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.

WAYNE BETTS JR. (AMERICAN SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF):

Reflecting on my middle school days, I have always wanted to make movies. I borrowed my friend’s small video camcorder and asked a dorm counselor for his permission to shoot on campus. He gave me his blessing as long as I could finish it in 2 to 3 days. I used my creative juices and shot lots of scenes. I tried my best at editing then everyone from the whole school came to watch my movie. It was the key to my inspiration. Signing made it possible for me to communicate my vision.

Step Two: View the Source

Now watch the original ASL text from which the English transcript was generated.  Watch the clip of Wayne Betts, Jr. (0:28 – 1:05)  and compare how he 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 0:28 – 1:05.

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.

WAYNE BETTS JR. (AMERICAN SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF):

Reflecting on my middle school days, I have always wanted to make movies. I borrowed my friend’s small video camcorder and asked a dorm counselor for his permission to shoot on campus. He gave me his blessing as long as I could finish it in 2 to 3 days. I used my creative juices and shot lots of scenes. I tried my best at editing then everyone from the whole school came to watch my movie. It was the key to my inspiration. Signing made it possible for me to communicate my vision.