American Sign Language Level 2
Course Syllabus 2016-2017
Instructor:
Mr. Trevor Schramm
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: T-F 7:15-7:40, 2:15-2:45 or by appointment.
Room: G185
www.wlasl.weebly.com
Prerequisite: ASL 1 or skill equivalent
Course Description:
This course is designed to provide the student with an intermediate understanding and skill level
of American Sign Language in the following areas - expressive and receptive skills;
fingerspelling skills; grammar; Deaf culture; and deafness. I designed this course to be a step
further into fluency and skill from level 1. Therefore, it will be more in depth, and in some ways
more challenging.
Grading Philosophy:
This class will be a very rewarding challenge; to earn an “A” will require a lot of diligence on
your part. I believe that your grade should reflect your ability to DO. The purpose of this
class is language acquisition. Your grade will ultimately depend on your ability to
understand ASL and be able to produce it. Please note you will need to be an active student to
earn the grade you want. I want you to succeed and I will help you get there! An “A” in this class
stands for outstanding, exceptional work. A “B” represents good, above average work. A “C” in
this class represents work that is mediocre or sufficient. A “D” is not meeting expectations, or
below average work. An “F” represents a failure to demonstrate functional ability with the
learning targets.
Grading Scale:
A
100%-94%
C+
79.9%-77%
A93.9%-90%
C
76.9%-74%
B+
89.9%-87%
C73.9%-70%
D+
69.9%-67%
B
86.9%-84%
D
66.9%-64%
B83.9%-80%
DF
63.9%-60% <59.9%
Schedule:
This will be your guide to what we will discuss in class and what assignments are due and when.
It is not meant to be an exhaustive list of what will happen in class, but to give you an outline.
**Check back periodically as it is subject to change.**
Date
Topic
August 22
Overview of class.
Introductions
August 24
Benchmark
overview/ Building
classroom
community, review
getting to know
each other.
Review #’s, colors,
school subjects,
Feelings,
Review modes of
transportation,
Personal attributes,
Family, age,
ranking.
NMMS
August 26
August 30
September 1
Sept. 6
Sept. 8
Hobbies, opinions,
time signs, jobs
(yesterday, next
week, etc.)
Classifiers!
FOOD!!
Instrumental CL
Sept. 12
Food
Opinions
Sept. 14
Time
Sequencing,
instructions.
Sept. 16
Cooking Show
Sept. 20
Furniture, stuff in a
house,
Assignment
Due
Bring a smile
Date
Topic
Assignment
Due
Sept. 22
Things around
the school Floor
plan layout
Hide-n-go-seek,
Floor plans
Shapes, textures,
locative CL,
Handshape
stories
Floor plan
description
1 hour chat
Sept. 26
60 fingerspelled
words (medium)
Sept. 28
Sept. 30
60 fingerspelled
words (30
medium, 30
fast)
Oct. 4
ABC Stories,
centers
Outline review
How do deaf
people…?
Oct. 6
Q&A session.
Captain’s log
Oct. 10
Review/ ABC
story feedback
Recipe
Oct. 12
Catch up day
Oct.14
ABC Story
presentations
Oct. 18
Review
Oct. 25
Receptive test
Cooking
Show!
ABC story
outline
ABC story
“rough
draft”
ABC story
final
I reserve the right to change this syllabus throughout the year as needed to maximize student learning
Assignments:
I strive to limit how much work you are required to do to an hour a week. If you want to
excel, practice, practice, practice! Push yourself!
Fingerspelled words
Online at asl.ms and at aslpro.com you will find a fingerspelling practice simulator that
has variable speeds. You will watch the simulator and record what words are fingerspelled. You
will be able to watch them multiple times. You will write down the words that were fingerspelled
to you and turn in the paper with the 60 fingerspelled on the assigned day.
Captain’s log
You are to record the events of your day and how you felt about them. Each entry should
be a minimum of 3 minutes. For the week that it is due, you will need to record 5 different
entries. If you record them on your phone, you will just show me the files at the end of the week.
If you do them on a computer, you can email me a screenshot of the files
Quizzes
There will be a bell ringer quiz every class period. There will also be other quizzes given
out throughout the term.
Recipe/ Cooking Show
We will learn how to give directions in the delicious way of FOOD! Glorious food! And
I’m dying to try it! Your recipe needs at least 6 different ingredients, and be delicious. Then
when you host your very own cooking show, you will have the chance to demonstrate how to
make your food, and we can all enjoy.
ABC story outline
You will bring a written or printed out outline of your story that will follow the following
format: A=Knock B= Open door C= Come on in! D=walk in etc. There will be a handout to
explain more as this gets closer.
1 Hour of chat
With someone that is conversant in ASL, you will chat with them for a minimum of 1
hour for the week assigned. If you would like to break it up into smaller sections i.e. 4 15-minute
sessions, that is a good idea. You will then have everyone involved sign the paper and give me a
synopsis of what you discussed. Your parents will also sign the paper to further verify that you
completed the assignment. This will probably help your fluency more than any other singular
homework assignment.
Some notes: teaching someone signs is NOT an acceptable method of completing this
assignment. You may use my classroom during lunch to meet up with people to finish this
assignment. Skype, Facetime, Tango, or other video chat software, is a great way to coordinate if
you can’t physically meet up with someone.
Missing class:
Missing class will be detrimental to your learning. As this course builds on itself, if you
miss a day, it will be your responsibility to check the syllabus or talk with a friend to know what
transpired during class. Then after finding out what you missed, come talk to me on when and
how you will make it up. There are things that will be very difficult to make up independently. If
you have a planned absence (i.e. field trip, vacation, sports trip, doctor’s appointment, etc.) you
will need to turn in/complete the assignment before you leave.
Electronics and other doodads:
Technology is a great development, and has some incredible uses that weren’t even
dreamed of years ago. However, digital etiquette must advance as fast as technology does. We
will utilize your phones and other devices frequently during this course to enhance our
experience. However, I do not permit you to use them for other reasons during class. This
includes having headphones in, or even just one.
Late work and retakes:
*At my discretion*, you will be given one week to retake a quiz, or resubmit an assignment. You
will need to write me a paragraph explaining why you are doing a retake and what you are going
to do to better learn the material. This application for retake and the retake must be done in the
one week period, after that you will not be permitted to retake the quiz. I will keep your highest
score. For some quizzes or assignments, I will give you the material you will need to do to retake
the assignment.
If there is an extenuating circumstance in regards to turning in work on time, please
communicate that with me as soon as possible. Late work will need to be accompanied with a
one page essay explaining why the work was late and what could be done to get future work
done on time. *This will also be accepted per teacher discretion.*
School policies:
I support and strictly enforce the following school policies:
(If you are not sure what the policy is, or if what you are doing is okay, come talk to me)
Dress code
Cheating
Sexual harassment
Thunder Mastery Units
Bullying
Computer usage
Students with a “504”
Students that need accommodations because of a disability, have emergency medical
information to share, or need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated should
inform the instructor immediately, privately after class. Students should discuss their needs with
the instructor in order to receive accommodations.
.