Rose Anna Marcelli, OCT, RECE
Author of We Can SIGN Our ABC's & We Can SIGN Our ABC's Second Edition
As some of you may know, I am the Author of a book called "We Can SIGN Our ABC's". It is a book that I created in © 2013 to teach the American Sign Language (ASL) Alphabet. After becoming a Teacher and gaining valuable experiences in the field of Education, I decided to re-visit this book and make some changes, which I then created...
"We Can SIGN Our ABC's Second Edition" © May 2017.
Top 10 Countdown of What's NEW?
As you can see in the picture above, the first edition is very colourful but not very accessible.
#10 I decided to change the font on the cover to a more legible one for easier readability.
#9 I changed the background colours for the book cover as well as the individual letters to contrasting colours so that it is more accessible for people with a vision impairment.
#8 The second edition is a hard cover book whereas the first edition was paperback.
#7 I have developed an on-line social media presence which many of you may know me as @Educate.Invest.Inspire and I have included reference to this within the back cover of the book.
#6 I have added the title to the spine of the book for easier access when it is placed on a bookshelf. You want to be able to access the book when you need it, and it would be hard to find without a title!
#5 All of the pictures are taken in the High Dynamic Range (HDR) setting, which brings added quality and detail to each photo! Photos are not edited to remain realistic.
#4 All of the photos were taken outdoors in local parks, forests, and trails to promote Outdoor Education!
#3 The pages are thicker and have a nice, silk finish which is nice to touch.
#2 The uppercase and lowercase letters that are displayed at the top of each page match how they would be written in real life. You will see a variety of fonts within these pages. I just simply couldn't stick with one font for the whole book because then the letters don't look realistic. From an Educational standpoint I chose to have each letter show how I would like it to be taught, not just because the letter looks nice in a particular font.
#1 This book contains an "Ontario Curriculum Connections" section which includes practical lesson ideas, discussion prompts, and connections to the Ontario Curriculum within the subjects of Language, Mathematics, and Social Studies. This is great for Educators to use with their students and Parents to use with their children so that they can teach them about people who are deaf or have a hearing impairment. Not many books have lesson ideas AND connections to the curriculum, very Educational and user friendly!
Purchase Information
This is a great book to have on hand for your Back to School Collection!
- Each book costs $35.00
- Payment can be made either in person or via Paypal, in full at time of purchase (if paying by cash exact amount needs to be brought)
- Based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
- Pickup only from Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada (unless otherwise negotiated)
- You will receive an e-mail when the order is ready for pickup (generally 2-5 business days depending on location)
- No Refunds
- E-mails and phone numbers will not be used for marketing purposes or scam mail
- Orders can be placed by e-mail to educate.invest.inspire@gmail.com using the sample order form below:
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Phone Number
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Quantity of Books
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Professional Development Opportunity
On Friday June 23rd, 2017 I facilitated a professional development session called "ASL In Your Classroom". This presentation was designed for Educators who work with children in Elementary School settings but was open to Educators who work with children in York Region. The attendees were: Teachers, Designated Early Childhood Educators, and the Principal at the host school. Below you will find the presentation topics of discussion and information that was presented. Each of these educators ended up purchasing one of my "We Can SIGN Our ABC's" books to use in their classroom, with their children, in their school's library, or to give as a gift as they saw the many benefits of using this book as a teaching tool.
Definitions
ASL
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• ASL means American Sign Language
• “ASL is a complete, complex language that employs signs made by moving the hands combined with facial expressions and postures of the body • ASL is the primary language of many North Americans who are deaf and is one of several communication options used by people who are deaf or hard-of- hearing” (NIDCD) |
Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing
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• “An impairment characterized by deficits in language
and speech development because of a diminished or
non-existent auditory response to sound”
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Possible Characteristics of Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
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unable to hear or respond to sound
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does not respond consistently to own name when called
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often asks for things to be repeated or responds with “huh?”
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speech is unclear
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turns up the volume loudly on electronic devices
Possible Needs of Students
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referral for a Hearing test- possible requirement of a hearing aid
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regular speech, language, and auditory training from a specialist;
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amplification systems;
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services of an interpreter for those students who use sign language;
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favourable seating in the class to facilitate lip reading;
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captioned films/videos;
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assistance of a note taker, who takes notes for the student with a hearing loss, so that
the student can fully attend to instruction;
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instruction for the teacher and peers in alternate communication methods, such as
sign language; and counselling
Possible Accommodations, Modifications, Teaching Strategies, and Assessment
Methods
Instructional
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Environmental
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Assessment
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Alternative Program Expectations
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Social Skills Development
• Awareness of self and others • Appropriate behaviour • Interactive play • Positive self concept • Self control / conflict resolution / anger • management • Interaction with peers and staff • Manners • Decision making • Responsibility • Positive work attitude • Social language / conversation skills • Problem solving • Independent living Language and Communication Development • Listening and Comprehension Skills • Non-Verbal Communication • Social Language • General Language Functions • Expressive Language • Receptive Language • Conversation Skills • Functional Language Life Skills Life skills may be incorporated as well such as cooking, cleaning, grooming, resume building, etc. (for age group that applies). |
Resources
[PDF]Classroom Accessibility for Students who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing (The Canadian Hearing
Society)
[PDF]Education for All, The Report of the Expert Panel on Literacy and ... (Expert Panel on Literacy and
Numeracy Instruction & Ministry of Ontario)
[WEB]https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/ (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) [BOOK]We Can SIGN Our ABC’s Second Edition (Rose Anna Marcelli)
[WEB] http://educateinvestinspire.blogspot.ca/ (ASL in your Classroom blog post- Rose Marcelli) [WEB] https://www.pinterest.com/rosemarcelli/american-sign-language/ (See American Sign Language
Board @Educate.Invest.Inspire- Rose Marcelli)
[APPS] https://www.spectronics.com.au/apps-for-special-education (Spectronics Inclusive Learning
Technologies: Apps for Special Education)
Book Signing
A book signing was held at the end of the professional development session. I hand sign each copy of my books :)
I would like to end off with a little bit of Dr. Seuss...
...so who wants a copy? :)
