What's included
7 live meetings
7 in-class hoursHomework
1 hour per week. Students will be asked to review and practice the signs they learn in between class sessions. No written homework is required, but students are expected to put forth effort to remember the signs they learn each week.Class Experience
Beginner Level
Ready for your child to start learning a new language? In this class your child will be introduced to American Sign Language, a beautiful visual language that makes use of the hands and face to communicate. We will learn the basics of ASL communication including fingerspelling, the do's and don'ts of deaf communication, and basic greeting signs, colors, numbers, food and family signs. We'll touch on a bit of ASL word order and grammar and note the ways in which ASL differs from English. Below is a breakdown each weekly session: Week 1: Greeting Signs and a bit of ASL history. - We will learn greeting signs, a bit of deaf history and culture, and the do's and don'ts of ASL communication. - We will conclude class with an interactive game. Week 2: Fingerspelling - We will learn to fingerspell the entire manual alphabet along with corresponding signs to go along with each letter. - We will review the content from last class and apply the newly gained skill of fingerspelling to introducing oneself in ASL. - We will conclude class with an interactive game. Week 3: Colors - We will review the content from last class by introducing ourselves to each other in ASL. - We will learn how to sign colors and practice our fingerspelling receptive skills by signing the colors and recognizing the fingerspelled color words. - We will conclude class with an interactive game. Week 4: Numbers - We will review the color signs learned in the last class. - We will learn to sign the numbers up to 21 (there's a fun reason why we stop on 21 instead of 20!) - We will conclude class with an interactive game. Week 5: Family - We will review the number signs learned in the last class. - We will learn signs pertaining to family and will practice our fingerspelling receptive skills by recognizing fingerspelled family signs. - We will conclude class with an interactive game. Week 6: Foods - We will review the family signs learned in the last class. - We will learn signs pertaining to food and will practice our fingerspelling receptive skills by recognizing fingerspelled food signs. - We will conclude class with an interactive game. Week 7: Feelings and Review - We will review the food signs learned in the last class. - We will learn signs pertaining to feelings and will practice our fingerspelling receptive skills by recognizing fingerspelled food sings. - We will review the content learned over the course of the class through an interactive game.
Learning Goals
Students will learn the rules of fingerspelling and basic signing expectations, greeting signs, numbers, colors, foods, family and feelings.
Other Details
Supply List
Students should bring a sheet of paper and something to write with to each session.
Sources
During some sessions, I will show YouTube videos of signers fingerspelling very quickly to help students practice their fingerspelling receptiveness. The channel I will pull my videos from is 5 Guys ASL and you can view their videos here: https://www.youtube.com/@5GuysASL/videos
I will also make use of Dr. Bill Vicars fingerspelling practice tool. It is an automated fingerspelled word generator meant for working on fingerspelling receptiveness. You can view the link to the generator here: https://asl.ms/
ASL History:
The ASL history we will watch in class - https://youtu.be/betAZeKRpR8?si=umkDY2TheNN5KaBR
I'll also make reference to points made in a documentary by Gallaudet University concerning ASL history and the many transitions that it has taken throughout the years. Several interviewees were interviewed to adequately present how deafness and ASL was viewed during various points in history. The video will not be shown or shared with students, but the link is provided for parents and guardians to review the content.
Gallaudet Universite documentary: https://youtu.be/PL5d8kyZUQk?si=crlxCVbHIrGM9itD
Teacher expertise and credentials
2 Degrees
Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences from Drexel University
Associate's Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences from Community College of Philadelphia
I started learning ASL when I was 2 years old and developed a passion for it ever since. I continued my involvement with the deaf community and learning ASL through attending meetups with Deaf individuals, self-study on Dr. Bill Vicar's (well-known and respected deaf ASL teacher) online university, and a community college class.
Reviews
Live Group Class
$20
weekly or $140 for 7 classes1x per week, 7 weeks
60 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 8-9
1-10 learners per class