American Sign Language: Hand

Transcription

1 Juletta Graham Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 1 ENG 436 Writing Assignment Unit 4 American Sign Language: Hand The following is a partial script for the site, Hand Talker. It discusses the primary concepts for the site and their implementation. It also explores the interactive games with Marty with a small portion of the script, and also discusses the application of Mary Anne as a learning guide for older audiences. The rest of the site is discussed briefly as it applies to the script. Home Page The homepage is located at A non-copyrighted version of this image will be located in the Banner, in the top-left hand corner as part of the site identifier. When users access the home page they will be greeted with tabs as the primary navigational structure along the top of the screen, below the header, with additional secondary navigation along the left-hand side of the screen. The basic layout of the site will be visible in the content portion of the screen, and will be consistent across pages. Within the content portion of the page will be a scrolling text box, a video screen, and relevant images. On the home page it will feature a sentence that says New to this site? If users click on this sentence, which will be formatted as a hyperlink, it will take them to a Welcome Screen (located at This design will help orient new users without requiring returning users to experience any of the redundancies. The welcome screen can also be accessed from the Resources section, Login section, or from the various navigational categories within the hierarchy. For example, if you click on Lessons without using the drop down box to choose a specific lesson, it will bring you to a page that lists hyperlinks to the different lessons with short descriptions. This page will also feature a similar link for Getting Started that has the option of visiting the Welcome screen. The Screen Content Areas Video Screen: Located on the left-hand side of the screen. Any message that is produced in text and audio will be reproduced as closely as possible within this video screen. Whenever a character is speaking, the video screen will take a more central focus, right aligned in the top of the content area. For users with slower download speeds, the picture quality and screen size of the video browser can be adjusted.

2 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 2 Scrolling Textbox: Will span the width of the bottom-most part of the screen. The elements on screen will adapt to the various window sizes of a user s browser. The scrolling speed can be adjusted or disabled, allowing users to scroll through the text at their own pace. Only content that is signed is shown in the scrolling textbox. Text that is necessary to the lesson will appear in the general content area of the screen. Welcome Screen The Welcome Screen is located at The center of the screen will contain a Welcome Message that is signed in a video box at the top of the screen, and include a textual version of the message below the video image. This message can also be played in audio if the user clicks the volume button on the video screen to un-mute the message. Since the video starts playing automatically when the user accesses the site, the sound on the video defaults to Mute, but a note below the video screen will let users know that sound is available by un-muting the video. This message will be accompanied by a button for restarting the message at the beginning for users unaccustomed to using a video player. Since the video player is recurrent on the righthand side of every page, users can view the audio message even if they choose to skip the welcome screen. There will also be a banner at the top of the content area, below the site s primary navigation, that uses smaller type to inform the user of the option for audio. A speaker image will be placed in the bottom right-hand corner of every page (similar to the computer screen) that allows the user to control volume and other features of the site at any time. Hopefully the familiarity of this location will make it obvious to viewers who have overlooked the message associated with the video player, as well as the one located at the top of the screen. Information about the Control Panel in the lower right will also be discussed in the welcome screen, as well as an overview of the different sections of the site. This information can also be accessed by clicking on the Control Panel itself.

3 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 3 Tutorials for using the video player, virtual reality hand, and other materials on the site will be discussed in the Welcome screen and are also located in the Resources section. Welcome Message Below the Welcome message, users will find links to traverse the site with one of the guides. If users choose to use a guide, they will be asked to create a login. They may also scroll back up to the main page and navigate the site using the primary and secondary navigational links. Depending on the length of the message, users may not need to scroll. The site will attempt to contain all of the information within a typical screen size so that the need to scroll is eliminated, especially for younger users. Another option for minimizing the need for scrolling is the option to turn on scrolling text that follows the reader as it is spoken. There will be a scroll bar on the text box that allows the user to go back and read at any time. The scrolling text also has various speeds for the user to choose. If users choose not to use the scrolling text feature, textual content can still be contained within a scrolling box to minimize the amount of space that it takes up on screen. This is important because the focus should be on the signed information on the video screen in the upper right-hand corner, and not on the text. The Welcome message is spoken (if audio is turned on), textual, and signed in the video screen permanently located at the right-hand side of the screen (excerpt): Welcome to the Hand Talker website. This site will educate users on an often-overlooked form of communication, American Sign Language. Users can learn to communicate in an almost silent format using ASL. There are many ways to learn ASL. If you would like to track your progress, you need to create a Login. You can click the Login section in the upper right-hand corner to do this at any time. Learning a new language can be hard. American Sign Language is easier because it is not really another language, just another way of speaking American English. To make learning easier, there are two different Guides on this site to help you. Marty, the Spider Monkey, is young and loves to help tykes learn through the use of games. Mary Anne is older and can help those looking for a classroom-style learning environment. If you would like to learn more about the guides, click on them below.

4 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 4 This site uses several different tools to teach ASL. If you have questions about how to use the video screens, turn the volume on and off, or want to know about a Virtual Reality Hand, you can find this information in the Resources section. There you will find tutorials about all of the features that this site uses. You can also control your sound, text size, and other features in your Control Panel. The Control Panel (show image) is located in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen at all times. Clicking on any of the items in this panel will open up menus for making changes. The control panel even has its own Help icon. Help? Help can also be found by clicking on one of the Guides. Since there are so many different ways to use this site to learn ASL, would you like to take a Tour? If you do not want to now, you can always access the site tour from the resources section, or come back to this Welcome screen. Hand Talker can also be customized so you can arrange the information that is most important to you anyway that you like. To do this you have to Login first and then click the paintbrush icon. When you create your Login it will give you the option to Customize the page immediately if you choose, which includes selecting a Guide. Login Screen Hand Talker After users create a Login, they will be greeted using their name. This will give users the opportunity to see their name finger spelled in the signing video in the upper right-hand corner. The first time a user logs in, they will receive this message (This message is spoken (if audio is on), textual, and signed): Hello,. Would you like to Customize your page? When you Customize your page you can also choose a Guide to help you learn American Sign Language. While customizing their page, users can choose which screen they would like to begin on when they return. Users can choose to begin at the Welcome Screen, the Home Page, Track Your Progress Page, or any other page within the site. Each time a user logs in it will bring them to the page they have previously selected. Users can also choose to personalize the site and have it return them to wherever they left off each time they login.

5 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 5 Guides Guides can be accessed in a variety of ways. Users can choose one of the Guides from the following places: Welcome Screen ( Customize Screen, after creating a login ( Resources ( Guides can also be selected during lessons, quizzes, etcetera by clicking on the Help icon in the Control Panel. When a user decides to select a guide, they will be taken to Once on this page they will be greeted by the following text/audio/sign: Let me introduce you to Mary Anne and Marty the Spider Monkey. These two will help you as you learn ASL. If you prefer to work on your own, click on any of the lessons to begin. From here users can choose: Mary Ann Marty or Continue If users click on one of the names, they will be directly linked to that character s description. If instead they choose Continue, the will be linked to where they will see the following information: Mary Anne The description of Mary Anne is located at It can be reached by clicking on her photo in the above block, located at or by clicking on her name from the previous screen,

6 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 6 About Mary Anne Mary Anne is a hearing person who learned American Sign Language as her first language because both of her parents are deaf. Mary Anne began learning spoken English from her older sister, Gabriella, and other family members. Since English was Mary Anne s second language, and American Sign her first, she is a very sympathetic signer and is patient with new learners. This makes the slender, brunette Cherokee a wonderful guide for traversing this new media. Mary Anne will refer users back to review lessons using smart linking, especially during tests and quizzes where users struggled. Mary Anne is also available for conversations using the Virtual Reality Glove(s) (abbrev. VR Glove). Using the Virtual Reality Glove, users can exercise their abilities in signing and see computer-generated images (cgi s) of their hand movements on screen so that they understand what it looks like when they are signing. These sessions can also be recorded using motion capture software. When users choose to talk to Mary Anne she will be able to comment on the smoothness, arrangement, and accuracy of their signing. Since this is meant to be educational, Mary Anne will sign her thoughts and responses and users can choose to have the conversation also spoken or captioned in case they are having difficulty keeping up with her. Being able to see cgi s of a user s hand movements will also help them decrease their variable movement, especially during finger spelling. During finger spelling it is essential to the reader (a.k.a. receiver ) that signers keep their arm and wrist nearly stationary while only moving their fingers to differentiate between signs. There are a few signs that require users to move their wrist and arm, but Mary Anne can assist them in learning how to isolate the different muscle groups and sign with limited movement. The ability to constrain certain movements is essential because a moving hand can be harder to follow. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between the flow of the signer s movements and the message that they are signing. Site-Stylized for Mary Anne Once at users will learn about Mary Anne. As on previous screens, communication is textual, audio, and signed. Since Mary Anne is one of the characters, when she speaks the video screen will shift to the left-hand side of the content area and will feature Mary Anne signing and speaking her message. The textual version will be displayed in the scrolling text box at the bottom of the screen. Hello, my name is Mary Anne. Both of my parents are deaf, so American Sign Language was actually my first language. I didn t learn to speak until I was a few years old. My older sister, Gabriella, taught me spoken English. I make simple mistakes when I write in English, like forgetting prepositions

7 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 7 and articles, because I am not used to using them when I sign with my parents. So, you want to learn to sign, too? It s really a lot easier than learning English, trust me. My favorite lesson is on emotions because it can be frustrating when you do not know how to tell somebody how you feel. Would you like to start there? If you do not want to start with emotions, feel free to look around the site. Whenever you are ready for me you can click on the Help icon Help? or the Guides icon and I will be there in a jif. You must choose me as a guide first, though, otherwise clicking on Help or Guides will take you to an option screen. Below this description, users will have the following option: Since all of the site information is contained within the content area of the same basic screen, users always have access to the site s primary and secondary navigation. This allows users to leave the guides at any time and go somewhere else. Users who chose to follow Mary Anne will begin with a discussion of feelings. These different starting points are relevant to different audiences. Since Mary Anne is designed to work with older audiences, they may find their feelings more relevant to conversation than their family.

8 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 8 Marty The Spider Monkey The description of Marty is located at It can be reached by clicking on his photo in the earlier block, located at or by clicking on his name from the previous screen, About Marty the Spider Monkey Within the games, players will interact with Marty the Spider Monkey. Chosen for his human-like fingers and adept mental abilities, Marty will learn ASL along with the user. Marty will target younger audiences with lessons that take on a game format, as opposed to one of Mary Anne s lectures or Class Activities. Marty takes users through the jungle in search of the tallest tree. Along the way he must communicate with the animals in order to determine where he is going, as well as learn. Since Marty cannot speak, he uses ASL to speak to the NPCs (non-player characters) in the game. Users will have multiple-choice dialogue shown as either pictures or video, and must choose the correct selection based on their understanding of ASL. Since Marty is learning ASL, the NPCs within the game will demonstrate signs and discuss their meanings both aloud and in captions. Clicking on different characters will generate conversation. Direct-linking will allow for a type of review for non-sensical answers, and progression for sensical ones. When users select an answer that doesn t make sense, another NPC that they are talking to will repeat what the person signed and discuss what it means and why it doesn t make sense with that was previously signed. When users choose the correct answer, the conversation will continue through the storyline. Once at users will learn about Marty. As on previous screens, communication is textual, audio, and signed. Since Marty is also one of the site s characters, his message will be signed by a pair hands that are digitally altered to mimic his own. A cartoon voice will speak for Marty while he is signing. The video screen will relocate to the left-hand side of the content area to take a central focus whenever he is speaking. The text will be available in the scrolling text box at the bottom of the screen. Hi, my name is Marty. I am just beginning to learn how to sign with my hands. All of the animals in the jungle find ways to communicate. Since we can t understand each other s chatter, we often find other ways to say things. My parents like to use American Sign Language. Since my hands

9 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 9 are a lot like yours, I am pretty good at signing. My parents warn me not to get ahead of myself because I have a lot to learn. This weekend is my cousin s eighth birthday. Her name is Jenny. Jenny lives with my aunt and uncle in another part of the jungle. My parents tell me I can get there on my own. They live in the tallest tree in the whole jungle, so it is hard to miss it. I ve never gone there on my own before so I am really excited. I m also a little scared. Do you want to go to the party with me? There is sure to be some yummy stuff to eat! If you are not ready to start the game, feel free to look around the site. You can always find my by clicking on the Help icon Help? or the Guides icon. You must first choose me as your guide if you want to be my friend. Below this description, users will have the following option: Continue Would you like to go home or with Marty? Clicking on either Continue or Marty will take users to the game, while clicking on home (word or image) will return the user to the home page. Through the Jungle Game with Marty the Spider Monkey If the user chooses to continue with Marty, they will receive the following message: Yay! I am glad you decided to come with me. Let me show you a picture of my family. That way you will feel like you know them when we get there. Users can choose to or Marty at any time. Users can also use the and buttons at any time if they want Marty to repeat information or they want to skip to the next scene. Information that is displayed in the video monitor (like Marty s introduction of his family) can also be rewound and fast forwarded using the video player s controls.

10 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 10 The video of Marty introducing his family is signed by Marty in the video player, which moves to a central location on the right-hand side of the screen. A textual translation is located in the scrolling text box at the bottom of the screen. (Marty points to each monkey in the picture below in turn, beginning on the left.) This is my mom. Her name is Adele. I call her (introduce sign for mom) but you can call her (show sign for A, wrist roll, sign for L). You can also call her (sign for mom) if you like. In Sign Language, people generally come up with their own symbols for their name. This is shorter than finger spelling the whole name. Only family and friends ever know these personal symbols (show sign for A, wrist roll, sign for L). This is my sister, Sally. I call her (introduce sign for sister). She is the baby of the family, so sometimes I call her (sign for baby sister). Her friends call her (sign for letter S swinging ). My mom says that it isn t nice to call her a (sign for baby), but sometimes she really acts like one! My mom calls her (sign for baby girl) all the time, but I m not supposed to. When she gets bigger, my mom says she will call her (sign for daughter) instead. She calls me (sign for son). This is my Dad. I call him (sign for dad). My mom calls him (sign for husband) and my dad calls her (sign for wife). His friends call him George, like this (signs the letter G then falls down step to another letter G). I am not in the picture, but I am both my parent s son and my sister s brother. My mom calls me (sign for son), but my dad calls me (sign for boy). My sister calls me (sign for brother). But my favorite is what my friends (sign for friends) call me (use letter M on both hands while doing movement for sign for party. ) Below are my Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt, Uncle, and two cousins. My Aunt and Uncle live in the tallest tree with my cousins, Jenny and Randy. My Grandma and Grandpa live in the upper branches of a low-lying tree along the way. They say that they like how quiet it is near the jungle floor. My mom says it is just because they are getting old.

11 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 11 After the introduction, users will be given the opportunity to learn the sign language by clicking on different characters in the pictures. There are differences in the text and audio transcript because there are some phrasings that are easier for younger audiences to understand aurally than visually. To avoid confusion, bigger words and more complex sentence structure is used for the audio only. Both aspects of the transcript are meant to mimic the style of the American Sign Language as closely as possible. The audio is able to match more closely because it is not making considerations for the audiences ability to understand the grammatical arrangement of words. As mentioned earlier, users can always use the and buttons to skip a section or return to a previous one.

12 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 12 Script of Family for Through the Jungle Game Images, Text, Programming Narration (Text Transcript) Narration (Audio Transcript) Project Note 1) (Title) Family Continuous play of sign for family. 2) (Main Screen Text) Click on the Monkeys in my Family. 3) (Show three photos on screen simultaneously; Immediate Family, Marty, Group Family) Do you remember who everyone is? Click on the different monkeys to see the signs again. Do you remember who everyone is? Click on the different monkeys to see the signs for mom, dad, sister and all of the others. (All narration is also signed at the LH side of the screen.) 4) (If you click on Mom) That is my mom. Her name is Adele. Adele is a woman. Adele is my mom. 4) (Mom cont d) My mom is married to my dad. My mom is my dad s wife. My mom is a wife. My dad is her My parents are That is my mom, Adele. She s a woman. Adele is my mom. My mom is married to my dad. She is my dad s wife. My mom is a wife. My dad is a My parents are Show and repeat signs for mom and specific sign for Adele. woman. Repeat sign for Mom. wife. wife.

13 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 13 Images, Text, Programming 5) (If you click on sister) My mom is my dad s wife. Narration (Text Transcript) That is my Sister. Her name is Sally. Sally is a girl. My mom is my dad s wife. Narration (Audio Transcript) That is my sister, Sally. She s a girl. wife, again. Project Note Show and repeat signs for sister and specific signs for Sally. girl. Sally is my sister. Sally is my sister. Repeat sign for sister. 5) (Sister cont d) My sister is the baby in our family. 6) (If you click on She is my baby sister. Sally is the daughter of my parents. My mom calls her baby girl. Sally is a granddaughter. That is my dad. His name is George. He is a man. George is my dad. My sister is the youngest. This makes her the baby. She is my baby sister. Sally is my mom and dad s daughter. My mom calls her baby girl. Sally is my Grandparent s granddaughter. That is my dad, George. George is a man. George is my dad. sister. baby. Combine signs for baby sister. daughter. baby girl. granddaughter. Show and repeat signs for dad, and specific sign for George. man. Repeat sign for Dad. dad) 6) (Dad cont d) My dad is a My mom is his wife. My parents are My dad is a My mom is his wife. My parents are wife.

14 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 14 Images, Text, Programming 7) (If you click on Marty) My dad is my mom s Narration (Text Transcript) I am Marty. I am a boy. I am the son of Adele and George. I am a brother to Sally. I am a big brother. I am a grandson. My dad is my mom s Narration (Audio Transcript) Hey! That s me! I m Marty. I m a boy. I m the son of Adele and George. I m Sally s brother. I m her big brother. I m also a grandson. husband, again. Project Note Marty boy. son. brother. big brother. grandson. 8) (If you click on Grandpa) That is my Grandpa. His name is Bob. Grandpa is a man like my dad. Bob is my Grandpa. That is my Grandpa Bob. My Grandpa is a man. Bob is my Grandpa. Grandpa. man. Repeat sign for Grandpa. 8) (Grandpa cont d) My Grandpa is older than my dad. My dad is younger than my Grandpa. My Grandpa is an old man. 8) (Grandpa cont d) My Grandpa is married to my Grandma. My Grandpa is a My Grandma is his wife. My Grandparents are Grandpa is older than my dad. My dad is younger than my Grandpa. My Grandpa is an old man. My Grandpa and Grandma are My Grandpa is a My Grandma is his wife. My Grandparents are old. young. old man. Grandpa, Grandma, wife. grandparents,

15 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 15 Images, Text, Programming 9) (If you click on Grandma) My Grandpa is my Grandma s Narration (Text Transcript) That is my Grandma Donna. My Grandma is a woman. Donna is my Grandma. My Grandpa is my Grandma s Narration (Audio Transcript) That is my Grandma Donna. My Grandma is a woman like my mom. Donna is my Grandma. grandpa, grandma, Project Note Grandma. woman. Repeat sign for Grandma. 10) (If you click on Aunt) My Grandma is older than my mom. My mom is younger than my Grandma. My Grandma is an old woman. My Grandma is married to my Grandpa. My Grandma is a wife. My Grandpa is her My Grandparents are My Grandma is my Grandpa s wife. That is my Aunt Anita. My Aunt is a woman. My Aunt is also a wife to my Uncle. My Aunt is a mom to my cousins. My Aunt is the daughter of my Grandparents. My Grandma is older than my mom. My mom is younger than my Grandma. My Grandma is an old woman. My Grandma is married to my Grandpa. My Grandma is a wife. My Grandpa is a My Grandparents are My Grandma is my Grandpa s wife. That is my Aunt Anita. My Aunt is a woman. My Aunt is my Uncle s wife. My Aunt is my cousin s mom. My Aunt is my old. young. old woman. Grandma, Grandpa, wife. grandparents, Grandma, Grandpa, wife, again. Aunt. woman. wife. mom.

16 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 16 Anita is my Aunt. Grandparent s daughter. Anita is my Aunt. daughter. Repeat sign for Aunt. Images, Text, Programming 11) (If you click on Uncle) Narration (Text Transcript) That is my Uncle Robert. My Uncle is a man. My Uncle is also a husband to my aunt. My Uncle is a dad to my cousins. My Uncle is the son of my Grandparents. Robert is my Uncle. Narration (Audio Transcript) That is my Uncle Robert. My Uncle is a man. My Uncle is my Aunt s My Uncle is my cousin s dad. My Uncle is my Grandparent s son. Robert is my Uncle. Project Note Uncle. man. Dad. son. Repeat sign for Uncle. 12) (If you click on Cousin Randy) 13) (If you click on Cousin Jenny) That is my Cousin, Randy. Randy is a boy. Randy is a brother. Randy is a grandson. Randy is my cousin. That is my Cousin, Jenny. Jenny is a girl. Jenny is a sister to Randy. Jenny is a granddaughter to our grandparents. That is my cousin Randy. Randy is a boy like me. Randy is Jenny s brother. Randy is my grandparent s grandson. Randy is my cousin. That is my cousin, Jenny. Jenny is a girl like my sister, Sally. Jenny is Randy s sister. Jenny is my grandparent s cousin. boy. brother. grandson. Repeat sign for cousin. Cousin. girl. sister. granddaughter.

17 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 17 Jenny is my cousin. granddaughter. We have the same grandparents. Jenny is my cousin. Repeat sign for cousin. At any time the user can click on the lower navigation to progress with the story. Clicking on the individual members of Marty s family is the basic format for the lesson. Users can click as little or as much as they want in order to learn the material. This material will be presented two more times; once as Marty talks about his family with other animals in the jungle, and again when we finally reach Jenny s birthday party in the tallest tree in the jungle. Go Back Continue As users continue to navigate through the game with Marty the Spider Monkey, they will meet a variety of jungle animals and continue to learn and reinforce other ASL lessons. In between meeting the various characters, Marty discusses places, and other subjects, with his friends. These transitional travelling period works to reinforce the ASL lessons that the user is learning. While the characters are walking, they are represented as images layered on a cartoonish jungle background. The elements are designed to resemble a video game, and the characters themselves may have to be cartoonish or digitized, depending upon the appeal to the audience. The road signs within the game are written in finger spelling instead of letters, and require Marty and his friends to work together, with the user, to decide which way to go. After the user becomes comfortable with the material, he/she will have to choose which path to take based on the information written on the signs and the directions that the characters have discussed. The lessons for the game include: Baby Signing Baby Signs consist primarily of the most commonly used 100 ASL signs. These signs will be spread throughout the game, and include family, places, etcetera. When Marty first starts off on his own, he finds a fallen baby American Eagle, named Waldrus. Waldrus is scared and cannot speak, so Marty does his best to sign to the baby Eagle and let him know that he will help him get to his nest. American Eagles keep their nests very high up, often perched on mountain tops for safety. Marty will need the help of some of his friends to return Waldrus to his heavenly perch. Waldrus continues with Marty until more of his friends are introduced and Waldrus home is found.

18 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 18 Finger Spelling Marty and his friends communicate by signing. As Marty finds each of his friends in the jungle, he introduces them to the user by finger spelling their names. Marty also asks his friends how to spell their names and what their names are in order to demonstrate these conventions for the user. The characters have been craftily name in order to incorporate every letter of the alphabet. The characters also discuss their ages and birthdays to make use of the other signs. When the characters discuss places, finger spelling is utilized again. Digitally remastered hands are used to sign for the different characters. Often times these hands are human, but are painted to be the colors and textures of the animal. A little bit of face paint will help represent the individual characters in the signing, even though that would not be possible with the anatomy of most of the characters. Activities and Sports While traveling with Marty s friends, they discuss what they like to do for fun. The characters alternate finger spelling and signing the names of the activities in order to encourage users to remain focused on the signing. Feelings When Marty and his friends get lost, they discuss how they feel. Some of the characters find it exciting, like a grand adventure and are very happy. While others are scared because they do not know where they are. The lion is afraid of mice, and the elephant of snakes. As they look at each other and begin to recognize these characteristics in each other, they realize that their worries are silly and begin to feel better. During all of this, the characters discuss their feelings with each other and with a stranger that eventually helps them find their way. The stranger is incorporated as part of a do not talk to strangers lesson targeting younger audiences. (This will be included regardless of the user s navigational abilities. Before the user is able to choose which path to take, the characters will take the wrong path. This will prompt the characters to ask the user for help navigating and reading the signs.) Places While the friends are travelling they talk about where they have been, where they are going, and their favorite places to go. Finger spelling is important in this section. Hygiene When Marty reaches his Grandparent s low-lying tree habitat, he and his friends talk about hygiene. Everyone washes their hands before eating the cake, and brushes their teeth afterwards. Discussion of bathing, and some other hygiene related elements occur when the friends return Waldrus to his nest on the mountain top and Waldrus mother insists that he needs a bath. Waldrus and his mother are invited to the party at Marty s Grandparent s tree, and are present later. Time & Dates When Marty invites some of his friends to the party, and realizes that he is running late. Each time Marty meets a friend, he invites them to the party before they separate. Each time Marty uses time and date to discuss when the party is. The friends

19 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 19 also cover this material while they are travelling and talk about birthdays and other events. Questions When Marty reaches the party and is conversing with his family the conversation includes a large number of questions. Marty and his friends have asked each other questions along the way, and now they use questions to get to know Marty s family, and vice a versa. Discussing Sign When Marty tells his family how learning and knowing sign saved him from all of the scary sounds and places in the jungle because he was able to communicate with other animals.

20 Learn to Talk with Your Hands! 20 Works Cited American Sign Language Browser. (2009) Michigan State University. Communication Technology Laboratory. February 13, < aslweb/browser.htm>. ASLPro. (2008) ASLPro.com. February 13, < Google Images. (2009) Google. February 13, < =18&um=1&hl=en&q=spider+monkey&start=0&sa=N>. Vicars, William. (2008) ASL University. February 13, < Virtual Realities. (2009) Virtual Realities, Inc. February 13, < /cyber.html>.