American Sign Language in the Classroom

Jenning Prevatte, M. Ed.

As a college professor, I am privileged to work with outstanding individuals working in early childhood. During class sessions, we have fantastic discussions about child development, developmentally appropriate practices, and how to help children with challenging behaviors. My students are hungry for information and knowledge to enhance their abilities and skills as teachers. One strategy I've found to work repeatedly is American Sign Language (ASL). I love using ASL in the classroom for a variety of reasons.

"The research has demonstrated many benefits to utilizing sign language with hearing children. Some benefits noted in the research are developing larger vocabularies, greater self-esteem, and increased phonemic awareness and spelling skills. The research has deemed that ASL is a useful intervention for early education curriculum and is not only for deaf children." (Prevatte & Matthews, 2013)

Some additional benefits are:

Using signs helps to lower noise levels in classrooms and provides alternate means of communication. I've used it from early childhood to higher education.
It reduces frustrated screaming and crying in young children by providing an effective communication tool to meet their needs.
Signing minimizes stress and frustration for early childhood educators responsible for simultaneously meeting many children's needs. If you know WHAT they want, you can be more efficient in supporting them.
Signing reduces the "guesswork" in meeting each child's basic needs, resulting in more time for positive, intentional interactions. I've found this to be a great tool when working with multilingual learners.
Signing significantly reduces problems with biting in toddler rooms. Take away the frustration, and biting goes with it.
The use of American Sign Language allows children with exceptionalities to interact meaningfully with other children. It creates a common language for children to engage with each other. A general acceptance of children with exceptionalities is significantly enhanced when using sign language.
Signing supports diversity and inclusion by providing alternative means of expression.

I value this teaching strategy in the classroom so much that I co-wrote a book on ways to use it in an early childhood classroom. Some of my favorite ways to use American Sign Language (ASL) with children are:

Incorporate ASL into classroom management by adding signs for the following words:

Please
Thank you
Sit
Line up
Stop
quiet

Incorporate ASL into themes you teach, such as:

1. 1. Animals (Zoo, Forest, Farm, etc.)
  2. Nature
  3. Manners
  4. Friendship
  5. Community Helpers
  6. Foods
  7. Colors

Incorporate ASL into playground/outside exploration time, a nature walks, and sign what you see, such as a tree, rock, flower, etc. Then take your children inside and have them create a memory by incorporating an art project.

Incorporate ASL into music, nursery rhymes, and even stories:

1. ABC song – fingerspell the letters
2. Little Boy Blue – sign blue
3. Any songs from Dr. Jean are wonderful to sign to
4. Highlight repetitive vocabulary in stories.

Incorporate ASL into your daily classroom routines, such as:

1. 1. Lunchtime
  2. Nap time
  3. Hello & goodbye times
  4. Story Time – add signs to your favorite stories that emphasize the story's main idea or help the children understand and remember the story.

The four most important things to remember when adding ASL into your classroom are:

1. 1. Be Consistent
  2. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
  3. Model, Model, Model – even use ASL with other adults, show the children what you want from them and that this is a natural way of communicating
  4. Above all, have FUN!