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Oxnard Union High School District

Educational Services

Students studying in library

CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK

Foreign Language

Beginning Sign Language (DPC #31251)

Course Information

Grade Level: 9, 10, 11, or 12

Length of Course: Two semesters

Type: Elective. Successful completion of this course may be used toward meeting the district’s foreign language graduation requirement.

Recommendation for Enrollment:None

Brief Description of the Course

AB 5l (O'Connell l987), supported by the California Association for the Deaf, the California School Boards Association, and the state PTA, deems courses in sign language acceptable as foreign language courses for the purpose of meeting graduation requirements.

This course is designed for hearing students. It will deal with everyday life situations through the teaching of key phrases and expressions, which the students must learn in order to be able to communicate in sign language. Each student will have ample opportunity to sign and converse with the teacher or with other students. This course will familiarize the students with American Sign Language and several modes of Manually Coded English systems. It will develop readiness for entry-level in sign language interpreter/teacher training, as well as developing basic skills for communicating with hearing impaired people at a worksite.

Board-adopted Textbooks

Newell/Holcomb. Basic Sign Communication. (Copyright 1983) National Association of the Deaf. Adopted 1997.

Supplementary Instructional Materials

Items listed below are commonly used as supplementary materials and are coordinated with the adopted course objectives:

  • Signing Exact English, Gustason, Pfetzing, Zawolkow. Modern Sign Press
  • The American Sign Language: Lexidal and Grammatical Notes with Translation Exercises, Hoemann. NAD
  • Expressive and Receptive Fingerspelling for Hearing Adults, Guillory, Claitor's Publishing Division
  • Play it by Sign, Kirchner, Joyce Motion Picture Company
  • Teacher selected materials
Brief Outline of Course Content
  1. Introduction to signed communication and and its history in the U.S.
  2. Presentation of basic material by means of vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, receptive comprehension drills, and question-answer drills.
  3. Frequent use of expressive practice and story telling with periodic videotaping.
  4. Frequent translation practice.
  5. Discussion of Deaf Culture.
Behavioral Objectives for Beginning Sign Language

The skills assessed in the district's Reading Comprehension, Writing, and Math Computations proficiency tests will be taught and reinforced in a manner appropriate to the content of this course.

The student will:

  1. Read and sign teacher-selected signs and stories to the satisfaction of the teacher.
  2. Match signs with vocabulary in various modes of communication.
  3. Translate expressed stories to ASL gloss.
  4. Add endings to ASL signs to SEE II - adding prefixes, and suffixes.
  5. Understand commands given in Sign Language by the teacher.
  6. Be made aware of the cultural aspects of the Deaf World.
  7. Converse using vocabulary related to the following:
    1. The school
    2. The time of day
    3. The members of the family
    4. The parts of the home and furniture
    5. Numbers
    6. Food and drinks
    7. Sports
    8. Animals
    9. Clothing
    10. Seasons
    11. The days of the week and the months of the year
    12. Dates
    13. Expressions of weather
    14. Professions
    15. Pastimes
    16. Health and survival terms
    17. Other appropriate life-situation terms
  8. Answer questions orally and in writing (gloss) making structural changes.
  9. Participate in situational dialogues.
  10. Be provided with the basic knowledge necessary for entry to an interpreter training program.
  11. Demonstrate proficiency and continuing improvement in the following "workplace skills," as appropriate for the designated coursework.
  1. Basic Employability Skills
    1. good grooming
    2. good manners, politeness and courtesy
    3. pride in a job well done
    4. honesty and high ethical standards
    5. punctuality
    6. good work attendance
    7. completes tasks independently
    8. good speaking skills
    9. good listening skills
    10. good penmanship
    11. follows directions
    12. basic keyboarding skills
    13. computer literacy
  2. Employee Relations Skills
    1. able to work with teams of people
    2. cooperative attitude
    3. good interpersonal skills
    4. collaborates to problem-solve
    5. respects authority
    6. high cultural respect and sensitivity
  3. Job Success Skills
    1. problem-solving skills
    2. decision-making skills
    3. critical thinking skills
    4. higher order thinking skills
    5. able to plan and complete a project
    6. willing to engage in lifelong learning
    7. math skills through algebra
    8. good reading and writing skills
    9. good articulation skills
    10. good study skills
    11. meets increasingly higher expectations
    12. bilingual
    13. able to use technical tools correctly and safely
    14. able to change from task to task
    15. knows how to learn what one doesn’t know
    16. knows how to build upon what is known
    17. is a self-starter
Assessment Procedures
  1. Teacher-constructed tests
  2. Informal observation of selected skills
  3. Class participation
  4. Class presentations
  5. Monitoring of class assignments
  6. Periodic videotapings


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