This week is my final blog post of my free inquiry project about the use of American Sign Language in the elementary classroom. Throughout the semester I had the opportunity to explore various resources that classroom teachers can use to teach ASL in their classrooms. I started this project by exploring resources that are helpful when learning ASL for the first time and used them to learn some of the basics of ASL for myself. As I worked on the basics, I learned to sign numbers, the alphabet, my name, colours, and some other basics!

Once I understood some basic signs, I started researching the use of American Sign Language in the classroom. I learned about situations where using ASL could be beneficial in the classroom and about techniques that can be used to teach ASL letters and numbers to elementary students.

One of the most interesting topics to research was ASL student projects. Through that weeks blog post I was able to explore projects that could be used to teach ASL. These could not only be used in elementary classrooms, but middle and high school as well (if changed slightly to be appropriate based on grade level). In the final weeks of my blog I explored books that can be used to introduce conversations about ASL and Deaf culture to the elementary classroom.

My biggest takeaway from this project is the way American Sign Language can be beneficial in the classroom. Using ASL can help with classroom management, teach students a useful new skill, and help them better understand deaf culture. I am so excited to continue working on this inquiry and to implement my findings into my teaching practice one day!