The American Sign Language (ASL) Club will bring awareness about Deaf culture while teaching American Sign Language. The club will provide students with basic ASL skills and knowledge of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities in order to apply ASL to their own lives. One in five Americans will experience hearing loss in their lifetime, and nearly half a million people in the United States use ASL. American Sign Language is a full, rich, distinct language unrelated to English or other spoken languages, with its own grammar and vocabulary that require years to master.

Students in grades 9-12 are welcome to join and there is no cost to join. Students are expected to attend 3 out of 8 planned monthly lunch meetings (during T1 and T2, lunch meetings are on Mondays and Tuesdays; during T3 and T4, lunch meetings will be on Wednesdays and Thursdays). Anyone who fails to attend 3+ lunch meetings will be ineligible to attend the monthly Club Day meeting.

More info...ASL Club will begin the year with learning finger spelling, progress to basic vocabulary in a variety of topics, then tackle ASL grammar, all while concurrently learning about Deaf history and culture. We will follow the Signing Naturally textbook and eventually, with lots of preparation and planning and permissions, possibly host Deaf and sign language awareness opportunities (such as "silent” lunches, for instance) and attend events hosted by the Deaf community in this area. Our ultimate goal would be to develop our skills to create connections with and become allies to members of the Deaf community.

TEXTBOOK WE WILL BE USING:

Signing Naturally: Student Workbook, Units 1-6 (Book & DVDs) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/1581212100/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_G0JPHK51FSB5AKQAZ3GK

For more information see Mrs. Young. stephanie.young@lincolnschools.org