Sign to Learn: American Sign Language in the Early Childhood Classroom

Everyone is talking about signing with young children. As a form of early communication for infants and toddlers, or as a transitioning tool for children just beginning to speak, the benefits of signing with hearing children are endless.

Sign to Learn is the first complete introduction to sign language curriculum for hearing preschoolers. In this unique resource, you will learn how to integrate American Sign Language (ASL) into your classroom to enhance the academic, social, and emotional development of children, and how to respectfully introduce children to Deaf culture.

This comprehensive, fully illustrated curriculum contains captivating activities and lesson plans grouped by themes, including feelings, food, seasons, animals, songs, and families. Sign to Learn also contains strategies for using sign language with children with special needs and in multilingual classrooms, and it describes how ASL can assist you in developing a literacy program and in managing your classroom.

Information-rich appendices include a thorough ASL illustration index, sample letters to families, and resources for further reading.

Kirsten Dennis has worked as preschool and kindergarten teacher for fifteen years-incorporating ASL into her work with young hearing children for the last ten years. Tressa Azpiri is the owner and lead teacher of Puddle Stompers preschool/kindergarten program on Vashon Island, WA.