Developed by Shanna Grossinger

Time Required for Activity:  5 mins

Competencies Address: ASL Grammar, Use of Space, Depiction

Objective(s):

Learners will:

  • practice depiction in the re-telling of an English transcript
  • compare their own work with original ASL source

In this video, different individuals share perspectives of why they valued attending a deaf school. Each activity focuses on one person’s perspective.  

Step One: Generation

Translation by ASLized

Read the following English transcript of a segment of the video “Deaf Schools.”  Re-tell this information in ASL.  We recommend recording your work so you can compare it to the original video later in this process.

SERICIA JACKERSON (TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF):

I was fine while attending a mainstreaming school all my life until I transferred to a Deaf school. My confidence in creativity and social skills truly soared. I used to be timid and somewhat stoic when signing, but I now become more expressive and creative such as ABC stories and sign play.

Step Two: View the Source

Now watch the original ASL text from which the English transcript was generated.  Watch the clip of Sericia Jackerson (1:05-1:25)  and compare how she shows the information.  You may choose to focus on different skills in your analysis including ASL grammar, use of space, or classifiers – as well as overall use of depiction.

You may also want to shadow the signer, copying what they do to focus on some of the skills you see in the text.

Be sure to turn off the CC and audio to be able to focus on the ASL. 

Note on the video: If you watch it more than once, the coding that plays just an excerpt will not work. You can either refresh the page, or manually start and stop the video.  This section is from 1:05-1:25.

Step Three: Re-Tell the Segment

Translation by ASLized

Now that you have seen the original source, re-tell this information in ASL.  We recommend recording your work so you can compare it to the original video later in this process.  Try to incorporate what you learned from watching the original video.

SERICIA JACKERSON (TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF):

I was fine while attending a mainstreaming school all my life until I transferred to a Deaf school. My confidence in creativity and social skills truly soared. I used to be timid and somewhat stoic when signing, but I now become more expressive and creative such as ABC stories and sign play.