THIS IS A FLEX CLASS, THERE ARE NO-LIVE ZOOM MEETINGS. Each week's lesson including 20-25 minute videos and worksheets will be posted every Monday and a weekly bonus activity will also be available throughout the week! 

👋Welcome to this beginner ASL course for learners ages 9-13 ! This is an introductory beginner class. No prior ASL knowledge is needed. 

🤟🏽I love learning and teaching American Sign Language and look forward to sharing my passion with all my students!
This is an exciting and fun introductory course where your child will learn a basic overview of American Sign Language. Students will learn over 150 signs as well as over 25 sentences. 

Through videos, demonstration, games, participation, and hands-on learning, by the end of the course, each learner will be able to sign their alphabet, colors, numbers, family signs, food and drinks, animals, and simple sentences and phrases. The phrases that will be introduced will be phrases useful in everyday social situations. Each week, each learner will have ample time to learn and practice the signs.  Proper finger and hand formation will accompany each new sign. In each class, we will play games as I spy, guess that animal, show and tell (with the letter of the week), use flashcards, movement, and sing songs together to learn the signs.

Week 1:  Introduction to sign language and deaf culture. ASL Alphabet + Alphabet song
Week 2: Numbers 1-30 + learn the phrases "How old are you?" + "I am ___ years old",
Week 3: Colors of the rainbow + basic signs (please, thank you, sorry)
Week 4: Common animals (dog, cat, cow, horse, etc)
Week 5: Family members (mommy, daddy, sister, brother, grandma, grandpa, cousin, aunt, uncle, etc) 
Week 6: Emotions feelings (happy, sad, excited, scared, surprised, sick, etc), 
Week 7: Food (apple, milk, chicken, etc) + how to sign the phrase:  "My favorite food is..." "My favorite drink is...", "Do you like __?" 
Week 8: Review + Games

Learners will have one week to watch the class and sign along with the teacher.  They will then be encouraged to teach someone else the animal signs they learned.  Before the end of the week each student will be required to submit a video of themselves signing the assigned homework (individually and sometimes as a team when the lesson permits).  The teacher will be able to see how learners are progressing in their signs and give written or video form corrections where needed.  

On the final day of the course: we will review all of the signs we learned in this course with games and practice. Additionally, students who have attended at least 7 of 8 classes will receive a certificate of completion, featuring their names written in ASL! 

As a teacher, I aim to create fun, engaging lessons that are personalized to the interests and goals of their students, focusing on areas, such as hand shape, movement, palm orientation, facial expressions, fingerspelling, alphabet, vocabulary, grammar, and engaging in basic conversation. I am so looking forward to meeting and teaching your learner soon! 

🧠Why learn ASL? Benefits of Learning American Sign Language 
•Develops gross and fine motor skills
•Foster early language development
•Assists with letter recognition
•Helps build vocabulary
•Promotes better awareness and sensitivity to the deaf and hard of hearing community
•Develops focus and concentration 
•Boosts self-confidence
•Supports letter and word recall
•Strengthen memory and problem-solving skills 
•Strengthen teacher/caregiver bonding
•Fosters a love of learning

Additional Notes: 
Many signs have multiple versions, similar to regional words in English. In this class, I will teach the versions that I was taught, but you may see a different sign for the same word in classes with other teachers.
While I have significant knowledge of ASL, I am a part of the hearing community and have different experiences than those of the deaf community. If you are seeking a truly immersive ASL learning experience, I highly encourage you to learn with Deaf teachers on Outschool or in your community.