Subscribe
Unsubscribe

ASL Rose Newsletter
Vol. 1 No. 3
March 2007

March to the Capitol! March to the pot of gold! March to your computer! Oh, wait a minute… you’re already at your computer! Hello again—it’s the month of March! Spring is just around the corner, and sooner or later that gentle west wind will blow away the winter storms!


On March 17, everyone is Irish for a day as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day! The lucky leprechaun smiles as he greets you with a pot of gold… golden DVDs/books, that is! There are four DVDs/books in the pot—in honor of the four leaders of DPN: Bridgetta Bourne Firl, Greg Hlibok, Jerry Covell, and Tim Rarus. For the entire month, from March 1-31, ASL Rose wants to offer YOU the pot! If you order four copies of Have You Ever Seen…? An American Sign Language ( ASL) Handshape DVD/Book, we will send you a fifth copy for FREE. You can either order the four DVDs/books for yourself and receive five, or find four other people interested in buying Have You Ever Seen…? An American Sign Language (ASL) Handshape DVD/Book, pay on one credit card for all the DVDs/books, and you will all benefit from the savings—A 20% DISCOUNT! Offer only good for one customer/credit card each, for the entire month of March. Don’t miss out on this fabulous pot of gold! [Unfortunately, we can only offer this discount to individual customers, not to schools, colleges, or other tax-exempt agencies.]

March is also National Deaf History Month, starting on March 13, which is the 19th anniversary of the conclusion of DPN (March 7-13, 1988), and runs through April 15. We honor the heritage of Deaf History, from the days of Gallaudet and Clerc to DPN to the present day. DPN of course is Deaf President Now, but it can also mean Deaf Professionals Now. DPN boosted the pride we all have in being Deaf and using ASL, and a large number of Deaf people have earned advanced degrees and are now professionals. We honor the strides the community has made over the years. Of course, here at ASL Rose, DPN also stands for Deaf Products Now! As a Deaf-owned business, we are working on producing additional quality materials for the future. Whether it’s Gallaudet University, Deaf professionals, or Deaf-owned businesses, ASL Rose salutes DPN!

There was another anniversary recently: the 100th anniversary of the National Literary Society of the Deaf (NLSD) on February 6! ASL Rose supports bilingualism, and in honor of the 100th anniversary of the NLSD, we gave a presentation at the central library in Washington, DC, the Martin Luther King Memorial Library, on February 3. Our program was “Legacy of the National Literary Society of the Deaf Continues With Have You Ever Seen…? An American Sign Language (ASL) Handshape DVD/Book. Literary and literacy are important to all of us, and ASL Rose was pleased to be able to be a part of the celebration. Here’s to the next hundred years of the NLSD!

We also want to remember Dr. Seuss (Theodor “Ted” Geisel), whose birthday is on March 2. It’s also 50 years since “The Cat in the Hat” was first published—so on March 2, say “Happy 50th birthday” to our friend, the Cat in the Hat! When we started working on Have You Ever Seen…? An American Sign Language (ASL) Handshape DVD/Book, we had the memorable pictures and rhymes of Dr. Seuss in mind!

Our appearance at the NLSD isn’t our only public appearance, though. This month we’ll be hosting a booth at the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES) during its Tech Fair on March 22. Come on over and say hello! We’ll then be traveling south to Richmond, Virginia for the Deaf Nation Expo on March 31, where we’ll be hosting a booth and giving a presentation, “"Handshape 1 is for DEAF: Deaf Products Now!"

At some of our workshops, we will explain and demonstrate different activities, from brainstorming exercises to hands-on activities. While we don’t want to give away all of our workshop for free (and eat up space in your in-box!), we’d like to share with you an example of what you can do with Have You Ever Seen…? An American Sign Language (ASL) Handshape DVD/Book! We have four activities each for each level: elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. The one we’re sharing today is about Handshape 8. In the DVD/book, a slab of MEAT is telling a STORY (both signs use Handshape 8). As you know, storytelling is a tradition in the Deaf community, and there’s lots of activities related to stories and storytelling you can do!

Handshape 8 (Elementary Level)

  • Invite Deaf storytellers to come to class and sign their favorite stories.
  • Have students practice a story that they will then tell to their siblings.
  • Have students bring to class their favorite book/story. Each student will then tell the class what their favorite book/story is and why.
  • Have students create and share a one-handshape story. Then have students pick one letter in the alphabet (such as E) and create a story using only words that start with that letter.

Handshape 8 (Middle School)

  • Watch ABC stories on videotape. Create ABC stories, and videotape the students signing their stories.
  • Create a list of words using the Handshape 8.
  • View the cultural vignette and discuss why ASL storytelling is important.
  • Create 5-line story using only 4 handshapes.

Handshape 8 (High School)

  • Each student creates a handshape story. Create a video show featuring each student’s handshape story. In addition, the students present their handshape stories to other students or class.
  • Students go into elementary classes and assist elementary children with creating their own handshape stories.
  • Each student analyzes one’s story and explains grammatical features involved in their story.
  • View the cultural vignette and find at least 5 grammatical features used by Rosa Lee Gallimore. Discuss these features and how are they incorporated in the story.

Handshape 8 (College Level)

  • Have an in-depth discussion comparing the English alphabet and the 44 handshapes in this book. Discuss which handshapes are more inclined towards ASL or English. Also, discuss why some handshapes are difficult and/or easy to produce.
  • ASL is an oral language, thus its literature is orally conducted and transmitted. Research, write, and present a paper comparing the Deaf community and its literary traditions with other oral linguistic traditions (for example, nearly all American Indian languages are purely spoken languages, with no written form).
  • Create a story using only 2 handshapes. Analyze how they are being transitioned.
  • View the cultural vignette and discuss the register Rosa Lee Gallimore used. Compare this cultural vignette and ASL story produced by the student.

Wow—a lot of ideas, huh? That’s just for Handshape 8! There’s 44 handshapes total, so there’s tons of stuff you can do with Have You Ever Seen…? An American Sign Language (ASL) Handshape DVD/Book!

We have also made some changes on our website (www.aslrose.com) – we’ll be adding links for personal appearance request (workshops, presentations, consultations, and booths), archives where all of our newsletters will be stored, and announcements. Check back soon to see what’s new at ASL Rose!

As always, we appreciate and support Deaf artists. Our materials feature the work of different artists, and we want to do the same here at our newsletter and website. This month’s artist is Dan McClintock! Our longtime webpage artist Tami Davidson, contributed to our December and February newsletters. But Tami isn’t the only artist out there! If you are a Deaf artist or know one, please contact us. We’d love to have you illustrate our newsletter and/or website!