ASL 104 Lesson Plan
Course Overview
Ten dialogs introduce over 200 new ASL signs in our advanced ASL course. The dialogs look at conversations that take place around the house and school, common phrases associated with talking about the weather and sports, and end with two lessons devoted to talking about ASL. In addition, there is one advanced ASL lesson that introduces the ASL linguistic feature known as classifiers. They illustrate more ways in which a variety of ASL sentence structures can be used to form conversational sentences. Further fascinating insights into the lives of people in the Deaf community are presented in each of the ten lessons and this time with topics relating to rationale for visual applause, the creation of name signs, the varied use of the directional verb-sign LOOK-at, an association for Deaf and hearing people, the importance of eye movements when signing ASL, the relationship of signing to intellectual development in babies, rules for sports in the Deaf community, and personal alert systems.
Lesson Overview
| Lesson | Title / Theme | Dialog | Grammar | Vocabulary | Culture |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesson 1 | Around the house | Talking about what to do around the house. | Placement of sign indicating time. | Directional verb-sign. Use of the sign WHICH. | What is a visual applause? |
| Lesson 2 | Fixing things | Conversation about fixings things around the house. | Rhetorical question. Placement of the sign KNOW-NOTHING. Multiple sentences. | Signs related to fixing house-hold items. | Name signs |
| Lesson 3 | Verbs | Different movement of the directional verb-sign BORROW is explored. | Negation. Topic/comment sentence. | Conversational phrases. | Here’s looking at you! |
| Lesson 4 | Talking about school | Common phrases used to talk about school. | Topic/comment format for asking questions. | Numbers. School-related signs. Negative incorporation (i.e., DIDN’T-KNOW) | Jumpstart your baby’s IQ? |
| Lesson 5 | Talking about someone | Inquiring about a person. | Rhetorical question. Topic/comment sentence. Facial clues. | Use of TWO-of-us as a translation for the English “we.” | An association for Deaf and hearing people |
| Lesson 6 | Talking about the weather | Introduces terminology and phrases related to the weather. | Rhetorical question. Topic/comment sentence. Longer sentences. | Weather related signs. | Facial expressions, movements, and meaning of signs: Part 2 |
| Lesson 7 | Classifiers | Introduction to the use of classifiers. | Eye movements. Classifiers to represent objects and people. | Person classifier. Vehicle classifier. | The eyes have it |
| Lesson 8 | Sports & games | Talking about favorite sports and exercises. | Use of fingers to list things. Placement of sign indicating time. | Sports and exercise related signs. | Are rules different when Deaf people play sports against each other? |
| Lesson 9 | A few more words about signing | Phrases new signers use to talk about signing. | Placement of sign indicating time. Topic/comment sentence. | Signs related to how a person signs. | Personal alert systems from the past. |
| Lesson 10 | There’s more ASL ahead | Conversation about what to do when a course if completed. | Topic/comment sentence. Placement of sign indicating time. Simple sentence. | Use of the sign FINISH and WHY-NOT. | Personal alert system |
Lesson Organization
Each lesson is based on seven easy steps:
- Learning the Signs
There is a dialog between two people in each lesson. You are shown how to sign each ASL sign used in the dialog. - Creating Sentences
Each dialog is separated into sentences. A clear description is given of how the sentences are translated from English to ASL. You are shown how to sign each sentence. - The Complete Dialog
You watch and practice a dialog between two Deaf signers. - Additional Signs
Each lesson has additional signs for you to learn that are not in the dialog. - Practice Activities
Practice activities help you exercise your new knowledge of ASL. You translate English sentences to ASL. After you have done this, a single click shows you one way for the signing the sentence in ASL. - Quiz
Take the quiz to find out if you are ready to move on to the next lesson. - Culture Information
Each lesson ends with information about Deaf people and the way they live. This section provides insight and motivation for helping you learn ASL.
Final Exam and Certificate
After completion of the lessons, you can take the final exam for the course to test your newly learned ASL knowledge. Upon successfully passing the final exam, you will earn a certificate of completion. The certificate is available online in digital form. You can print the Signing Online certificate to mark your accomplishment.
Sign Up To Get Started
Whether you are just beginning to take sign language courses and lessons, or you have previously taken courses to be at an advanced level, Signing Online has an online ASL class for you.