Aims and objectives
This activity is aimed at students at all levels to familiarise
themselves with the British two-handed finger spelling alphabet.
The activity is an excellent introduction to allow and encourage
students to communicate with people less able than themselves.
Previous knowledge
No previous knowledge is needed for this resource although, as part
of the PSHE/Citizenship curriculum, it would be useful for class
discussions take place into hearing impairment to provide a balanced
foundation.
In the classroom
Students can choose from three activities: ‘Make a Sentence’,
‘Know Your Signs’ and ‘What’s This Word?’.
Make a Sentence: the student inputs their own choice of words which
are then converted into symbols. This is done by clicking on the
appropriate symbol on screen. As each symbol is clicked, the appropriate
letter appears in the word boxes lower down the screen. When the
student is happy with the word in the word boxes they click Enter.
This causes the word to be converted to the appropriate symbols
and be displayed in the sentence box. When the user is happy with
the whole sentence they have the option of printing it, playing
the game again or returning to the menu page by clicking on the
appropriate buttons.
Know Your Signs: the student is presented with a word (in alphabet
form) and has to convert it into symbols by clicking on the corresponding
symbols on screen.
What’s This Word?: the student is presented with a word shown
in symbols and has to interpret the word and convert it into alphabetical
form.
Although the activity is well-suited to individual or small group
work, it can be used as a whole class resource if an interactive
whiteboard is available.
| Support materials description: |
Web Links: |
| The British Deaf Association has a comprehensive
site which includes the BDA’s finger spelling font to
use on your word processor. Enter 'font' into the search box
and follow the link for The British Deaf Association online
- Free finger spelling font then follow the instructions. You
will be asked for your email address. The font is then emailed
to you automatically. Add it to your current fonts by adding
it to the fonts file in your version of Windows (usually found
on the C drive).
Well worth a look is the RNID site which has an animated program that allows
you to type in a letter, word or phrase and see the finger
spelling.
You can also visit the DeafSign site where you will find
a 2-Handed Keyboard Translator and a BSL 2-Handed Finger spelling
Translator. Type in a letter or phrase and it will show you
the signs.
The finger_spelling.pdf has a printable illustration of British
two-handed finger spelling alphabet which can be printed out
for reference purposes or laminated onto card as a permanent
resource.
|
British
Deaf Association
RNID.org.uk
DeafSign
finger_spelling.pdf
|
Curriculum references
PSHE/Citizenship – KS2:
4a, d, e, f, g
Citizenship – KS3:
1f, 2c, 3a, b, c
Citizenship – KS4:
1f, 2a, c, 3a, b, c
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