Week 16 / Day 3

Class Length: 50 minutes

Course Information:

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ASL 2A (first semester & 2B (second semester) is a second year course for
high school ASL students. Classes are held once daily for a 55 minute period,
from September to June.

Course Description:

This ASL 2A/2B course will reintroduce and add on to introductory American Sign
Language for students who have a basic knowledge of ASL. Students will learn
comprehension and production of ASL through interactive activities focusing on
grammatical features, dialogues and narrative skills. Students will also become
familiar with Deaf culture, its diverse communities, and cultural identity.

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Course Goals:

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

1.

2.
3.

Attain the necessary comprehension and productive skills of American Sign

Language to begin basic introductions to ASL interpreting in the ASL 3A/3B
course.
Become self-empowered as allies to support relations with the Deaf community.
Accumulate ASL skills needed to become more attractive candidates in the work
force.

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Course Outcomes:

At the completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Apply authentic communicative skills learned in this course (narratives,
conversations, discussions) using American Sign Language.
ACTFL:
Communications; 1.1, 1.3
Connections; 3.2
Communities; 5.1

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Class Length: 50 minutes

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2. Demonstrate basic knowledge of cultural attitudes, norms and values in the

Deaf community.
ACTFL:
Culture; 2.1, 2.2
Connections; 3.2
Comparisons; 4.2
3. Utilize relevant technology to produce, identify, and assess key features in ASL
discourse.
ACTFL:
Communications; 1.2, 1.3
Connections; 3.1, 3.2
Comparisons; 4.1
Communities; 5.1, 5.2

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Master ASL! Unit 8:

Describing People
By the completion of this lesson, students will be able to:

Lesson Plan
Activity

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Lesson Plan
Outcomes

Select and apply

mouth morphemes
(puffed cheeks,
pouted lips, oo,
hard mm, cha)
to describe body
types.

Select and support

the use of salient
features as a
culturally acceptable
component of ASL
usage.

Paired exercise
divided by glass
window (Simmons, D
& McMillan, J. 2014);
using images on a
sheet of paper.
Compare image
order between
signer and viewer.

Lesson Plan
Assessment
Method

Aligned With
Unit Outcomes

- Comprehension

1, 2

checks
Teacher
observations
Recasting
In-class
assessment

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Class Length: 50 minutes

Task-Based Language
Teaching (TBLT)
Developed in late 1990s by
varied authors

Application
to
Unit Plan

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Teaching
Associated
Methodology Methodology
Details

- Similar to CLT, with a focus on

function rather than form of
language in real-world contexts
outside the classroom.
- Students use language to
attain an objective with
emphasis on meaning.
- Tasks revolve around problemsolving via a series of structured
tasks built upon each other.

-Students will diagnose minor

medical issues and make
decisions on treatment.
- The success of implementing
treatment protocol measures
whether language learning was
used successfully.

- Comparable to CompetencyBased Language Teaching

(CBLT).

Language learning activities are

structured around the use of
technological devices.

Communicative
Language Teaching
(CLT)

- Components of communicative
competence (such as:
grammatical discourse,
functional, sociolinguistic and
strategic) are focused on.
- Priority is given to real-world
contexts.
- Students assume more control
over their learning process as
active participants
- Teachers take a role as a
guide, or coach to facilitate the
process of learning.
- Teachers stimulate learners to
use language with meaningful
aims.

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Technology-Based
Language Learning
(TBLL)

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1980s to now; derived from

various authors, notably
Sauvignon

-Students will work together in

gap-information activities that
use iPads.
-The use of smartphones to
create selfies will be
incorporated into classroom
language learning activities.

- See TBLL for examples.

- Students will use culturally
appropriate examples of ASL
language (e.g. salient features,
NMS pointing, depicting verbs).

Week 16 / Day 3

Class Length: 50 minutes

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Materials needed
1. Digital presentations
2. Zinza, J.E. 1. (2006). Master ASL! Level One. Burtonsville, MD: Sign
Media Inc. ISBN: 1-881133-20-6.
3. In class assessment
4. Homework
5. Unit Test

equipment needed
(ITEM)

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6. Desktop computer
7. VGA cable / adaptor
8. White Board
9. Dry-erase markers
10.iPads (if available)
11.YouTube account
12.Point-and-shoot cameras

(QUANTITY)

(3)
(if needed)
(1 large; 30 small)
(15)
(30)
(individual)
(5)

Week 16 / Day 3

Class Length: 50 minutes

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lesson plan procedures

Entry Activity /
Roll Call:

Fingerspelling

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6 minutes; 50 minutes left

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Students will see a list of dates (year omitted) projected on the

screen. They will fingerspell the months and sign the numbers (day)
while other students arrive to class and seat themselves (which will
join the others in fingerspelling the dates).
When the bell rings, the instructor will call on two students to take
roll by fingerspelling (abbreviated) the months and signing the
number on the list.
The dates are the birthdates that connect the alphabetical order of
the students attendance roster.

Week 16 / Day 3

Classhair
Length:
50 minutes
Review facial
activity

Opening:

6 minutes; 44 minutes left

One student will mark the absences/tardies while the other student
fingerspells the dates and signs the numbers. A new pair of students
are selected every day.

Height

Body type

Hair

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Instructor will randomly pick 5 8 students. Ask them to describe a family

member or a close friend using the following:

Watch YouTube video presentation about salient features.

(Click on link below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1wRuwudoRM&feature=youtu.be

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Refresh introduction to Salient Features

Cultural information about identifying salient features

Applying salient features to (height/body type/hair)

Refresh:

YouTube lecture video:

Salient Features

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3 minutes; 38 minutes left

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Class Length: 50 minutes

Digital Presentation:

Salient features examples

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5 minutes; 35 minutes left

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The prompts written below the slide numbers are instructions give you a
concept of how to facilitate the lecture.

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Slide 1: Definition of salient features

Slide 2: Use ASL to describe the main features of both characters. Left
character: Focus on the nose, lips, eyebrows and eyes - maybe face shape.
Right character, focus on wrinkles, thin lips, big nose and ears, and hat.

Class Length: 50 minutes

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Week 16 / Day 3

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Slide 3: In hearing culture, to describe people in this way would be

considered rude and shocking.

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Slide 4: Some would be afraid to get a black eye!

Slide 5: In ASL culture, this is culturally acceptable.

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Week 16 / Day 3

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Slide 6: In other words, youre all good. Thumbs up!

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Slide 7: Why dont we give this a whirl? Focus on characteristics that stick
out. The German Shepherd with pointy ears. The small short dog with hair
over its face. The Australian Shepherd with the eye patch. The terrier with
scruffy snout.

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Week 16 / Day 3

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Slide 8: This skill of identifying salient features is not only limited to ASL.

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Slide 9: Police officers. Firefighters. It is their job to quickly identify people

they have never met.

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Class Length: 50 minutes

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Slide 10: Using salient

features to identify
people when public
speaking, or working
as waitstaff is
important.

Slide 11: Teachers

need this skill to
remember students.

Slide 12: Sign Language Interpreters must be able to quickly identify people
in a room, without using names. They can describe salient features to the
deaf client.

Class Length: 50 minutes

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Week 16 / Day 3

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Slide 13: Now lets have some fun. What are they wearing? What is their
hair like? Smiles? Look for things that stick out!

Slide 14: Pick 2 - 5 examples before beginning the activity introduction.

Week 16 / Day 3

Class Length: 50 minutes

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Glass Wall Activity

Week 16 / Day 3

Class Length: 50 minutes

Activity Introduction:

Glass Wall Activity

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5 minutes; 30 minutes left

1. Photo files will be pre-loaded into iPads. (This should be done before
class). A series of photos are included. Two copies of each photo are in
this series.

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Sample photo pair shown below:

2. Teacher selects two students to model activity. Each student is given an

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iPad.

3. Both students will open an identical photo file.

4. Students must select the top three salient features of a person/animal/
character in that photo file, using ASL.

5. One student will describe the character, while the other student uses
Draw apps to circle the correct character or features.

6. This process is repeated in reverse, with the previous drawing student

giving salient features of a character of their choice to the partner.

Week 16 / Day 3

Class Length: 50 minutes

7. After both have completed, they check their iPads, side by side to

Activity:

Glass Wall

compare notes.

1. Arrange students in pairs.

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20 minutes; 25 minutes left

2. Instructor and students walk towards glass wall located in the hallway.

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3. Students form two lines; divided by the glass wall. One line will be one
side of the glass wall, while the other line will be on the other side of the
glass wall.

4. Partners should be facing each other - looking at each other through the
glass wall.

5. Distribute iPads to students.

6. Instruct students to open emailed photo files.

7. This activity will be done twice for each pair of photos; the first round,
one student will be the signer, while the other partner will be the viewer.
8. Their names should be typed in the signer and viewer boxes in the
photos.

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9. The signer should circle 5 examples in the photo file, using the Draw app
on their iPad, WITHOUT revealing the answers to the second student.
Pick any color ink.

10.The signer will now sign salient features of the 5 examples they circled.
The viewer must try to find those examples based on the signers choices
in ASL; the viewer will try to match those examples by circling them in a
DIFFERENT ink color on their iPad.

Week 16 / Day 3

Class Length: 50 minutes

11.During the second round, the signer becomes the viewer and the viewer

Closing:

HW announcement

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5 minutes; 5 minutes left

becomes the signer. Repeat the activity demonstrated during the first
round for the 2nd copy of the same photo.

12.When this round is completed, students move onto the next pair of
photos, and repeat the activity.

13.This activity is repeated for three photo pairs.

14.Upon completion, the students send an email including their circled

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answers to the teacher. NOTE: See activity rubric for expectations.

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For homework, students can choose one of three options (pick one only) to
sign salient features:
A Family member

A Friend
Cartoon character (pick only from examples, and one character)

Examples of family / friends shown below:

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Class Length: 50 minutes

Rubrics

5 Matching

4 Matching

Descriptions

Descriptions

Awesome!

Good Work!

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Activity Rubric
3 Matching

2 Matching

1 Matching

Descriptions

Descriptions

Description

Not bad.
Try to find a
couple more.

Two down. Try

See me. Lets try
again to get three again and find
more.
some more!

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Homework Rubric
SUPERIOR

COMPETENT

IN PROGRESS

EMERGING

NOT EVIDENT

7-8

5-6

3-4

1-2

Demonstrates
ability to
accurately use
indicating verbs
while
describing
salient features

More than two

indicating verbs
accurately used
to describe
salient
features,
including those
not taught in
class.

Two indicating
verbs accurately
used to
describe salient
features.

One or two
indicating verbs
are expressed
and/or with
some errors.

More than one

indicating verbs
are expressed
with errors.

Indicating verbs
not included
and/or many
errors are
shown.

Clearly
performs three
examples of
salient features
for each
character
described

More than two

examples of
salient features
are accurately
applied and/or
including
additional
examples not
taught in class.

Two examples
of salient
features are
accurately
applied.

One or two
examples of
salient features
are expressed
and/or with
some errors.

More than one

salient features
are not
expressed and/
or with errors.

Use of salient
features is not
included and/or
many errors are
shown.

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CATEGORY

Week 16 / Day 3

Class Length: 50 minutes

Specific examples of cartoon characters (limited to those choices, please):

Students will sign their selection of salient examples and send their video for

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Works Cited
review via GoReact. NOTE: See Homework Rubric for expectations.

1. Zinza, J.E. 1. (2006). Master ASL! Level One. Burtonsville, MD:

Sign Media Inc. ISBN: 1-881133-20-6.

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2. Lewandowski, I. (2014). Facial Hair Exercise. Evergreen High

School, Vancouver, WA

3. Simmons, D & McMillan, J. (2014). Glass Wall Exercise. Gallaudet

University, DC.

4. Chart developed by Raychelle Harris for ASL 741, based on:

Brown, H. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to
language pedagogy. White Plains, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.
5. Richards, J. & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language

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teaching. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press.