How to Use ASL in the Early Childhood Classroom

Friends, I have a question for you: Could your students use a little extra help paying attention during circle time? Are they constantly interrupting you? Or maybe they’re struggling to learn important academic skills? 

All right, that was more than one question, but you get the gist!

Children have short attention spans, and that can mean constant interruptions in the early childhood classroom.

But what if I told you that there’s one thing that you could do in the classroom to help with all of that and more?

And the good news is you don’t need any extra tools for it!

That one thing, my friends, is American Sign Language (ASL for short), and I’ll be discussing how you can incorporate it in your preschool classroom with today’s guest, an expert in ASL and a nationally-certified ASL interpreter, the brilliant Cynthia Long.

Are you ready to learn more?

Let’s dive in!

Is ASL Only for People With Hearing Challenges?

ASL or American Sign Language is a visual language utilizing a system of hand gestures, facial expressions, mouth morphemes, and shoulder and head movements. It has its own grammar rules and syntax to bring a full meaning to the communication.

When we talk about ASL, it’s important to know that there are different levels of it. And that means that it’s for everyone, not just people with hearing challenges. Even babies can benefit from it and use it to communicate with their parents when they’re as young as six months old. 

The Benefits of Using ASL in the Preschool Classroom

There are many benefits to using ASL in the early childhood classroom, but today, we’re going to focus on three of them. 

It Helps Focus Energy

We know that children are full of energy, especially when they all get together. And this is where using American Sign Language can help you in the preschool classroom; it will give your students something to do with their hands.

It Builds Cognitive Skills

Children that are taught American Sign Language from a young age (especially as babies) end up with an average of twelve points higher on an IQ test by the time they’re eight years old. I would wager that’s a pretty good benefit, wouldn’t you?

It Addresses All Three Learning Styles

Most children have three learning styles: The auditory learning style, the visual learning style, and the kinesthetic learning style. 

When you use sign language, you are able to incorporate all of these learning styles together. And that results in a lot more success in the child’s learning process and playing process. 

Is ASL Difficult to Learn?

Well, there are no two ways to go about answering this question: Learning ASL and becoming fluent in it can be difficult. This week’s guest, ASL expert Cynthia Long, shares in the episode above that it took her about six years to become fully fluent in ASL.

This is because to truly learn ASL, you need to do what you’d do while learning any other language: Immerse yourself in the community that uses it. And that, my friends, means becoming immersed in the deaf community.

There is also a big difference between an adult learning sign language and a child learning it. There are many courses online for adults that can teach you the basics of communication in American Sign Language. They will not make you fully fluent, but they can get you up and running in a matter of months.

And for children, well, they can definitely learn a few words every week in the preschool classroom. Cynthia even has a program for busy teachers who still want to learn some ASL to use in the early childhood classroom. It’s called Sign Club, and you can find out more about it here.

Cynthia and I discuss ASL and how you can use it in your preschool classroom in more depth in the episode above, so make sure to watch/listen to it when you can. I promise, it’s worth it!

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

Discover our ASL alphabet posters

More ASL free teaching resources

Visit here and use code FREEFC to get your ASL flash cards freebie

Learn more about Cynthia’s work

Follow ASL Teaching Resources on Instagram

Check out ASL Teaching Resources on Facebook