American Sign Language
Course Description: This class will introduce students to Deaf culture and history, basic conversational sign, and beginning American Sign Language (ASL) vocabulary. Students will be expected to demonstrate their ability to utilize non-verbal communication in a variety of classroom experiences, including quizzes, student activities, teacher-student conversations, and student-student conversations. Students’ progress will require building upon the previous week’s vocabulary. Failure to master weekly vocabulary could result in lagging behind in and/or flunking the course.
Class Materials: Keep at school and store on bookshelf.
Signing Naturally workbook—DO NOT WRITE IN these BOOKs.
Expectations: This class is for your personal development. Signing in front of a class may frighten you. The nature of signing is truly voyeuristic, your face and body movements are integral parts of the language. Please understand that I expect the class to always give the fullest respect and support to one another. Any behaviors that detract from your peers’ development will not be tolerated.
Our classes together will include long sessions of silence. Unless you have obvious permission to use your voice, you may not speak verbally while in the classroom. I fully expect a silent class during both semester. If you have a question or comment during a silent session, sign it the best you can, act it out, or write it (these simulate communication techniques deaf people use daily). When I sign “VOICE-OFF” 2 participation point is lost out of 10 points that can be earned in 1 day.
If you are watching me sign and don’t understand something I’ve signed, let me know that you don’t understand (through sign, gesture, or writing) and I will re-teach that concept. Do not ask “How do I sign x.” Do not provide a sign and ask me what English word it means. If you are repeatedly tempted to do it, I advise you to look online apps or look online at www.lifeprint.com. If you cannot see someone signing, it is your responsibility to find a place where you can see or ask the signer to move to a different location.
Class Rules- The Four P’s:“Be Good, Do Good”
1. Be Prompt- in your seat at the bell, turn in assignments on time & make-up tests ASAP.
2. Be Prepared- have pencils sharpened, notebooks opened, & ready to learn.
3. Be Productive- on task and participate in all class activities and games.
4. Be Polite- Respect yourself, others, your surroundings. Keep a positive attitude & keep negative comments to yourself.
DON’T:
1. Be afraid to ask questions—IN ASL.
2. Bring food, drink, or electronics to class. Remove the temptation then it’s easier to be good.
3. Sleep, work on other class homework, or write notes during class.
4. Cheat…especially in this subject area. It is very uncommon to come up with the exact answer as someone else, so don’t even try it! In the end, you’re only cheating yourself.
5. Interrupt the learning environment.
General Classroom Procedures:
{ Class Assignments…YOU are responsible for securing all make-up work if you have been absent. You must complete all work by given due dates. Assignments due on the day of your absence will be due the next day of class. Keep all work in your folder as a “receipt”. Use dividers to keep all chapter work together. Each week your work is late = earn up to 70% of the grade.
{ Class Time…Is to be used for class work. If you finish your assignments early, you may work on your final project. This will not be time for talking or being disruptive. You are graded on productive use of your time. Participation is an important part of a hands-on course and you are responsible for participating in any and all activities and assignments. Each day you earn 2 points for participation: Total of 10 points weekly for attendance (excused absences are ok) and for in-class work/conduct/ signing practice (following rules & expectations).
{ Class Discipline…In accordance with the school discipline policy, I will not tolerate any inappropriate behavior. The first offense will result in a warning. The second offense will result one on one meeting and contact your parents. Also a loss of 5 participation points.
Assessments/ Quizzes / 25%Assignments / 25%
Projects / 20%
Participation / 20%
Final Test / 10%
o I follow even the smallest of rules, from backpacks/bags, to cell phones and iPods, so that you know when it comes to the bigger ones, I will also follow them. It is in your best interest to not test the system, but to follow all rules! Your backpacks and cell phone must be located on table near by the door during class time. (Due to limited spaces and refrain from distractions.)
{ GOREACT…Today ASL classes are keeping up with technology world. I am excited to have a designed and free online video assessment where students can easily record their signing assignments, receive critique, and improve their signing skills! Students need to access pc, mac, smartphone with webcam and internet connection. If a student does not have the resources, student can come to tutorials and use webcam in classroom. I will be happy to provide the resources. I will have video camera at times to record the students for classroom purposes. These videos will not be distributed without permission and may be sent to your parent via-email. Be ALERT!
{ Grading…I do not give a grade; you earn the grade you receive. If you have any questions or do not understand any assignments, check with the teacher. I will occasionally have YOU correct other’s work with the answer key. This practice has an important educational purpose in that it allows YOU to review homework assignments and quizzes, receive immediate feedback, and consider problem solving that may be different from your own. It also serves the important purpose of allowing the teacher to give and review assignments and use correcting time as effectively as possible. Grades will be weighted by the following percentages:
Practice doing your signs EVERY DAY at home, especially the new vocabulary you learn in class. Learning a whole new language takes work. You will not be successful if you just go to class. You must PRACTICE at home.
a. Practice in front of a mirror, with a friend, or by yourself. If you practice 10-15 minutes each night, then:
· You will learn faster!
· You will understand what’s going on in class.
· Your signing will improve drastically.
· You won’t have to study as much for tests/quizzes because you will already know the material.
· You will remember more things from each unit.
2. WATCH everything that is going on in class. Watch other people practicing. Watch the teacher signing with other people. Try to understand as much as you can.
3. DO NOT “mouth” or whisper words while you sign. This is a bad, BAD, BAD habit. People who “mouth” words are relying on lip-reading for comprehension and not signing clearly. Make sure your mouth stays closed while you’re signing with your partner. This forces you to sign clearly and to read signs correctly, which makes you a BETTER signer.
4. STUDY for tests and quizzes. The tests are designed to see how well you understand ASL and how well you can put together the information that is signed to you. You need to know the vocabulary, the grammar, and all the things we cover in class.
a. How much should you study? Here’s a graph of the results from a recent test. Notice the difference in grades between people who practiced/studied at home and those who didn’t.
ASL/DEAF CULTURE EVENT CHECKLIST
DEAF EVENT CHECKLIST
· Attend4approved Deaf events (all pre-approved events are listed in the classroom and announced on a weekly basis) prior to the due date(s).
· Reaction paper needs to be 2 pages OR MORE
· Cover page including (name, date of event, name of event attended)
· Cover page needs to include a parent signature
· Your response pages should include only your response. (Do NOT add your name, date, etc. to the response section)
· Times New Roman font
· 12 point (not bold)
· Double spaced
· Left justified (not center)
· Proof of attendance is attached (brochure, ticket stub, signature of someone running the event, or a picture that CLEARLY represents the event you attended).
· EVERYONE needs proof of attendance.If a friend took a picture of you with a group of people at the event, YOU need to ensure that you have a copy. Do not expect me to verify your attendance by showing me the picture on someone’s phone or on someone else’s paper!
· If a picture is used as proof of attendance, the picture must be printed on the cover page.
· Your response paper must include details of how you felt prior to the event, during the event, and after the event. Include details of what you observed, how you used your sign skills, and what Deaf culture norms you observed. You may also want to include anything you observed that wasn’t a Deaf culture norm (e.g. people talking and not signing in the presence of a Deaf individual, etc.).
· Paper is free of grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors (ask at least two people to proofread your response paper to assist with eliminating errors)
· Reaction paper is turned in on time (due date). If you are absent on the due date, you MUST e-mail it to me
Due Dates:
1st QuarterSept. 14th
2nd Quarter Dec. 1st
3rd Quarter-Feb. 28th
4th Quarter- April 25th
http://austindeafevents.com/
American Sign Language
Class Rules and Expectations
Mrs. McCameron
“Be Good, Do Good”
1. Be Prompt- in your seat at the bell, turn in assignments on time & make-up tests ASAP.
2. Be Prepared- have pencils sharpened, notebooks opened, & ready to learn.
3. Be Productive- on task and participate in all class activities and games.
4. Be Polite- Respect yourself, others, your surroundings. Keep a positive attitude & keep negative comments to yourself.
5. Place your backpacks and any devices back of classroom’s table to prevent any type of distractions.
DON’T:
1. Be afraid to ask questions—IN ASL.
2. Bring food, drink, or electronics to class. Remove temptations then it’s easier to be good.
3. Sleep, work on other class homework, or write notes during class.
4. Cheat…especially in this subject area. It is very uncommon to come up with the exact answer as someone else, so don’t even try it! In the end, you’re only cheating yourself.
5. Interrupt the learning environment.
I have received, read and understand the class policies, procedures, and requirements as outlined. I will follow all expectations and rules of the class. Please include email addresses.
______
Student- print name Signature Email Address date
______
Parent- print name Signature Email Address date