St. James ASL Class

Teacher Desmona

Hello all!

My name is Teacher Desmona and I teach American Sign Language (ASL) at our St. James site. This is my fourth year returning and coming to TALK everyday is my favourite part of the morning! I’m so happy to see new and returning faces this year! I'm looking forward to enjoying ASL along with your kids and families! I think we’re having fun so far :)

Activity Folders, Manual Alphabet

The first few weeks we will cover basic greetings, introductions, and personal identity. Giving and receiving this kind of information is very important in Deaf Culture. We will also practice the manual alphabet, numbers, and useful commands and sentences in the classroom.

We have played with beach balls and bingo boards to keep ASL fun while learning! We’ve created folders to keep any artwork or activities done in class. We’ve also decorated our ticket bags, where the kids store their tickets they earn to “purchase” prizes on Fridays. It is very important for the students to arrive to class on time each day and come prepared to play and learn in an ASL environment. I want them to get the benefits of the full class time so they don’t miss out of any of the fun. Plus, they will have the opportunity to earn more tickets. :)

Here's some vocab and ASL grammar we’ve covered so far:

Hello, Good morning

How you? (and common responses- good, tired, fine, etc.)

Nice to-meet you, Goodbye

You name what? My name (fingerspell name).
You boy, girl which? Me boy.  -or-  Me girl.

how-Old you? Me (age). (number is placed by chin and brought down like sign for old)

You live where? I live Davis.  -or-  I live Winters. (city names are fingerspelled first then signed)

This week we started our “Letter of the Week” where we practice an assigned letter. We will practice signs that start with the letter, practice fingerspelled words that start with the letter, and practice signs that use the letter handshape. Some of the kids have already added a couple additions to this week’s list. :)

Letter of the Week: Aa
Signs: American Sign Language, absent, again, age
Fingerspell: ASL
Handshape: practice, not, girl, which, live

Student Additions: animal (sign), Abigail (fingerspell), ice cream (handshape)

I’m having a wonderful time in class and look forward to the rest of the year! Thanks for stopping by! :)

Happy Signing!