Emily & Erin pave the way for ASL in 4J!

This week we were lucky to have a special presentation by Emily & Erin on ASL (American Sign Language). Since our current Unit of Inquiry How We Express Ourselves focuses on communication and targeting specific audiences, these 2 students took action to share their learning with the rest of the class.

They took time to prepare a keynote presentation that explained a bit of history for ASL, and also discussed other types of sign language that exist around the world.

Students enjoyed learning from their peers for a change! Emily & Erin split the class into two groups. One group learned a few simple words (ex: yes, no, where, good, bad and toilet) while the other group focused on alphabet.

Students really enjoyed Emily’s warm and funny approach to remembering the different signs. She was a natural teacher and I’m sure the students will never forget how to ask “where is the toilet”! Erin did a great job working with the letters and encouraged each group to challenge themselves and memorize small sets of letters at a time. Those letters are now up at the front of our class.

Tuning-In to How We Express Ourselves

Last week students explored how communication has changed over time. With Ms. Ade they brainstormed modes of communication that were used to express or communicate a message.

First they drew images of things we use to communicate. Then, with 3 colours, they circled tools from the past (green), present (orange) and possible future (red).

We hope to see more student-led action during this unit! Any connections with communication, target audiences, and advertising are welcome.

Over the next 2 weeks of the UOI, students will be investigating the function of advertisements and how the visual texts are constructed to manipulate an audience.

Owl City “Fireflies” in ASL

As a music-link, students are also learning the ASL version of the popular song Fireflies! We are hoping to visit a School for the Deaf (Santi Rama) sometime during this UOI.  This week they started learning the first minute of the signs…they were not easy! Hopefully they will continue practicing at home.