30 Amazing Teachers ~ Kristin

Hey, everyone! I'm Kristin from School and the City. I'm a 2nd grade teacher in Atlanta that blogs and creates TPT products as a hobby. 

One of my favorite parts about this online hobby is that I've been able to connect with amazing educators all over the country, like Cassandra! I am so honored to have been asked to participate in the celebration of her 30th year. Thanks for having me! 

I'd love to share with you some information that I have previously shared on my own blog, but that I think is important and makes my classroom unique. Maybe you can take this information back to your own classroom! 

By the end of my first year teaching 2nd grade, all of my students knew the American sign language alphabet and were using it daily. I'm not going to act like this was part of my master plan to enrich my students' learning; It was a TOTAL accident! In retrospect, teaching my students sign language was one of the best things that I accidentally-on-purpose did as a first-year teacher. I loved it so much, that I started doing it with my students every year. 

It all started during word study. It was one of those days that all teachers have. I was tired, I had a headache... and I had what I thought was a brilliant idea. I pulled up and projected the sign language alphabet. We talked a little about how ASL (American Sign Language) is a different language, just like Spanish and French are different languages from English. I paired up the students, pointed out the week's spelling and sight words, and said "go." My second graders spent 20 minutes signing words to their partners, who in turn had to figure out which spelling or sight word it was. 

Just like that, my class was HOOKED! They begged me to do sign language every day. I printed each of them a copy of the alphabet and sometimes we practiced sign language as a brain break. My kids could not get enough. It was amazing to me how quickly they all picked up on it. It wasn't long before I could start incorporating sign language into our daily routines. 

RAISED HANDS 

When students raised their hands, they made a Q for a question, C for a comment, or an R for restroom. This was a major help to me, as I could avoid the storytellers when needed. I realize that sometimes there is some controversy with this. I made sure that my students knew that they were signing first letters, not the actual signs for those words.

BATHROOM BREAKS

You know that awkward time when kids are done using the restroom and they have to stand in line silently and patiently? I would sign the name of someone standing the correct way in the hallway, and that student would raise his or her hand. It was amazing to have all 26 students standing perfectly in line, silent, and watching me intently. We started with first names, then last, then middle. After they got the hang of it, I let the kids be in charge. (Once, I used this method to keep my class under control while waiting to be dismissed from an assembly. My administration was impressed!) 

CHORAL RESPONSE 

As you know, it's important to use choral response as much as possible so all students stay actively engaged. When we practiced multiple choice questions, I had students show me their answers by using sign language for A, B, C, and D.  We also used T and F for true and false, as well as Y and N for yes and no. 

ATTENTION GRABBER

Occasionally I would use sign language to grab my students' attention at the start of a lesson. I would stand silently at the front of the room and use the ASL alphabet to slowly spell out words to form a sentence. The kids would sit still and quiet, trying to figure out what I was spelling. 

Bonus: LUNCH

When the cafeteria monitors decided to put the students on silent lunch due to noise level, my class got creative and began communicating to each other in sign language. My colleagues and I thought it was hilarious and couldn't decide if we should put a stop to it or not, because although the kids were communicating, they were technically being silent! 

Why teach ASL in your classroom?

I have seen some complaints from some angry people in the past about how ASL is a language that is a tool for people with disabilities to use out of necessity. I've read comments saying that it shouldn't be used for "fun" or for "convenience" in a classroom setting. Maybe the ways I use sign language in my classroom are for fun and for convenience, but isn't sign language also an important life skill?

I have to admit, I got this idea from my mom. My mom taught me the ASL alphabet when I was a kid, but I never felt the need or desire to learn it. It wasn't until a trip to a random museum during the summer that I learned of its importance. 

My mom and I entered a restroom where a custodian was cleaning. We knew that she was deaf by her response when my mom said, "hello." As my mom realized this, she began signing to the deaf woman. Given, my mom is not fluent in ASL, but she does know the alphabet, so she communicated by spelling words. 

You should have seen this woman's face. I, for one, will never forget it. She lit up, smiled the biggest smile I've ever seen, and immediately began communicating with my mom. By the end of the short conversation, she was crying tears of joy and hugged us goodbye.

All that being said, YES, sign language is a form of communication usually used out of necessity. But why not teach the basics to the next generation so that they might make someone's day sometime down the road? 

As long as it's done correctly, it's worth doing. 

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Thank you, Cassandra, so much for having me me! Here's to an amazing 30th year!