Sign Language in the
Classroom
Presented by Leslie Spillman MSCCC-SLP
Research
• American Sign Language (ASL) is the third
most widely used language in the United
States and it is an official foreign
language.
Early Communication System
• Between the ages of 9 and 30 months a baby’s
desire to talk usually exceeds his ability to
speak. (How frustrating for parent and child.)
• Recent research (Acredolo, 1996) indicates that
not only do infants learn to sign to express
words, but those infants who are taught sign can
demonstrate an increased process of learning to
speak, and that it provides intellectual
stimulation. It also strengthens the bond
between parent and baby.
The most exciting research to you
as classroom teachers…
• Current research is focused on documenting the effects that learning
sign language has on the development of language and literacy
skills of young hearing children.
• It has been documented that when young children are ready to learn
how to read, that the learning of sign language can strengthen and
increase oral language and literacy skills. It has been observed that
hearing children of deaf parents were often reading before they
began school because their parents had fingerspelled with them.
Researchers concluded that these children were able to make the
connection between the manual letters of fingerspelling and the
printed letters on a page.
• Sign language involves seeing, hearing, and movement. This is the
perfect combination of how young children learn best. Using sign
language, children are able to use both sides of the brain, thus
creating multiple pathways which can strengthen memory and build
connections for further learning.
Activities to teach Sign Language
• Teach the signs yes/no
-Read the book Who Took the Cookies from the
Cookie Jar? And have children sign “yes” you
and “no” not me.
• Also teach yes/no by asking silly questions.
-Are you a kangaroo?
-Do you live in a submarine?
-Also ask questions that allow them to answer
yes.
Activities to Teach Sign Language
• Teach the signs for toilet and wash while
reading the book, Germs are not for
sharing.
• Teach the magic words please, thank you,
your welcome, and more during snack
time.
• Catch’em being good or showing “heart.”
-Teach them the sign for “good job.”
Activities to Teach Sign Language
• Play Red Light/Green Light
-The teacher will use the sign “stop,”
“come,” and go. (come-walk forward;
stop-everyone stops; go-walk backwards)
• If teaching or reviewing colors, introduce
the color signs.
• Teach the sign “same” and “different” and
you introduce the standard.
Activities to Teach Sign Language
The opportunities to incorporate sign
language in your everyday lessons are
endless.
Plan Your Own Lesson and
Incorporate Sign Language
• Weather signs
• Everyday objects you use at school
(paper, pencil, glue, scissors, etc.)
• Numbers
• Emotions
Today’s information and
activities came from this
excellent resource.
I truly enjoy teaching kids sign language.
It is as if, you were teaching your students
the coolest magic trick in the book. Please
do not hesitate to ask me for resources or
to come in your room and assist.