Theme 1: Personal and Family Life

Greetings and Introductions

Communication

Person-to-Person Communication

• Use appropriate titles and names for peers and adults when making introductions.
• Use appropriate gestures and expressions of greeting and leave-taking.
• Ask and respond to simple questions about someone else’s identity and well-being.
• Use attention-getting techniques

Listening and Reading for Understanding

• Differentiate between informal and formal exchanges.
• Comprehend phrases related to a person’s state of well-being.

Oral and Written Presentation

• Demonstrate attention to accuracy of register in introducing self and expressing greetings.
• Present rehearsed and spontaneous greetings and introductions.

Cultures

Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products

• Recognize and distinguish between various culturally-authentic gestures and levels of formality of greeting and leave-taking.
• Demonstrate understanding of body awareness, touching, hugging, body language and greetings, including those used with text telephones (TTY), computers and technology advancements for the Deaf and hard of hearing.

Connections, Comparisons and Communities

Making Connections Through Language

• Discuss the use of morning and evening greetings.

Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons

• Examine customs of greeting and leave-taking between the hearing and Deaf communities.
• Contrast the use of registers in ASL and English.

Communication Across Communities

• Recognize the importance of greetings in the Deaf community.

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Formal and informal expressions

Physical Descriptions and Personality Characteristics, Feelings, and Emotions

Communication

Person-to-Person Communication

• Use a variety of adjectives to ask and answer questions about the physical appearance of people and objects.
• Ask and answer questions about a description, mood or emotional state.

Listening and Reading for Understanding

• Comprehend descriptions of physical appearance, personality traits and emotions.

Oral and Written Presentation

• Describe physical and personality attributes using a variety of appropriate adjectives.
• Present descriptions, both rehearsed and spontaneous, of people and/or objects.

Cultures

Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products

• Discuss cultural generalizations and stereotyping based on physical appearance.

Connections, Comparisons and Communities

Making Connections Through Language

• Identify well-known people studied in other disciplines who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Discuss the culturally-based conversational style of people in the Deaf community to be straight-forward when describing physical appearances.

Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons

• Compare adjective placement and agreement in English and ASL.
• Compare the tendency of the Deaf community to be straight-forward when describing physical appearances.

Communication Across Communities

• Describe well-known people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Descriptive adjectives
• Agreement and placement of adjectives
• Question and answer formation
• Object-subject-verb syntax
• Conversation regulators (e.g. You know? and Oh, I see.)

Family Members

Communication

Person-to-Person Communication

• Ask and answer questions pertaining to family members and relationships, including pets.

Listening and Reading for Understanding

• Identify family members and relationships based on signed descriptions.

Oral and Written Presentation

• Describe family relationships.
• Describe family members and pets.

Cultures

Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products

• Explain the importance of deaf connections within the family structure and community.

Connections, Comparisons and Communities

Making Connections Through Language

• Compare the role of the extended Deaf family.

Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons

• Compare and contrast family interactions in Deaf and hearing cultures.
• Contrast ways to express possession.

Communication Across Communities

• Use print and Internet resources to access information about Deaf culture related to families.

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Pet vocabulary
• Possessive adjectives
• Descriptive adjectives
• Pronouns (possessive and singular)
• Listing
• Contrastive structure
• Age and numbers
• Spatial placement

Clothing and Colors

Communication

Person-to-Person Communication

• Ask and answer questions pertaining to clothing and colors.
• Ask and answer questions to elicit a description of clothing and colors.

Listening and Reading for Understanding

• Identify clothing and colors based on signed descriptions.

Oral and Written Presentation

• Use descriptive adjectives and articles to describe clothing.

Cultures

Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products

• Discuss the use of dark-colored clothing to make the signer's communication easier to see.

Connections, Comparisons and Communities

Making Connections Through Language

• Discuss the use of color (e.g., in clothing, art, architecture).

Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons

• Discuss adjective placement and agreement.
• Discuss descriptive classifiers (DCL).
• Compare ways of expressing possession (e.g. 's in English).

Communication Across Communities

• Describe clothing available on the Internet and through catalogues and/or advertisements.

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Colors and other descriptive adjectives
• Adjective agreement and placement
• Descriptive classifiers
• Contrastive structure
• Listing structure
• Appropriate non-manual markers for classifiers

Theme 2: School Life

Numbers and Time

Communication

Person-to-Person Communication

• Ask and answer questions about age.
• Ask and answer questions about street addresses and telephone numbers.
• Ask and answer questions about time and scheduled activities.

Listening and Reading for Understanding

• Interpret signed communication about a time schedule (bus, train, class, movie listing, or TV guide).

Oral and Written Presentation

• Explain a schedule of activities.
• Present information about ages, phone numbers, addresses, and class schedules.

Cultures

Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products

• Discuss Deaf time schedules and cultural norms associated with activities.

Connections, Comparisons and Communities

Making Connections Through Language

• Do simple mathematical computations.
• Discuss temperatures.

Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons

• Compare time schedules and cultural norms associated with activities in the Deaf and hearing communities.

Communication Across Communities

• Discuss a time schedule, such as a transportation schedule, TV program schedule or movie listing.

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• "It is" vs. "at"
• Ordinal numbers
• Listing and ranking
• Age and numbers
• Clock numbers
• Temporal aspect (time signs first)

Days, Months, and Calendar

Communication

Person-to-Person Communication

• Ask and answer questions about days of week, dates, and months.
• Ask and answer questions about birthdays and celebrations.

Listening and Reading for Understanding

• Identify dates of events and celebrations.
• Comprehend simple announcements that include dates.

Oral and Written Presentation

• Prepare and present a weekly activities calendar.
• Present important dates and celebrations.

Cultures

Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products

• Identify holidays and/or celebrations of significance to the Deaf community, such as Deaf Awareness Week and Deaf Way II.

Connections, Comparisons and Communities

Making Connections Through Language

• Make connections with historical events related to the Deaf community, such as the development of signed languages in France and the U.S. and the founding of deaf schools.

Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons

• Compare how events in the past, present and future are expressed in English and ASL.

Communication Across Communities

• Use community resources, such as the Gallaudet website, to identify important dates and cultural celebrations within the Deaf community.

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Phrases for asking and telling the date
• Temporal aspect
• Topic comment
• Non-manual markers
• Past, present and future with time markers
• Use of "finish" and "will"

Classes, Schedules and Supplies

Communication

Person-to-Person Communication

• Ask and answer questions related to class schedules and school subjects.
• Ask and answer questions about school supplies, furnishings, and rooms.
• Ask and answer questions related to a typical school day and routine.

Listening and Reading for Understanding

• Understand simple instructions related to classroom commands or procedures, and basic computer technology.
• Comprehend a class schedule, opinions of classes, and locations in the school.

Oral and Written Presentation

• Prepare and present a class schedule.
• Describe a class schedule and necessary materials for various classes.
• Identify in which rooms classes are held.

Cultures

Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products

• Discuss educational settings for Deaf students, such as residential schools, mainstreamed classes, and self-contained classrooms.
• Discuss types of education programs for students who are deaf such as oral schools, cued speech schools and TC programs.
• Discuss the controversy related to Deaf and hearing issues and the educational settings of Deaf children.

Connections, Comparisons and Communities

Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons

• Compare the terms "Deaf" vs. "deaf".
• Compare classes, schedules and supplies in a Deaf school with those in a hearing school.

Communication Across Communities

• Present a school schedule of a student from a local Deaf school, such as the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School and the Model Secondary School for the Deaf.

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Vocabulary related to school schedules, rooms of the school and classroom objects
• Vocabulary related to telling time
• Personal pronouns
• Topic indicators
• Object-subject-verb order
• Question formation and interrogative expressions
• Negation
• Four + 1 parameters of a sign

Theme 3: Social Life

Interests and Leisure Activities

Communication

Person-to-Person Communication

• Ask and answer questions about interests and leisure activities, including likes and dislikes

Listening and Reading for Understanding

• Comprehend simple, culturally-authentic announcements and signed advertisements related to leisure activities.
• Identify activities being described.
• Determine whether a person likes or dislikes a particular activity.

Oral and Written Presentation

• Tell the degree to which a person likes or dislikes various activities.
• Tell when and how frequently a person participates in various activities.
• Tell what leisure activities a person does or does not do.

Cultures

Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products

• Identify popular sports and leisure activities within the Deaf community.
• Identify and discuss prominent Deaf individuals involved in sports and the arts.

Connections, Comparisons and Communities

Making Connections Through Language

• Discuss sports practices influenced by signed communication. such as the football huddle and baseball signals.

Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons

• Compare extra-curricular activities in the Deaf and hearing communities.
• Compare typical customs of socializing among Deaf and hearing young people.

Communication Across Communities

• Describe sports and leisure activities in the Deaf community.

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Present tense verbs
• Question formation and interrogative expressions
• Adverbs of frequency
• Negation
• Vocabulary for likes and dislikes
• Ranking
• Cardinal and ordinal numbers
• Vocabulary related to sports and leisure activities

Weather and Seasons

Communication

Person-to-Person Communication

• Ask and answer questions about weather and seasons.
• Ask and respond to questions about activities and weather during different seasons.

Listening and Reading for Understanding

• Identify weather and seasons based on signed descriptions.
• Identify weather and seasons as represented by symbols (e.g., picture of sun, cloud, rain).

Oral and Written Presentation

• Describe a variety of weather conditions and seasons.

Cultures

Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products

• Discuss the influence of weather on lifestyles and activities.

Connections, Comparisons and Communities

Making Connections Through Language

• Discuss accessing emergency weather information and local updates.

Communication Across Communities

• Interpret regional signs across America related to weather and seasons.

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Seasonal activity vocabulary
• Weather expressions

Theme 4: Community Life

Cities, Places, Activities, and Transportation

Communication

Person-to-Person Communication

• Ask and answer questions about a city.
• Ask about and give directions to a site within a town or city.
• Ask and answer questions regarding modes of transportation modes in a city.
• Ask and answer questions about when and where activities and/or celebrations take place.

Understanding Signed Language

• Identify locations on a map based on signed communication.
• Identify locations where activities take place based on signed communication.
• Find a location based on signed communication.

Producing Signed Language

• Give directions to a city location or activity.
• Describe a day’s activities, including locations.

Cultures

Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products

• Discuss the adaptations for the deaf related to transportation (e.g. flashing lights for the approach of a subway train, etc.).

Connections, Comparisons and Communities

Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons

• Compare the issues a Deaf person encounters in public transportation to those of a hearing person (e.g. public address system announcements, communicating with bus and taxi drivers, etc.).

Communication Across Communities

• Discuss issues related to deaf drivers.

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Vocabulary for giving directions
• Geography vocabulary
• Prepositions of location
• Question formation and interrogative expressions
• Commands
• Confirmation
• Asking and telling where (topic-comment structure)
• Basic requests
• Spatial referencing
• Noun/verb pairs
• Perspective

Shopping

Communication

Person-to-Person Communication

• Ask and answer questions about stores and types of merchandise.
• Discuss shopping experiences.
• Ask for or give the description of an item being purchased.
• Ask and answer questions regarding where items can be purchased and how much they cost.

Listening and Reading for Understanding

• Identify items for sale in an advertisement.
• Identify locations where specific items can be purchased.

Oral and Written Presentation

• Describe an item for sale in a store.
• Tell about the purchase or sale of an item.

Cultures

Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products

• Discuss the communication pattern of Deaf persons to be straight-forward, including in buying and selling situations.

Connections, Comparisons and Communities

Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons

• Compare the communication pattern of Deaf persons and hearing persons in buying and selling situations.

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Adjective agreement and placement
• Classifiers
• Non-manual markers
• Courtesy expressions
• Direct and indirect object pronouns
• Numbers

Restaurants and Food

Communication

Person-to-Person Communication

• Ask and answer questions about food.
• Ask and answer questions about a meal or restaurant experience.
• Order or take an order for a meal at a restaurant.
• Ask and answer questions regarding items on a menu.

Listening and Reading for Understanding

• Identify grocery and food items in a signed advertisement, menu, recipe, etc.
• Identify locations where specific foods can be purchased.
• Comprehend information about items in a market.

Oral and Written Presentation

• Describe a restaurant meal.
• Present descriptions and opinions about food.

Cultures

Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products

• Discuss Deaf manners as related to food and meals.

Connections, Comparisons and Communities

Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons

• Compare behaviors and manners related to food and meals in the Deaf and hearing communities.

Communication Across Communities

• Investigate information on silent dinners in the local area.

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Shopping for food
• Expressions for ordering a meal
• Nutrition and food groups
• Interrogative sentences
• Declarative sentences