Welcome to Mrs. Novak’s class

Welcome to Mrs. Novak’s class Arizona College Prep Erie Campus Strive for the impossible and be extraordinary!

First, we need to get acquainted… My name is Mrs. Novak… This is my 16th year of teaching. I taught in California for 2 years and this is my 14th year in Chandler. I taught 4th grade for 10 years and then decided to move up grade levels to teach History and Sign Language. My Bachelor’s degree is in Deaf Studies from CSUN. My Master’s is from ASU.

First, we need to get acquainted… My name is Mrs. Novak… Some of my favorite foods are sushi and a great steak! I enjoy all kinds of music and my passion is theater. I love to run, read books and watch movies. Traveling is my dream.

American Sign Language 1 My background: I have a degree from California State University, Northridge in Deaf Studies. I also worked for over a year at the National Center on Deafness at CSUN. I then continued to work as a job trainer with young deaf adults in Hollywood, California.

American Sign Language 1 My next endeavor expanded my exposure to all disabilities while I worked for GTE, distributing and training Deaf and Disabled individuals on telephone equipment provided by the state of California. The experiences and occupations I have had are invaluable and allows me to share with the hearing world awareness of the Deaf culture and their language.

Statistics about Deafness and ASL According to the National Center for Health Statistics estimates that "28 million Americans (about 10% of the population) have some degree of hearing loss. About 2 million of these 28 million people are classified as Deaf (they can't hear everyday sounds or speech even with a hearing aid).

Statistics about Deafness and ASL The natural language of around 500,000 deaf people in the US and Canada is American Sign Language (ASL). A recent estimate claims that around 13 million people have some level of proficiency in sign language. That makes American Sign Language the third most commonly used language in the US!" (www.start-american-sign-language.com).

Class Expectations 1. Come to class! This is a visual language. You need to be here to learn it. Chronic absences will have a negative effect on your grade.

Class Expectations 2. Be prepared. If you do not know your vocabulary or we have an assignment to practice and you are not ready you cannot participate and you make it difficult for your partner to participate. Know your vocabulary!

Class Expectations 3. Be respectful to each other. I am the only sign language teacher here so we will spend two years together. We become a family of sorts--treat each other well.

Class Expectations 4. Show integrity--don't cheat. If I catch you I will fail you on the assignment--no second chances on this one. This also applies to other classes and the ACP faculty will contact me if students are seen using sign language during an assessment.

Survival Skills We will have “No Talk Tuesday”, which means NO VOICE. You are asked to sign with a partner frequently during class. You must practice expressive skills (signing) and receptive skills (receiving signs). This time is meant to be taken seriously and I expect you to practice--not socialize. There is not a written component to ASL. We write the language (called glossing) only to learn the sign order of the language. The language itself is made up of signs and non-manual signals. In both years you will learn over 2, 000 signs and how to fingerspell and count up to 1000 as well as how to sign ordinal numbers and number combinations. This takes a lot of practice. Participate. Fingerspelling is a big component of ASL. Names and proper nouns are spelled, some signs that are abstract require fingerspelling for clarification, and even though we do not want to rely on fingerspelling when a concept has a sign it is the "fall back" when you aren't sure how to sign something. We take fingerspelling quizzes on FRIDAY. Students use the first 10 minutes of class to practice fingerspelling. The expectation is that they enter the room in silence, find their partner and start spelling. They are to use the vocabulary they know to function during this activity with no voice. For example: AGAIN, SLOW, YOUR-TURN, MY-TURN. If students are talking during this activity they will be asked to wait outside until we are finished practicing.

Resources www.aslpro.com www.asl.ms Optional: Buy a copy of the Master ASL Vocabulary and Dialogue DVD to practice at home. www.signmedia.com item number mast06 cost $19.95

ASL II The second year of ASL will continue the lessons from “A Basic Course in American Sign Language” text book. We completed half of this instructional guide in Year 1, and we will complete the second half in Year 2. With the scheduling conflicts for students requesting ASL, we have had to combine a few students from each level in each of the classes. I will have a schedule that alternates lecture time so both levels will receive direct Instructional time. I do have projects throughout the year that requires videotaping and Independent practice, and that will allow students at both levels to work on their own. I will also utilize the proficient signers to practice with the new ASL Students, which is a great language skill to be able to teach others your language.

My Webpage To obtain information about my assignments, projects, study guides, due dates, and how to access the on-line resource programs, you will need to go to our school webpage and then click on faculty and my name: http://www.cusd80.com//Domain/1516 You can also obtain information on E-Alerts from me regarding updates to webpage.

Thank you for coming! • I hope you have enjoyed this evening and should you have any questions, please feel free to write them down on the paper at the back of the room, and I will either email you or call you with any help I can provide!

Welcome to Mrs. Novak’s class