Observational Hand Drawings in ASL

American Sign Language (ASL) is a complete, complex language that employs signs made with the hands and other movements, including facial expressions and postures of the body. It is the first language of many deaf North Americans, and one of several communication options available to deaf people. ASL is said to be the fourth most commonly used language in the United States.

The American Manual Alphabet is a manual alphabet that augments the vocabulary of American Sign Language when spelling individual letters of a word is the preferred or only option, such as with proper names or the titles of works. Letters should be signed with the dominant hand and in most cases, with palm facing the viewer (click here to see a chart of signs/letters). In this project, sixth grade students used their own hands as a model to create drawings of their names, initials or other short words spelled out in sign language using the Manual Alphabet. With the help of a lamp and reduced lighting the room, they added shadows and highlights of varying values to create a three dimensional appearance