SW curriculum

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
October 9, 2006

Andrée Gagnon from Canada wrote:
> And now I would like to learn more about SW curriculum.  Do you  
> have a Sign Writing curriculum from kindergarten to grade 12 for  
> deaf children, not adults?

Unofficially I did try, back in 1998, to establish a relaxed-form of  
a curriculum...it was an attempt to standardize teaching the reading  
and writing of ASL in SignWriting...by creating books at different  
SignWriting Levels...including:

SignWriting Level 1: Beginners
SignWriting Level 2: Basic
SignWriting Level 3: Intermediate
SignWriitng Level 4: Advanced


SignWriting had already been used in schools in Nicaragua, for  
example, back in 1996...So this development of SW Reading Levels,  
which I did in 1998, occurred AFTER James and Judy Shepard-Kegl  
established the Bluefields School in Nicaragua.

SignWriting was taught in Denmark from 1982-1988 in schools for young  
Deaf children, and in Nicaragua since 1996, without any of these SW  
Reading Levels being a part of their experience.

The SW Reading Levels came about in 1998 with a new project I called  
the SignWriting Literacy Project, where teachers apply for the free  
books, and then I print the books and donate them to the classrooms...

The reason I tried to develop Reading Levels was because I could see  
that teachers in the US were not using SignWriting. Other countries  
were using it before my own native country. So I was trying to figure  
out a way to assist teachers to try SignWriting in their classrooms,  
by providing basic books at different levels, to help the teachers  
get going. I figured they would tell me later, if the Levels worked  
or not! Years later I was told that they seemed good...but of course  
more research needs to be done...

The original idea in 1998 was to create 4 SignWriting Level books for  
the following literature:

Goldilocks
Cinderella
Sleeping Beauty
Snow White
Humpty Dumpty
Tortoise and the Hare
Poem: One Harbor

I have all of these on videotape signed in ASL by native ASL Deaf  
signers, waiting for someone to transcribe them...

But instead, what happened is...I completed the four Levels of  
Goldilocks and that is all. We started Cinderella, but never finished  
all the Levels of Cinderella.... Oh well. I pray someday we can get  
to it. If there is anyone out there who would enjoy transcribing  
these videos I would love your help!

Until we get to it, I can donate copies of the four levels of  
Goldilocks to ANY teacher with Deaf students around the world, if  
they fill out the forms, and write a letter on school stationery,  
asking for the materials officially.

So Andree...if you know of teachers of the Deaf who want the donated  
materials, please ask them to go to these links, to fill out the  
forms to apply for the donated materials:

SignWriting Literacy Project
http://www.signwriting.org/forums/teachers/teach001.html

Letter of Confirmation on School Stationery
http://www.signwriting.org/forums/teachers/teach005.html

Web Reports
http://www.signwriting.org/forums/teachers/teach002.html


I hope teachers from Canada will want to participate!!

Val ;-)


Valerie Sutton
Sutton at SignWriting.org

SignWriting
Read & Write Sign Languages
http://www.SignWriting.org
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