The Handy Lingo Curriculum

A storytelling based learning experience

Sign Language Storytelling.png

American Sign Language is a beautiful language with a rich culture. Because it is a visual language, storytelling is a vital component of its history. Instead of learning with a dictionary type approach, I chose to share Sign Language with my students using a technique designed to get students to become ASL storytellers. Vocabulary is an integral part of learning any language, but instead of memorizing lists of words, we learn by using those words to share stories, songs and poetry. Our lessons will be language in motion and each lesson will incorporate new, exciting signs that compliment each story as it flows with ease from our fingers.

You don’t need to know any Sign Language to start learning this way and you will be signing in story form as early as your first lesson! The 2 steps I use include The 5 Wh Questions and 10 categories of vocabulary. Scroll down for more information and for some visual examples of what each lesson will include…

handy lingo curriculum sign language.png

The 5 ‘Wh” Questions are

  1. Who

  2. What

  3. When

  4. Where

  5. Why

The 10 Groups of Basic Vocabulary include topics such as

  1. Animals

  2. Family

  3. Food

    and so much more!

With ASL Storytelling in action, what will we learn?

  • We will share ideas.

  • We will learn why the language developed the way that it did.

  • We will learn about the people who use it.

 
sign language.png
 

Here are some visual examples of how the 5 ‘Wh’ Questions work with the vocabulary we will learn…

WHO MOTHER FATHER sign lanaguage.png
WHAT FOOD BEAR Sign Language.png
WHEN NOW LATER sign language.png
WHERE SCHOOL HOME sign language.png
WHY BECAUSE FOR sign language.png

ASL Storytelling TIP:

A great way to start using the signs you are learning is with childrens book you may already have at home such as the very well known Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? By Bill Martin, Jr/Eric Carle.

Download a free practice sheet to get to know the signs, learn them here and then start signing!

Keep going with more childhood favorites! Look through the book, write down the signs you need to know and then grab an ASL Dictionary from the RESOURCES tab of this website and get to work, or book a lesson with me and we can figure it out together! When you tell stories in ASL, you don’t sign every word, or even use English word order. Let’s talk about how to effectively and accurately tell the story using ASL and then practice using the stories you grew up loving.

 

Brown Bear, Brown Bear signs coming soon!

Check back for a complete visual example of the book!