GoogleProjectProposal

Name:
JuliaSansomandKristenFuller

TitleofProject:
AHandyLanguage

NeedsandOpportunities
Didyouknowthat
AmericanSignLanguageisthethirdmostwidelyusedlanguagein
theU.S.?(SignLanguageFunFacts)Althoughsignlanguageisusedbymany
people,notmanyhearingpeopleknowthislanguage!AccordingtotheNationalDeaf
EducationCenter,AmericanSignLanguage(ASL)classesareonlyofferedin
elementaryschoolsinahandfulofstates,eventhoughitisrecognizedasaforeign
language.However,ASLhasmanybenefitsforelementarystudents,includingbuilding
vocabulary,buildingcommunicationskills,improvingsmallmotorskills,improving
spelling,andimprovingclassroombehavior(FiveWaysSignLanguageBenefitsthe
Hearing).Therefore,learningASLasahearingstudentcanincreasethatstudents
achievementintheclassroom.ThisiswhyweareproposingtoteachbasicASLsigns
th
to4
gradestudentsatTraceCrossings.

SignLanguageFunFacts.(n.d.).Retrievedfrom
http://www.ics.uci.edu/
~mvyawaha/funfacts.html
5WaysSignLanguageBenefitstheHearing:HowASLImprovesCommunication.
(2013).Retrievedfrom
https://www.speechbuddy.com/blog/
languagedevelopment/
5wayssignlanguagebenefitsthehearing/

Audience/Clients/Users
Thisprojectisgoingtofocusongifted3rdgradestudentsatTraceCrossings
ElementarySchool.Studentswillbeselectedbasedonteacherrecommendationand
interest.ThestudentswilllearnbasicASLsigns.

Timeline

Session

Date

PreSession

2/3/16

DescriptionofSession
Wewillmakeanoutlineforeachsessionandcontact
teacherstofigureoutwhichstudentstoworkwith.

2/24/16 Wewillintroduceourselvestothestudentsandexplain
whatASLis.Wewillreadthebook,
MosesGoestothe

Circus
byIsaacMillman,whichisastoryaboutadeafboy
andhisfamily,andwewilldescribewhatourgoalisfor
eachsession.Wewillgiveeachstudentafilefolderwiththe
ASLalphabet,andeachstudentwillcirclethelettersthat
makeuptheirname.Wewillguidethestudentsastheylook
atthepicturesandfigureouthowtosigntheirname.We
willalsoteachthestudentshowtosignthephrasemy
nameis.Thenwewillpracticesigningournamewiththis
phrase.
Planning
Session

2/24/16 DuringourGooglehour,wewillplanandcreateresources
forournextsession.

2/25/16 Thestudentswilllearnhowtosignplease,thankyou,
howareyou?Iamfine,whatsup?yes,no,hello,
andgoodbye.Thestudentswillpracticethesesignsby
playingafilefoldergamewithapartnerinwhichtheywill
havetomatchthephraseorwordtothecorrectsign.

Planning
Session

3/2/16

DuringourGooglehour,wewillplanandcreateresources
forournextsession.

3/3/16

Wewillreviewwhatwelearnedlastweek.Then,the
studentswilllearnhowtosignthreedifferenttypesoffood
ordrinkeach.Wewillgivethemalistoftendifferentfoods
anddrinks,andtheywillchoosetheirthreefavoritesfrom
thelisttolearn.Thislistincludesthewords:apple,banana,
hamburger,hotdog,spaghetti,cheese,chocolate,water,
tea,andcoke.Afterteachingthethreechosenwordstothe
students,wewillholduppicturesofthetenfood/drinksthat
welearn,andthestudentswillpracticesigningthewordsas
weholdupthepictures.

Planning
Session

3/9/16

DuringourGooglehour,wewillplanandcreateresources
forournextsession.

3/10/16 Wewillreviewwhatwelearnedlastweekbyhavingthe
studentsengageinaKahootwherewewillfirstsigna
phraseorwordandthestudentswillselectthephraseor
wordthatwesignedontheKahoot.Then,thestudentswill

learnhowtosignthewordseat,drink,andfood.We
willalsoteachthemhowtosignphrasesthattheymightuse
atarestaurant,including:
Iwant...
Iwantmore
Myfavoriteis...
Iamhungry
Iamthirsty
Wewillaskthemtothinkaboutwhatotherphrasesthey
havelearnedinpastsessionsthattheymightuseata
restaurant.
Planning
Session
5

PostSession

3/16/16 DuringourGooglehour,wewillplanandcreateresources
forournextsession.
3/17/16 Forourlastsessionwiththestudents,wewillsetupamock
restaurant.Wewillsetatableclothonthetable,andthe
studentswillbegivenamenu.Wewillbeginthesessionby
reviewingthesignlanguagethestudentshavelearnedover
thepastfoursessions.Thenthestudentswillbeableto
showwhattheyknowbyusingthesignstheyhavelearned
toconversewitheachotherinarestaurantsetting.Wewill
haveasmalltreatforthestudentstoenjoy,andwewill
closebyhavingthemwriteareflectionabouttheir
experiencelearningsignlanguage.

Wewillreflectontheexperienceandcollectdataand
studentwork.Wewillbeginpreparingforourpresentation.

*OurGooglehoureachWednesdaywillbespentpreparingandlearningthesignsfor
thesessiononthefollowingday.

Product
Ourendproductforthisprojectwillbetohaveamockrestaurantforthestudentsin
whichtheywillconverseusingsignlanguage.Thiswillbeawaytoassessthestudents
toseewhattheyhavelearnedduringthesessions.Forourfinalpresentation,wewill
includepicturesfromthesessions,examplesofstudentwork,andstudentreflections.

RealityCheck
Inordertocompletethisproject,wewillfirstneedapprovalfromafourthgradeteacher
topullasmallgroupofhisorherstudentsoutoftheclassforonesessionperweek.
Aftergettingthisagreement,wewillneedrecommendationsfromthatteacheronwhich
studentsheorshethinkswillbestbenefitfromthisproject.Duringeachsession,wewill
needtoknowthesignstothewordsthatweareteaching.Wewillalsoneedresources
andmaterialsforthestudentsforeachsession.Wewillutilizeresourcessuchas:
childrensbooks,flashcards,visuals,filefoldergames,andnumerousactivitiesthatwill
ensureourstudentslearningthesignsweteach.Duringthethelastsessionwewill
needsuppliestosetupamockrestaurantscene.Wewillneedaplastictablecloth,
paperplates,papercups,plasticforks,apretendmenu,juice,andasmalltreatforour
students.

Conclusion
Wearesoexcitedaboutthisprojectbecauseitwillgiveustheopportunityteacha
secondlanguagetostudents.Wehopetoinspirethestudentstolearnevenmoresign
languagebeyondwhatweteachthemduringourtimetogether.Wethinkthatthisneed
isoftenoverlooked,sowehopethatthisprojectwillcreatemoreawarenessforthe
importanceofASL.

Reflection
Overall,weboththoroughlyenjoyedthisGoogleProject.Workingwiththese
studentswasoneofourfavoritepartsofthesemester.Wemetwiththemseveraltimes
toteachthembasicASLsignsthroughfilefoldergames,picturecards,kahootquizzes,
andreallifeexperiences.Wealwayslookedforwardtoworkingwiththestudents
becausetheywereveryeagertolearn.WedonotthinkthatthisGoogleProjectwasa
flopbecausethestudentsenjoyedworkingwithus,andtheylearnedmanyASLsigns.
Ifweweretodothisagain,wewouldkeepmostthingsthesame.Onethingthat
wemightdodifferentlyistoaddmoresessionswiththestudentssothattheycould
havelearnedevenmoreASLduringourtimetogether.Inourownfutureclassrooms,
wecanusemanyoftheresourcesthatweusedforthisGoogleProject.Ifwehavea
studentwhoisdeafinourclass,wecanhelptheotherstudentslearnwhatlifeislikeas
adeafstudentbyreading
MosesGoestotheCircus
andotherbooksbyIsaacMillman.
Wecanalsohelpthestudentslearnsomebasicsignssothattheycancommunicate
withtheirpeer.Evenifwedonothaveadeafstudentinourclass,ourresearchshowed
usthatteachingASLtohearingstudentshasmanyacademicbenefits.Inaddition,
somestudents,especiallygiftedstudents,mayhaveaninterestinlearningASL.Inthis
case,wecanusesomeoftheactivitiesandgamesthatweusedinourGoogleProject
tohelpthemlearn.

Studentlearningwasmeasuredinseveralways.Wehadthestudentsshowus
thesignsaswesaiddifferentwordstoseeiftheyknewthesigns.Wealsousedfile
foldergamestoseeifthestudentscouldmatchwordswiththeirsign.Wealso
measuredtheirlearningbyusingakahootquiz.Lastly,wehadthestudentsparticipate
inamockrestaurantmealinwhichtheyorderedfoodinASLandcommunicatedtous
andeachotherusingASL.
Onethingthatsurpriseduswashoweagerthesestudentswere.Theytruly
enjoyedlearningASL.Theywouldtellusthattheywouldpracticethesignsathomeand
thattheywouldshowtheirpeerswhattheyhadlearned.Itwasveryexcitingtoseehow
muchthestudentsenjoyedlearningASL.WehadawonderfultimedoingthisGoogle
Project,andwearegladthatweweregiventhisopportunity.

Pictures

Session1

Session2

Session3

Session4

Session5