This is the first ASL expressive video I have been brave enough to post. It is also my first 4.0 ASL video. I must admit I never understood The National Anthem / The Star Spangled Banner song; but now, thanks to ASL, I know what a "rampart" is and I can really sense the patriotism of the song! I hope you enjoy it!
Just click on the above paragraph and it will take you to the video as posted on my fb.
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Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Kids say the darndest things... question: ASL or SEE?
So said Art Linkletter and Bill Cosby... and I couldn't agree more!
So, I had this captive audience of the sweetest first graders ever gathered around my feet as I began to talk about some of the causes of deafness and what it might feel like to be deaf. Their wonderful teacher had already prepared them by showing a film about being Deaf and posting the manual alphabet in their room. Taking the advice of Audism Idaho (see comment on earlier post), I asked the kids how they might feel if they were in Japan surrounded by people speaking Japanese and heard in the distance an American speaking English? I suggested that they would be very excited and drawn immediately to this person even though they were strangers just because they shared a common language. I said they would probably ask each other lots of questions like where they came from, why they were in Japan, and where was the closest McDonald's...
to which a very bright young man who obviously watches the evening news said...
"We can't go to Japan right now because they are rebuilding from the Tsunami!"
Whew, I had my work cut out for me already, but this is getting more challenging every minute.
We talked about some of the different causes of deafness like genetics, illness, injury...
oh, and the problem of missing ear hairs... but what I did not know; and now that I do know ~ know that I cannot explain in understandable first grade terms is:
The hollow channels of the inner ear are filled with liquid, and contain a sensory epithelium that is studded with hair cells. The microscopic "hairs" of these cells are structural protein filaments that project out into the fluid. The hair cells are mechanoreceptors that release a chemical neurotransmitter when stimulated. Sound waves moving through fluid push the filaments; if the filaments bend over enough it causes the hair cells to fire. In this way sound waves are transformed into nerve impulses. (This must lead to the brain and to hearing?)
Well, needless to say, they won't be getting a science lesson from me on this one!
I also stressed the importance of facial expressions. I taught them the eyebrow raising for yes and no questions as well as the furrowed brow for questions requiring an answer other than yes and no. We also talked about how important it is to just be friendly when they meet someone who is different in any way.
Over the 2 Friday's I have worked with them about 40 min. each day and I had to miss last Friday due to possibly being exposed to Pertussis/Whooping Cough.
So I ask them at the start of our second lesson, what do you remember from last Friday?
An excited young man shouted out (as his hand went up), "We need ear hair to hear!"
All I could picture was Grandpa O and all the scraggly gray ear hair he used to have that just stuck out... it was all I could do ot to laugh out loud. We then had fun practicing a couple phrases we learned the week before and a couple new ones, "Hi, how are you?" and "What's up?"; "Hi, my name is _____." and "You are beautiful." Several kids took turns signing, "Hi, my name is _____." when they signed their name to me, I signed back, "Hi, ____ It's nice to meet you!" Lastly, we sang and signed the ABC song. I asked the kids if they could "see" the letters on my handshape. Obviously, "seeing" the letters is subjective and not 100% realistic, but it was a start to teaching them that ASL is a visual language.
Need your valued opinion... in teaching the song, It's a Wonderful World...should it be pure ASL or SEE?
Thank you so much for your patience with this blog. Several irons in the fire are: a post from a person who actually wears a cochlear implant who volunteered to answer a ton of my questions, an interview with a teacher of the Deaf, and so much more!
Please share this on your fb or through emails
AND please consider becoming a follower, and I promise to update more often.
Be blessed:D
So, I had this captive audience of the sweetest first graders ever gathered around my feet as I began to talk about some of the causes of deafness and what it might feel like to be deaf. Their wonderful teacher had already prepared them by showing a film about being Deaf and posting the manual alphabet in their room. Taking the advice of Audism Idaho (see comment on earlier post), I asked the kids how they might feel if they were in Japan surrounded by people speaking Japanese and heard in the distance an American speaking English? I suggested that they would be very excited and drawn immediately to this person even though they were strangers just because they shared a common language. I said they would probably ask each other lots of questions like where they came from, why they were in Japan, and where was the closest McDonald's...
to which a very bright young man who obviously watches the evening news said...
"We can't go to Japan right now because they are rebuilding from the Tsunami!"
Whew, I had my work cut out for me already, but this is getting more challenging every minute.
We talked about some of the different causes of deafness like genetics, illness, injury...
oh, and the problem of missing ear hairs... but what I did not know; and now that I do know ~ know that I cannot explain in understandable first grade terms is:
The hollow channels of the inner ear are filled with liquid, and contain a sensory epithelium that is studded with hair cells. The microscopic "hairs" of these cells are structural protein filaments that project out into the fluid. The hair cells are mechanoreceptors that release a chemical neurotransmitter when stimulated. Sound waves moving through fluid push the filaments; if the filaments bend over enough it causes the hair cells to fire. In this way sound waves are transformed into nerve impulses. (This must lead to the brain and to hearing?)
Well, needless to say, they won't be getting a science lesson from me on this one!
I also stressed the importance of facial expressions. I taught them the eyebrow raising for yes and no questions as well as the furrowed brow for questions requiring an answer other than yes and no. We also talked about how important it is to just be friendly when they meet someone who is different in any way.
Over the 2 Friday's I have worked with them about 40 min. each day and I had to miss last Friday due to possibly being exposed to Pertussis/Whooping Cough.
So I ask them at the start of our second lesson, what do you remember from last Friday?
An excited young man shouted out (as his hand went up), "We need ear hair to hear!"
All I could picture was Grandpa O and all the scraggly gray ear hair he used to have that just stuck out... it was all I could do ot to laugh out loud. We then had fun practicing a couple phrases we learned the week before and a couple new ones, "Hi, how are you?" and "What's up?"; "Hi, my name is _____." and "You are beautiful." Several kids took turns signing, "Hi, my name is _____." when they signed their name to me, I signed back, "Hi, ____ It's nice to meet you!" Lastly, we sang and signed the ABC song. I asked the kids if they could "see" the letters on my handshape. Obviously, "seeing" the letters is subjective and not 100% realistic, but it was a start to teaching them that ASL is a visual language.
Need your valued opinion... in teaching the song, It's a Wonderful World...should it be pure ASL or SEE?
Thank you so much for your patience with this blog. Several irons in the fire are: a post from a person who actually wears a cochlear implant who volunteered to answer a ton of my questions, an interview with a teacher of the Deaf, and so much more!
Please share this on your fb or through emails
AND please consider becoming a follower, and I promise to update more often.
Be blessed:D
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