Syllabus
American Sign Language 4 - Syllabus

Teacher: Sarah J. Bannon Room: 219 NGC      Email: sbannon@eanesisd.net

COURSE DESCRIPTION:     

 This course is an introduction to intermediate skills in developing production and comprehension skills in American Sign Language (ASL).  Students will learn ASL vocabulary, structure, and grammar.  Course content also includes the manual alphabet and numbers. Students will further refine their conversational abilities, culturally appropriate behaviors, and learn about the culture and history of Deaf communities.               

REQUIRED TEXTS/MATERIALS:

1. TRUE+WAY ASL: Units 5-8 e-Workbook. 3rd Edition. (2022)

2. Socrative   

3. Deaf culture-related textbook(s) - digital

4. EDpuzzle

NOTE:  May add or drop materials/apps/etc.                                                              

COURSE RATIONALE / OBJECTIVES:   

The purpose of this course is designed to help you develop the study skills you need to learn a language and to review and practice what you are learning in your language class. This may include lectures, small group activities, use of electronic media, going to ASL Lab, and Deaf events. You will be encouraged to practice your receptive and expressive skills so that you can have a positive experience with your language course. Students are expected to come to class well prepared to participate in daily discussions. The grammatical explanations will be kept to a minimum and students will be required to work in pairs and small groups. Active participation in group work is required for the success of the class.

Assignments in class are due by the end of class on the day the assignments are given.  Extended time according to the individual’s 504/SPED accommodations is always given as long as you are working on my assignments during the duration of my class and that you communicate with me.  

ASL ZONE:                                                                                                                                 

This classroom is an ASL Zone.  It means voicing or English mouthing during class time will be prohibited.  Once you are in the classroom, please silence yourself and sign with your class peers and ASL teachers.  Talking without signing in the presence of a Deaf teacher or any Deaf person is considered rude in Deaf culture. Not only is it a classroom policy, it is also a socio-cultural norm and custom in the Deaf world. Source: Handspeak  Write notes to each other if you must.  Otherwise SIGN!  This ASL ZONE / NO VOICE rule will be enforced from day 1 and throughout the school year.  Disruptive students will be asked to leave the class.

MAKE-UP POLICY:

Make-up work will follow procedures as outlined in the Student Handbook.  Make-up work is the responsibility of the student, not the teacher.  If a student is absent, they are required to follow up with the teacher to make up any assignment(s), quiz, test, or exam.  The students have two school days to complete any make-up work.  Make up quizzes, tests, and exams are scheduled based on the teacher’s availability.

COURSE GRADING SYSTEM:

Your comprehension and production skills will be evaluated regularly. You will also be evaluated on your preparation for class activities and your assignments outside of the class.

1.    DAILY:  30% 

• TRUE+WAY ASL (TWA) e-Workbook assignments: This workbook is designed to retain and reinforce what is learned in the classroom. Complete the assigned workbook assignments by assigned due dates announced in the class. Late assignments will not be accepted.

• TWA “SOAR” video assignments: The Self-Observation Assessment Review (SOAR) videos at the end of each unit in TRUE+WAY ASL e-Workbook website. You are to record your work via Flipgrid and submit your video by the due date. Late assignments will not be accepted.

• Dialogue Drills

2.    QUIZZES:  20%

• Quizzes: Some quizzes will be announced in class and some will be “pop” quizzes. The quizzes will be based mainly on the ability to comprehend ASL and cultural information. Questions may also be drawn from the reading/viewing of the TRUE+WAY ASL e-workbook/video, video assignments, vocabulary, and class discussions.

3. MAJOR:  50%

• Unit Tests (Comprehension & Production): Unit tests will cover all material presented to that point of the class. They will include information from quizzes, TRUE+WAY ASL, class notes, handouts, lectures, vocabulary videos, as well as your comprehension and production skills.

• Presentations: presentations will be conducted in ASL expressively (required)

• Projects

4.    FINAL EXAM:  20%

•  Final Exam: Further information will be given at a later date.

ASL 4: STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this course, the students will able to: 

Vocabulary Development

• Recognize and produce vocabulary items in each unit.

• Demonstrate comprehensive mastery of targeted vocabulary words drawn from class items, lectures, and videos.

Grammatical Features

• Demonstrate comprehensive mastery of target, content-specific commands, questions, and statements in ASL.

• Identify grammatical features within short dialogues in ASL directed by the professor.

Conversational and Communication Skills

• Demonstrate comprehension and conversation facilitating behaviors.

• Demonstrate comprehension and production of regulating behaviors (i.e. attention-getting techniques, turn-taking signals, and others)

• Comprehend short narratives and stories in ASL signed by the professor, Deaf ASL speakers, or ASL videos added by the professor.

• Demonstrate the ability to create, conduct and terminate a short 

content-specific conversation.

Cultural Awareness

• Analyze and critique competing perspectives of diverse Deaf Communities in 

the United States and Canada, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural practices, 

and its history.  

• Compare, contrast, and interpret differences and commonalities among Deaf 

and hearing cultures.

Class Calendar

Mondays-Fridays: 

4th period:  11:41 am-12:31 pm

Required Class Materials

1. TRUE+WAY ASL: Units 11-15 e-Workbook. 3rd Edition. (2022)

2. Socrative 

3. Deaf culture-related textbook(s) - digital

4. EDpuzzle

 NOTE:  May add or drop materials/apps/etc.