Flip Video)
d. Use of technology
i. LCD projector
ii. Flip Video
e. Materials used
i. Laptop computer
ii. CDs
iii. Power Point presentation
iv. Glossed paragraph-printed
v. Blackboard/Overhead projector
Day 5: Storytelling and Review
X.
Teaching Phase
a. Preparation:
i. Warm Up Activity: Gallaudet Bus Schedule-Students will
practice asking about arrival and departure times to get
the bus for school. Student will make requests about
time of bus, complaints about arrival times, and make
suggestions on alternative route to get to campus
(MSSD).
ii. Index card activity-Teacher will sign a typical day for a
day student at MSSD and their travel schedule.
Students will write down the bus time of departure, the
metro stops, when the student catches the Gally bus, and
arrival time at school. Index cards will be collected and
graded.
iii. Theme or Topic: Signing Naturally Unit 14: Complaints,
Requests, and Suggestions
iv. Day’s Objectives: Students will be practicing role
shifting using inflecting verb signs to mark subject and
object. Students will also rehearse request vocabulary
and practice simple conditional sentences.
v. Verbs: Review verb inflection-recurring and continuous
vi. Grammar Structure:
Conditional Sentences
vii. Reading/Viewing selections: Video presentation of “One
Fine Day”-student made
b. Presentation
i. Activities
1. Students will watch the signed story “One Fine
Day”
2. Student leaders (picked from previous class) will
choose five students from class to be in their
signing group.
3. Each group will focus on their particular part in the
signed story. Each group leader is responsible to
teach the grammar and signing element of the
story in the target language.
4. At 10 minute intervals-group members will rotate
to the next group (5 groups in all).
5. Students will then practice signing the whole story
by themselves. 
6. Students will be selected to sign their version of
the story to class for modeling.
c. Practice
i. Interpersonal Activities: Group work on signed story.
ii. Presentational Activities: Students will actively sign the
complete story at the conclusion of activity.
iii. Interpretive Activities: When signing the story,
students will sign the correct part when asked “what
happened next?”
d. Evaluation
i. Students will help the teacher sign the complete story
using students to tell different parts in order.
ii. Teacher will sign 20 sentences and students will write
the English equivalent based on today’s vocabulary and
grammar structure. Will go over work in class.
iii. Students will generate a dialogue/or monologue with an
assigned prompt of making a request, suggestion, and or
complaint. PALS assessment
e. Expansion/Extension
i. Students will choose a children’s story based on the
conditional sentence structure to sign for a test grade.
Stories: One Fine Day, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If
You Give a Pig a Pancake, If You Give a Moose a Muffin.
ii. Student(s) will prepare a videotaped commercial (Flip
Video) incorporating requests, suggestions, and or
complaints about health ailments/issues.
f. Methods/Approaches/Strategies
i. TPR, Direct Method, Cooperative Learning
XI.
Other Activities:
a. Follow-up
i. Students will create a picture story that would follow the
conditional grammatical structure in ASL and sign the
b.
c.
d.
e.
story. Students would prepare a vocabulary list, sign the
story, and create 5 questions based on their story. (This
project would be in conjunction with Mantua Elementary
and Kendall schools for Deaf students K-3)
ii. Students will choose a children’s story that follows the
conditional grammatical structure in ASL.
Assessment
i. See evaluation
ii. Index card activity-graded
Homework assignments
i. Preparation of children’s story
ii. 24/7 (Blackboard) Unit 14 online test
Use of technology
i. LCD projector
ii. Flip Video
Materials used
i. Index cards
ii. Laptop computer
iii. Story Video
iv. CD for students’ work
v. Lab/library computers