How To Use and Teach

Sign Language (ASL) In

Your Classroom
Ali Adams
 What is American sign language
• Sign language uses hand gestures, facial expressions, and body movements to
express words and phrases. It’s the primary language for most Deaf and
hard-of-hearing people, though plenty of hearing people use it, too.
• Sign language isn’t the same everywhere—American Sign Language (ASL) is
the standard in the United States and Canada
 Why is Asl a
useful tool
• Approximately 15% of Americans are deaf or hearing
impaired
• Asl can be used for more than the hearing impaired
community is also a very useful tool for people on the
autism spectrum
• 1 in 68 children are diagnosed on the autism spectrum
• research shows that sign language speeds up speech
development, reduces frustration in young children
by giving them a means to express themselves
before they know how to talk, increases parent-
child bonding, and lets babies communicate vital
information, such as if they are hurt or hungry.
 Classroom
management
• signs allow kids to
communicate with you quickly
and quietly, without
interrupting the flow of the
lesson.
• Simple hand signs introduced
at the beginning of the year
and used constantly allows the
kids to understand them
 Communicating with the non-hearing
community
• Teaching simple American sign langue is beneficial to students because it
helps them communicate with the non-hearing community and embraces
diversity
 How to teach asl in the classroom
• There are many fun videos on youtube
• Printable alphabet with letter, numbers and images of signs
• Asl puzzles and games
 Why I chose this article
• Over the summer I worked in a day care as the infant one head teacher, many
children were still learning how to talk but using hand signs made it easier for
them to communicate what they needed. We used the sign for more, eat,
drink and please and thank you. I would do the sign back and forth with
them and it made it a lot easier to know what they needed.
 sources

• Staake, Jill. “How to Use and Teach Sign Language (ASL) in Your
Classroom.” We Are Teachers, 11 May 2021,
https://www.weareteachers.com/teach-sign-language/.