2007, Jason E. Zinza

This CD-ROM PowerPoint kit contains 100 of the most popular and effective graphics from Master ASL!, Level One. Each graphic is enlarged and intended to be projected in class and used to elicit student communication on a wide variety of topics.

The graphics have been carefully selected to multiple use, such as describing the scene, characters, events, and actions in as much detail as possible. As students develop broader communication skills, they can add more detail to the descriptions than they could earlier. For example, a student at the beginner level may comment on character names; later in the course, that same student at the intermediate level may describe the characterís physical appearance; and eventually, describe what he/she thinks the character is doing and why.

Suggested communication starters are provided with each graphic to help the teacher encourage student communication.

Example:

• What do you think each person is named?
• Are they single? Dating? Married?
• Are they Deaf? Hearing? Hard of hearing?
• Are they students? If yes, where do they go to school? What are they learning? If no, what do they do during the day?
• How old are they?
• How did the two meet?
• Where are they? Where are they going? Where were they before?

For the Teacher:

• The fundamental philosophy of the communicative competence approach is student use of ASL as the focus of in-class communication.
• Avoid describing the graphics to students; instead, have them describe the graphics to each other.
• An added benefit of the graphics is their use for receptive communication opportunities, such as quizzes, and expressive communication opportunities, such as student-student conversation.
• Remember, there is no right or wrong way to interpret each graphic! Encourage learners to develop language skills by using their imaginations to communicate about what they see.