ASLdeafined Weekly Newsletter: The Harlem Globetrotters, Juliette Gordon Low, and more!

ASLdeafined Weekly Newsletter – 12/28/2018

Harlem Globetrotters Visit Deaf School

The Harlem Globetrotters, a famous basketball team known for their impressive skills and charity, visited the Mill Neck Manor School for the Deaf in New York last week. One of the basketball players identifies as a CODA, a child of a deaf adult, and was able to sign with the students! Chris “Animal” Hyche told the Daily Moth that “when he grew up, his friends were flabbergasted when they saw him using sign language to talk with his mother, that they thought it was the most amazing thing but to him it was just an everyday thing.”

The Harlem Globetrotters demonstrated a few classics, such as a dunk, and even talked about bullying with the students. The used the acronym TEAM: Talk, Empathy, Ask a Question, and Mobilize.

Click HERE to go to the Daily Moth’s Facebook page for videos and more about the Harlem Globetrotters.

Deaf History Spotlight: Juliette Gordon Low!

Did you know that the founder of the Girl Scouts was deaf? Julliette Gordon Low became deaf in early adulthood, but that never stopped her from forming one of the most iconic groups in American! She was raised in Georgia with Southern values, and became inspired by the Boy Scouts. She eventually moved to England to learn more about a troop called the “Girl Guides”.

The Girl Guides were a group dedicated to teaching young girls first aid, cooking, and other skills like tying knots. She founded several Girl Guides groups while living in England, and eventually moved back to the states (bringing a love of the Guides with her!). She founded the very first American Girl Guides group in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia- this was the foundation of the modern Girl Scouts (and their famous cookies, of course!). 

Low taught the Girl Scouts about knot tying, foraging, and first aid among other important skills. Despite some support from outside the organization, the Girl Scouts were mostly funded by herself in the beginning. Today her birthday, October 31st, is celebrated as Founder’s Day by scouts across the country. 

Studying with ASLdeafined

Whether you’re a newbie to our site or a seasoned senior, you’ll definitely be able to take advantage of some of our best study tips this week! Learning American Sign Language can be easy and fun if you focus and learn one sign at a time. Here’s how to get the most out of our 300+ lesson strong curriculum:

1. Faster videos can be slowed down. In the upper left-hand corner of every video there is an option to slow down the video- just click the box that says “Slow Video Playback” and you’ll be able to review each vocabulary word at the right pace for you!
2. Do ALL the activities. You might think you don’t need to do the activities at the end of the lesson, but we promise you: It HELPS! Students that take the time to complete all the lessons are able to reinforce key concepts in Sign Language, such as the way your hand shapes itself and the locations of signs. These activities also include English-to-ASL translating practice. By skipping these activities you are really missing out!
3. Utilize the “My Vocabulary” feature. (Shown Right) Need to study up before that vocabulary quiz? This is the best way for a quick review. You can add vocabulary words to your “My Vocabulary” page (accessible via the Dashboard) and then review them all at once, like video flash cards! You can also access this feature via mobile so you can study on the bus, during lunch- whenever you’ve got a spare minute to practice your ASL!
4. Practice with a friend. Now that you’ve got the hang of the vocabulary it’s time to put it to practice. Buy reviewing with a partner you gain a skill called “retention”, which is basically how well you understand another person signing to you. You know you’ve got it down if you can understand another person’s signs. Want a bit of a challenge? Try going to a “Deaf Coffee” or another meetup and sign with a Deaf person that knows ASL: It’s great practice and you might even make some new friends!

Remember that with learning any language, practice makes perfect! Taking the time to study each lesson will help you remember more down the line. 

Handshape of the Week: Baby O!

If you make an ‘O’ shape with your hand and then try to flatten it, you have the Baby O-Handshape! Below it is demonstrated in the sign for FOOD.

Other signs that use this handshape include:

Picnic
Place
Planting
Pocket
Poland
Poor
Present
Pricey
Professor
Property