Discover Sign Language II (Self-Guided)

Lesson 1

Basic Introductions

In this lesson, you will be reviewing some of the vocabulary from Discover Sign Language 1 and adding some new vocabulary. The objectives for this lesson are for you to be able to build and use phrases and sentences to be able to participate in a basic conversation in ASL. You will also apply ASL grammar to ask and answer basic questions about yourself. You will learn about the origins of ASL in the United States. By the end of the lesson, you will be creating a video introducing yourself in ASL.

Asking Basic Questions

In this lesson, you will focus on asking and answering basic questions. A lesson on non manual markers is included to meet the objectives of describing and implementing ASL grammatical features. You will practice these skills on five different scenarios. A cultural highlight regarding the Deaf President Now movement wraps up the lesson. Lastly, you will create a video of yourself signing for the lesson assignment.

Emotions

In this lesson, you will focus on signs for emotions and feelings with the goal of being able to ask how someone is feeling and being able to answer if you are asked that same question. Often, conversations have a typical pattern: greeting, introducing yourself, asking about the well-being of the other person, responding, and then concluding with a farewell. Your objectives for this lesson include applying phrases and sentences to hold basic conversational skills while using basic signs for emotions. You will apply ASL grammar to ask and answer basic questions by asking how someone is feeling. Lastly, you will develop your understanding of ASL grammar by describing what role shifting means.

Placing Food and Drink Orders

In this lesson, you are learning how to place a restaurant order in ASL using your existing vocabulary and learning a few more signs. It is fairly common for Deaf clubs to meet at local restaurants or food courts. You will use your emerging ASL grammatical skills to ask and answer basic questions while placing a food or drink order. The cultural lesson this time is on famous Deaf Americans.

Locating Objects

In this lesson, you will cover vocabulary to answer questions on locating objects, and you will practice answers for when someone needs directions. You will learn how to ask where to find something or answer how to find something. You have learned how to ask, "Where is the bathroom?" But now you need to be able to understand the directions on how to get there.

Sports and Recreation

In this lesson, you will be focusing on vocabulary for sports and recreation. Another common topic when conversing with a new person is "What do you do for fun?" While you learned some basic sports and recreation signs in Discover Sign Language 1, now you are going to expand on that topic with some additional vocabulary. Also, you will learn about Deaf Poetry and the Deaflympics.

Holidays

Holidays and celebrations are always a topic that comes up in conversations. It seems we either just finished celebrating something or are planning an upcoming holiday. Much of our gathering as family and friends centers around celebrations. In this lesson, you will learn vocabulary for major American holidays and practice communicating appropriate holiday greetings.

Emergencies

This is an important lesson, as it is imperative for everyone to be ready for an emergency. As you go through this lesson, you will learn how to ask important questions in ASL during an emergency. You will also be able to recognize when someone is talking about an emergency situation. You have built quite a bit of vocabulary (128 signs!) so far, and you have been working very hard on putting it all together into grammatically correct phrases and sentences. That pattern will continue in this lesson. Lastly, the cultural note for this lesson is on International Sign—what it is and where it is used.

Jobs and Careers

In this lesson, we will learn vocabulary for common jobs, careers, and majors to assist you with a common topic of conversation—"What do you do?" Or sometimes, "What is your major?" You will learn about compound signs during the vocabulary portion of the lesson and about the history of Deaf Education in the Deaf Culture section. Lastly, you will be asked to conduct an interview with a member of the Deaf Community.

Weather

In this lesson, you will learn vocabulary for weather and seasons. As in previous lessons, you will have the opportunity to observe and practice with our language models. The Deaf Culture note for this chapter is on assistive technology and different ways the Deaf community uses it.

Family

In this lesson, you will expand upon your knowledge of ASL signs for family members. In Discover Sign Language 1, you learned the basics—mom, dad, grandfather, grandmother, and so on. In this lesson, you will expand your knowledge with some other extended family members, as well as nontraditional family members. After all, sometimes your neighbors and coworkers are as close (or closer!) as your family. You will have the opportunity to practice using the videos showcasing the language models. Lastly, the grammar section of this lesson focuses on Noun Verb Pairs.

Colors and Animals

In this final lesson, you will focus on colors and animals with the goal of signing a children's storybook as your final assignment. There are several practice activities leading up to the final assignment. The last grammar lesson focuses on classifiers.