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“Twenty Signs in American Sign Language You Should Know”
Lynn Granger, Karen Ralston, and Joe Smith, Itinerant Teachers for the
Deaf and Hard of Hearing
October 21, 2013

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20 S.A.S.L.Y.N.2.K!!

Date: October 21 st , 2013
Bell Ringer : Brainstorm words that every TA might benefit from knowing in ASL! Avoid y g
Common Language: Vocabulary, Facial expression, ASL, interpretive dance
Learning Goals: Individuals will have a basic working vocabulary, or, at least, resources for ASL signs and usage.
Agenda:
*)Just some things about Deafness and ASL!
*) Those awesome signs (I sign, we sign, y’all sign!)
*) Dance break
Benchmarks: Planning and Preparing to meet the communication needs of students.
*) Bell Ringer Signs!!
Objective: Awesome Teacher Assistants will be able to communicate and receive basic needs of students with
Summarizing Activity: “Ticket Out!”
Can you sign one sign you didn’t know before coming in here?
Essential Question: What is life about?
Why are we here? And how can I use ASL to the benefit of others?
Next Steps: Generalization with students and monitor success rates; 20 page dissertation over jet engines.

Bell Ringer : Brainstorm words that every TA might benefit from knowing in
ASL! Avoid proper nouns or names of your dog.

Vision Statement
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A dynamic, progressive and collaborative learning community embracing change and diversity where every student will graduate with the skills needed to succeed in postsecondary education and the workplace.
Mission Statement
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The mission of the Lake County Schools is to provide every student with individual opportunities to excel.
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Lake County Schools is committed to excellence in all curricular opportunities and instructional best practices. This focus area addresses closing the achievement gap, increased graduation rate, decreased dropout rate, increase in Level 3 and above scores on the FCAT, achieving an increase in the number of students enrolled in advanced placement and dual enrollment opportunities and implementing the best practices in instructional methodology.

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ASL stands for American Sign Language.
It is an actual language, so please be respectful as such! o
Use when appropriate.
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Most use it without voicing, however, due to many situations, mouthing and voicing are fine.
(Most students are not native signers!)
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You are increasing immediacy in language-but it can only increase when you increase your knowledge!
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Dialects abound (it’s not a written language), so be open!
Today’s signs are most interjections and don’t constitute depth—but a beginning !

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We’re focusing on signs—the manual alphabet and numbers are very, very easy to come by. However, I’ll include them here for reference, should you need a print copy.

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Online: o
Lifeprint.com (still photos) o o
ASLpro.com (flash drive, however, so can’t always work on iPads)
HarrisComm.com
A Basic Course textbook o
Fantastic resource about sentences in ASL
Signs For Me o
Great for younger signers!

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Memory aid: Think of the fist hand as representing your head. When you raise and lower your fist, bending at the wrist it represents your head nodding "yes.“

 The sign "NO" can use either a polite double motion or a more firm or definite single motion. It is also directional in nature-meaning, if I hold my hand off to my right and I point the palm toward myself while doing the sign, it can mean "He told me no."

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The sign for "please" is made by placing your flat right hand over the center of your chest. Move your hand in a clockwise motion (from the observer's point of view, use a circular motion towards your left, down, right, and back up) a few times.

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The sign for "thank you" is made by starting with the fingers of your dominant hand near your lips. Your hand should be a "flat hand." Move your hand forward and a bit down in the direction of the person you are thanking. Smile (so they'll know you mean it).

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The sign for "bathroom" is made by forming the right hand into the letter "t." The palm side is facing away from you.
Shake your hand side to side a couple times. Some people use a twisting movement instead of the side to side shake.
Either is fine.

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The sign for "finish" is made by placing both of your open hands in front of you. Each hand should face you, with your fingers pointing upward. Twist both hands quickly a couple times ending with the palms pointing (somewhat) forward.
You can also do this sign with just a single twist which makes it seem more "final.“

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Indexing is when you point your index finger at a person who is or isn't in the signing area. Sometimes we call that "present referent" and/or absent referent.
If the person is there, (present) you can just point at him to mean "HE" or "SHE."
You can point at an object to mean "IT."
If the person is not there, you can identify him by spelling his name (or some other method of identification--like a "name sign," or maybe someone else has spelled his name, or he was sitting in a chair and then got up and left), then you can "index" him to a point in space. Now you have a referent for that person.
Once you have set up a referent, you can refer back to that same point each time you want to talk about that person.

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To establish that something belongs to someone, you can aim the flat of your palm at the person or thing that is doing the possessing

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2 kinds:
Formal
Interjection

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The general sign for "excuse" is made by extending your left hand, palm up. Brush your right bent-hand fingertips across the left palm starting with the pinky on your right hand. Bend the large knuckles of the right hand slightly.
Keep the other knuckles straight.

Have you thought about a sign you’d like to use?

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The sign for "stop" is made by extending your left hand, palm upward. Sharply bring your open right hand down to your left palm at a right angle.

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The sign "come" uses a single quick movement:

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Make the sign for "good" by placing the fingers of your right hand against your lips. Move your right hand into the palm of your left hand. Both hands should be facing upward.

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Make the sign for "bad" by placing the fingers of your right hand against your lips. Move your hand down and away. End with your palm facing downward.

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The sign for "read" uses the tips of your index and middle fingers as if they were eyeballs. The non-dominant flat hand functions as the "page" from which you are reading.

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Draw the number 8 from the ‘heart’ outwards.

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The sign for "nice" or "clean" is made by placing your left hand in front of you, palm up and moving the flat palm of your right hand across your left hand. (If you are right handed).

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To sign "slow," slide the dominant hand (right hand if you are right handed) up the non-dominant forearm a short distance--starting at the back of the base (left) hand. You only need to go a few inches.
Usage note: If you do this sign "very fast" it means "very slow." If you start the sign and hold it in place for a moment, then roll your eyes and then finish it quickly it means very, very slow.

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The letter “H,” shaken up and down.

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Use a bent right and move it into the flat palm of the left.

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“What is your name?”
“Are you okay?”
“Ready for _________?”
“Where do you live? Where is it?”
“Are you sick?”
“Are you hurt?”
“You should buy a pizza for the sign language teacher.”

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What signs or phrases should the ENTIRE class know?
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Ticket out when we’re done!

Please complete our course evaluation.
Thank you for joining us today!