Big Idea

I want students to practice analyzing and processing information – specifically, science vocabulary, which can be packed with abstract meaning and be a real challenge to remember.

Recently, I’m using American Sign Language to accomplish this goal. Like all languages, ASL has its own rules and conventions. And, like the words we use to convey complex ideas, ASL needs to do the same through gestures, which is amazing to me because a few gestures can potentially represent many levels of complexity in an idea.

With my students, I’m starting to introduce science concepts along with the ASL signs. Students will…

1. first, hear and read the definition
2. then, see and do the actions in ASL
3. then, process and analyze the word’s meaning and whether its representation in ASL makes sense.

I find my ASL signs for science terms at:
https://wiki.rit.edu/display/sciencelexicon/Science+Signs+Lexicon

Terms are categorized by topics, like Astronomy and Space Science, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Physical Science, Electricity and Magnetism, and more.

Resources

Handout(s): Handout – Analyze Science Concepts Better By Speaking This Language

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