7 Steps for ASL Teachers

American Sign Language (ASL) is the third most popular language of study chosen by college students, behind Spanish and French (and before German) per the Modern Language Association. As ASL classes are expanding in high schools and colleges across the country, there is a rapidly increasing need for ASL teachers to be equipped with quality strategies to meet the communicative needs of their language learners.

Since the publication of the 7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive, Foreign Language Classroom in 2018, a growing number of ASL teachers have been trained and have adapted the 7 Steps to match the unique intricacies of ASL as an expressive language. We are so excited that Bethany Davis contributed to 7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive World Language Classroom (2nd Edition) and created an entire section of the book dedicated specifically to ASL teachers!

As a snapshot of the work that has been done to train their colleagues on these strategies, this page will feature highlights of the adaptation and materials being used in the field by ASL teachers that are masters in their craft (and the 7 Steps!)

7 Steps to a Language-Rich ASL Classroom

is now available to book as a full day training with Seidlitz Education! Please contact Anna Matis for more details and availability. The training is conducted entirely in American Sign Language, and showcases how the 7 Steps have been adapted for ASL teachers!

7 STEPS TO A LANGUAGE-RICH ASL CLASSROOM

Rapidly growing in popularity and demand, more and more high school students in the United States are registering to learn the critical skill of American Sign Language (ASL). Like any language, teaching ASL requires high-impact and engaging strategies to facilitate learning. In this FREE one-hour webinar, Anna Matis, the author of 7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive Foreign Language Classroom, will be joined by ASL teachers Bethany Davis and Daphryne Manning as they share how to implement the book's techniques for ASL instruction with general education students. This session is appropriate for ASL teachers in a general education setting or deaf educators who would like to learn more about the 7 Steps to a Language-Rich, Interactive Foreign Language Classroom.

Bethany Davis, ASL Teacher, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD

Signs When Misunderstanding.pptx

Step 1: "What to Say Instead of I Don't Know" prompts for students PPT.

Students each have a copy of these slides to use as reference.

Storyboard Template

"The storyboard attachments is actual student work of how I worked around the "writing" aspect since ASL doesn't have a written form. I had students create a visual storyboard of the events in the story to demonstrate understanding. They then used those storyboards as a basis of their own story assignments, and it helped reduce the English grammar when they were presenting."

i wanna be different student example.pdf

Storyboard student example Gum.pdf

Bethany's Tips for ASL Teachers

Step 1: Teach students to sign the Step 1 Prompts (Clarification Stems)
Step 2: Prompt students by signing "Full Sentence"
Step 3: Use "Inside/Outside Cups" strategy for randomization
Step 4: Have the 1-5 rating system on a poster in the classroom
Step 5: Encourage students to act out, describe with classifiers, use opposites, and give examples to a sign/concept rather than use the ASL alphabet (fingerspelling)
Step 6: Do QSSSA with written or visual prompts, using pictures of signs from lifeprint.com or the textbook to help prompt students
Step 7: Use authentic resources (Vlogs and ASL Stories) as the "reading" activity. Have students draw out the events in the story/narrative in a storyboard.

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