ASL 3 Advanced — Little Signers (Ages 4–9) · 24-Week Course
$15 per class or $360 for all 24 classes
Ready to see your child use ASL to tell a story, share an idea, or join a real conversation? In this 24-week live course, young signers build on ASL 2 by connecting signs into sentences, asking and answering questions, describing people and places, and retelling stories in order. Along the way they learn the building blocks of advanced ASL: classifiers, signing space, role shift, facial expression, and fingerspelling.
Every week is built around a signed children's story from YouTube, such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear; The Very Hungry Caterpillar; Where's Spot?; We're Going on a Bear Hunt; and The Three Little Pigs. Many are read-alouds from the ASL Kids Club channel, and others are told by Deaf storytellers and schools for the Deaf. Children learn 10 to 12 signs from each story, so new vocabulary always comes with a story they love.
A typical 30-minute class: a hello circle with a visual schedule, a quick review game, story time, new signs modeled from the front and the side, a movement break, a story game or puppet role play, and a goodbye where each child signs a favorite word. The teacher signs with every child, repeats and expands their ideas, and celebrates their effort.
Units: All About Us (weeks 1-6), Our World (weeks 7-12), Story Builders (weeks 13-18), and Storytellers on Stage (weeks 19-24), ending with a showcase where each child presents their own signed story. Learners also practice getting attention politely, watching closely, and respectful Deaf cultural communication.
Home practice stays light: an optional 5-minute activity each week, plus two short video assignments (a show-and-sign in week 12 and a signed story in week 23) that receive personal feedback from the teacher.
What Your Learner Will Do
- Learners will combine familiar vocabulary into connected ASL messages, questions, answers, descriptions, and short explanations.
- Learners will understand and retell key parts of age-appropriate signed stories, directions, and conversations at a gradually faster pace.
- Learners will use classifiers, signing space, role shifting, facial grammar, and visual attention during playful conversations and performances.
Prerequisites: Learners should have completed ASL 2 or have similar skills: connecting familiar signs, answering simple signed questions, following visual directions, and using basic facial expression and fingerspelling.
Syllabus
24 Lessons · over 24 Weeks
Week 1: ASL 2 Review and Meet the Group
We meet our new class friends and warm up with familiar signs.
Week 2: Tell Me More About You
Children share who they are with simple connected sentences.
Week 3: Ask and Answer Questions
We practice asking and answering questions with our faces and hands.
Week 4: Food Choices and Reasons
Kids talk about foods they like and tell why.
Week 5: Family Stories
Children sign about their families and what they do together.
Week 6: Feelings with Facial Expression
We explore feelings using our faces and a fun game.
Week 7: Animals and Descriptions
Children describe animals by how they look and move.
Week 8: Where Is It? Signing Space
We use the space around us to show where things are.
Week 9: People and Places
Children sign about places they go and who goes with them.
Week 10: Movement with Simple Classifiers
Kids use their hands to show how things move.
Week 11: Everyday Routines in Order
We put daily routines in order and sign them step by step.
Week 12: Conversation Game and Check-In
Partners chat in ASL and we celebrate progress so far.
Week 13: Characters in a Signed Story
Children bring story characters to life with face and body.
Week 14: Role Shift and Puppet Dialogue
Kids use puppets to switch between characters in a story.
Week 15: Beginning, Middle, and End
Children retell a story in three parts.
Week 16: Describe a Picture Scene
Kids describe what they see in a picture and where it is.
Week 17: Directional Verbs in Play
Children learn signs that move from one person to another.
Week 18: Fingerspelling and Number Fun
Kids practice fingerspelling and counting with games.
Week 19: Ask Again and Clarify
Children learn polite ways to ask a signer to repeat.
Week 20: Voice-Off Picture Mystery
Voices off! Kids solve a mystery using only eyes and hands.
Week 21: Plan a Signed Story
Children begin planning their very own signed story.
Week 22: Practice and Improve the Story
Kids practice their stories and make them even better.
Week 23: Share a Story with Friends
Children share their stories with friends.
Week 24: ASL 3 Showcase and Celebration
Each child shows what they learned and we celebrate together!