American Sign Language - Level 1
Day: Thursdays
3rd Period: 11:10am -12:10pm
Room: 1A
Grades: 4-8
Overview:
This extracurricular foreign language course is meant to inspire students to develop American Sign Language skills for practical use. ASL is one of many signed languages in the world, unique with its own syntax, grammar, form, and function.
My prayer is that students may continue developing their signing skills through other resources (There are so many available online and at libraries!), Deaf community immersion, and even into college years. Many colleges and universities now offer ASL as a foreign language course!
As ministers of the Gospel, we can use our ASL skills to reach the Deaf/Hard of Hearing communities and individuals who use sign language as a more natural, non-verbal/manual mode of communication. ASL can also be used between friends of all communicative modalities, or at home for fun/as an alternate way of communicating through this language’s exciting way of employing our sight, manual movements, and facial expressions.
This course will aim to spark the interest of students through engaging activities, group and partner interaction, vocabulary lists and flash cards, short videos of fluent signers/ASL storytelling, active games, topic-related props, workbook activities, individualized projects, and various weekly themes (e.g. Under the Sea, Sporting Events, Christmas).
Curriculum and content will be delivered according to the average age of the class. I will do my best to tailor objectives and expectations according to each student’s age, interests, and abilities.
Most topics will be lightly introduced and set as a foundation for skill development.
Course Focus & Objectives:
History & Culture
Sign language & Deaf culture etiquette
ASL structure
-Nature of a visual/manual language
-5 parameters of signing
-Grammar/Syntax, Form, Function
-Non-manual markers
Core vocabulary topics (colors, animals, activities, transportation, foods, action words, seasons/weather, emotions, school-related, family-related, common objects, clothing, Bible/prayer terms etc)
Classifiers
Fingerspelling & Numbers
Greetings & Introductions
Statements, Commands & Requests
Y/N & Wh-Questions
Verb pairs
Class Details:
Students will sit or stand in a circle to promote focus, functional interaction and practice.
I will lead prayer in a combined form of English and ASL (Pidgin Sign). We will discuss some prayer signs.
Students will have the chance to pick a topic they would like to focus on for their individual project.
Required Curriculum:
Core curriculum are TBD (Email with updates will be sent summer before school year)
Flash card sets are TBD
Various free online resources are TBD
Classroom Supplies:
Supplies TBD (Email with updates will be sent summer before school year)
Homework:
Specific homework expectations TBD
Video links will be sent home for students to watch and practice
Vocabulary lists will be created in class and sent home for practice
Activity sheets will be sent home to bring back the following week
Course Fees:
Fees for this 1-hour extracurricular class are due at beginning of each semester:
Tuition: $200
Material Fee: $10
Material fee:
Due upon registration at enrollment checkout
Tuition fee:
Paid directly to Ethos Academy through the Learning Management System upon registration
Parents will enroll in classes and set up their chosen payment method (either pay in full or monthly) via Bank ACH
Teacher Contact Information:
Rebecca “Becky” Koreis
208-559-0333 (call or text)