Big Ideas
Big Ideas
Viewing with intent helps us understand and acquire a new language.
Stories
Stories are a narrative form of text that can be written or visual. Stories are derived from truth or fiction and may be used to seek and impart knowledge, entertain, share history, and strengthen a sense of identity.
help us to acquire language and understand the world by exploring, for example, thoughts, feelings, knowledge, culture, and identity
around us.
Non-verbal cues
non-manual signals, including facial expressions, pausing and timing, shoulder shifting, mouth morphemes, eye gaze
are integral to communicating meaning.
Expressing ourselves in a new language requires courage, risk taking, and perseverance.
Exploring Deaf culture and diverse forms of cultural expression
represent the experience of the people from whose culture they are drawn (e.g., number stories, Deaf mime, songs, poetry and prose, painting, sculpture, theatre, filmmaking, musical composition, architecture)
allows us to appreciate cultural diversity.
Acquiring ASL provides a unique opportunity to interact with Deaf communities and the Deaf world.
Content
Learning Standards
Content
ASL as a natural language
a language that has evolved naturally through use and repetition; a complete language on its own
manual alphabet
numbers and number system
basic classifiers
- handshapes that are typically used to show different “classes” of things, sizes, shapes, and movement
- basic classifiers: CL:1, CL:2, CL:3, CL:B (modified)
five parameters
handshape, movement, palm orientation, location, facial expression
of ASL
facial expressions, non-manual signals
Non-manual signals (NMS) are parts of a sign that are not signed on the hands (e.g., ASL adverbs made by eyes and eyebrows; ASL adjectives made using the mouth, tongue, and lips). For this level, non-manual signals include but are not limited to:
, size, style, intensity, movement, and location
- facial expression matching the meaning and content of what is signed (e.g., mad, angry, very angry)
- conveying “tone of voice” while signing
- mouth morpheme: “cha” (big), “fish” (finish), “diff-diff-diff” (different), “pah” (finally, tends to), “pow” (suddenly)
- head nod/shake
- WH-face (eyebrows down for a WH question, shoulders up, head tilted slightly)
- shoulder shift/contrastive structure/spatial organization
- eye gaze: must be used with deixis (pointing)
- mouth open: used to convey length of time
signer's perspective
Spatial relationships are always signed in ASL from the perspective of the signer, not adjusted for the perspective of the addressee.
iconic signs, commonly used vocabulary, and ASL sentence structures, including:
- topic and time, using shoulder shift, simple listing and ordering technique, and the sign “which” to indicate choice
- conveying a positive or negative emotion
- “quiet” or “loud” (intended for large audiences or individuals — “whispered” or “shouted”)
- making a statement or asking a question
- topic-comment
- S-V-O: subject-verb-object
- types of questionsWH, yes-no, rhetorical
- sharing information
- time and frequency
- comparisonsshoulder shifting, contrastive structure
past, present, and future time frames
ASL timeline (e.g., mark tenses with signs as well as location and indicate short and long time spans)
common elements of stories
society's perceptions
descriptive terminology, perceived capabilities, societal status
of D/deaf people
social movements, practices, and traditions
e.g., strong sense of community, collectivistic nature, naming customs; creative handshape play as an integral part of the language and culture of the Deaf community; ASL as a natural language; ASL as a non-written language
of Deaf people
creative works that express Deaf culture and experiences
regional variations in sign language
unique cultural conventions
For example, Deaf conventions for attention-getting may include shoulder tapping, stomping on ground, and flicking of lights.
of Deaf communities and their role in cultural identity
D/deaf
“D/deaf” refers to both “Deaf” people who identify with the Deaf culture and “deaf” people who do not. It is often used as a shortcut to describe both groups who are similar but not exactly the same when it comes to communication.
perspectives and points of view
First Peoples perspectives connecting language
and culture, including histories
and culture, including histories
e.g., conversations with an Elder about celebrations, traditions, and protocols
, identity Identity is influenced by, for example, traditions, protocols, celebrations, and festivals.
, and place A sense of place can be influenced by, for example, territory, food, clothing, and creative works.
Curricular Competency
Learning Standards
Curricular Competency
Thinking and communicating
Recognize the relationships
e.g., blind/doubt/Ireland, ugly/dry/summer
between common handshapes, location of signs, common facial expressions, variants in size, style, intensity of signs, and meaning
Comprehend key information
to answer the questions, “Who?” “What?” “Where?” “When?” “Why?”, and “How?”
and supporting details in stories and texts
Use a variety of strategies to increase understanding
- including context, prior knowledge, compound signs (e.g., breakfast = [eat+morning], parents = [mother+father], agree = [think+same])
- iconic signs that look like the intended meaning (e.g., eat, drink, sit, stand, sleep, book, door), including iconic similarities
- size, style, intensity, movement, location, and position of a sign
- facial expression
- mouth morphemes
Exchange ideas and information
Create alphabet and number stories
- Alphabet stories use some of the letters of the alphabet (e.g. using a few consecutive letters, such as the letters of students’ names, or from the words for places or objects).
- Number stories use number signs in sequence to express a short story and can consist of a descriptive sentence or sequence of events.
Seek clarification and verify
Request or provide repetition, word substitution, reformulation, or reiteration.
meaning
Share information using the presentation format
and others' diverse abilities
e.g., digital, visual; aids such as charts, graphics, illustrations, music/percussion, photographs, videos, props, digital media
best suited to their ownand others' diverse abilities
Personal and social awareness
Engage in Deaf cultural experiences
e.g., technology, blogs, school visits (including virtual/online visits), conferences, plays, social media
Describe similarities and differences
and those of the local Deaf community
for example, discussing cultural ways of being, D/deaf education
between their own cultural practicesand those of the local Deaf community
Recognize First Peoples perspectives and knowledge, other ways of knowing
e.g., First Nations, Métis, and Inuit; and/or gender-related, subject/discipline-specific, cultural, embodied, and intuitive
, and local cultural knowledge