A treasured part of the heritage of the Deaf Community is their language, ASL. It is, as with any culture, an important part of their identity. One of the fun and special traditions enjoyed and shared by the Deaf Community is signing stories using Number or Alphabet hand shapes. In these stories, various hand shapes do not stand for the numbers and letters themselves, but are used as signs or gestures to convey concepts. They are signed in alphabetical or numerical order, and used in amazing ways to sign or act out a story.
I want you to watch these ABC stories that I have chosen for you. The first story that I have selected shows how each letter is used to develop the story and you can see on the screen the letter as the signer uses it. Keep in mind these handshapes represent things, not the letters! The other two clips you must follow on your own. On Monday I am going to ask you to create your own ABC story! Story telling is a huge part of the culture and I wish to expose you to the many ways story telling is used. This will also allow you to learn how to better incorporate body langauge, mime, and facial expressions into your signing which are all important in your development of learning ASL. Not only that, you will be able to participate in a special fun tradition shared by Deaf people.
After you have viewed the videoclips, I want you to discuss these amazing stories with your ASL sisters and brothers (classmates). What did you think of them? What was easy for you to understand? Difficult? What fascinated you? What was inspiring? What can you compare this to in English?
Now think about traditions in your own families (think about your hertiage, culture, religon etc.)that are important to you and why. Also, what traditions are important to the American Culture? Compare and Contrast this to ABC stories in Deaf Culture.
Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj1MQhXfVJg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Iv8a299bQE&feature=PlayList&p=91196F2C6E7FD521&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZl9k3h0Glo&feature=related
