Grades K–5
ASL Alphabet Chart
All 26 letters of the ASL fingerspelling alphabet on one page. Hang it up or keep it in a folder.
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Free printables · kindergarten to 5th grade
Free ASL worksheets for kids
50 free American Sign Language worksheets for English-speaking kids, in 10 topics: the ASL alphabet, look-alike letters, reading fingerspelled words, spell it yourself, more fingerspelling, Deaf culture, Deaf history, how ASL works, games and goals. Accurate handshape pictures, 37 answer keys and one of Kevin Coulston’s cartoon characters on every page.
The ASL alphabet Grades K–5
A full ASL alphabet chart, then trace and sign A to M and N to Z, match handshapes to letters and name each handshape on your own.
Grades K–2
Trace and Sign A to M
Make the handshapes for A to M with your hand, then trace each letter.
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Grades K–2
Trace and Sign N to Z
Make the handshapes for N to Z with your hand, then trace each letter.
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Grades 1–3
Match the Letter Handshapes
Draw a line from each handshape to its letter.
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Grades 1–4
Name That Handshape
Look at each handshape and write the letter it makes.
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Look-alike letters Grades 2–5
Tell apart the letters that look almost the same: A, S, T, M, N and E, then U, V, R and K, then G, H, P and Q, the moving letters J and Z, and sort every letter by its handshape.
Grades 2–5
Fist Letters: A, S, T, M, N and E
These six letters all start with a closed hand. Read where the thumb goes, then name each handshape.
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Grades 2–5
Two-Finger Letters: U, V, R and K
Four letters use two fingers up. Read what makes each one different, then name each handshape.
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Grades 2–5
Sideways and Down Letters: G, H, P and Q
G and H point to the side. P and Q tip down. Name each handshape.
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Grades 2–5
Letters That Move: J and Z
J and Z are the only letters that move. Trace the path each one draws in the air.
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Grades 2–5
Sort the Handshapes
Write each letter in the group that fits its handshape.
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Reading fingerspelled words Grades K–3
Read sight words, three-letter words, animals and colors spelled with ASL handshapes, and find the missing letter in each word.
Grades K–1
Fingerspelled Sight Words
Each row of handshapes spells a sight word. Write the word.
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Grades 1–2
Read Three-Letter Words
Read the three handshapes and write the word they spell.
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Grades 1–3
Fingerspelled Animals
Each row spells an animal. Write the word, then draw your favorite one.
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Grades 1–3
Fingerspelled Colors
Read each color word spelled in handshapes. Write the word, then color the crayon.
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Grades 1–3
Find the Missing Letter
One handshape is missing from each word. Circle the handshape that fills the gap.
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Spell it yourself Grades 1–5
Fingerspell your own name, play a partner spelling game, put handshapes in ABC order, decode a secret message and keep a spelling practice list.
Grades 1–3
Fingerspell Your Name
Write your name, find each letter on the chart and practice spelling it with your hand.
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Grades 2–5
Partner Spelling Game
Take turns. One partner fingerspells a word from the list and the other writes what they read.
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Grades 1–3
Handshapes in ABC Order
Name each handshape, then write the letters in ABC order.
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Grades 2–5
Secret Message Decoder
Name every handshape to decode the secret messages.
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Grades 2–5
My Fingerspelling Word List
Write ten words you want to fingerspell. Check off each one when you can spell it smoothly.
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More fingerspelling practice Grades 1–4
Read fingerspelled food words, unscramble handshapes into words, find the letters before and after, match rhyming words and draw what you read.
Grades 1–3
Fingerspelled Food Words
Each row spells a food. Write the word.
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Grades 1–2
Letters Before and After
Name each handshape. Write the letter that comes just before it and just after it in the alphabet.
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Grades 1–3
Rhyme Time Handshapes
Read the word on the left. Circle the fingerspelled word that rhymes with it.
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Grades 1–3
Fingerspell and Draw
Read each fingerspelled word, write it, then draw a picture of it.
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Grades 2–4
Unscramble the Handshapes
The letters of each word are mixed up. Name the handshapes, then write the real word.
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Deaf culture and manners Grades 1–5
Learn what ASL is, sort true and false facts, find polite ways to get a Deaf person’s attention, read about name signs and the many ways people communicate.
Grades 2–5
What Is ASL?
Read about American Sign Language and answer the questions.
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Grades 2–5
ASL True or False
Read each sentence about ASL and Deaf people. Circle true or false.
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Grades 1–4
Getting Someone’s Attention
Sort the ways to get a Deaf person’s attention into polite and not polite.
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Grades 2–5
What Is a Name Sign?
Read about name signs and who gives them, then answer the questions.
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Grades 1–4
Ways We Communicate
Deaf and hard of hearing people communicate in many ways. Match each tool to what it does.
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Deaf history Grades 3–5
Read and answer questions about Laurent Clerc, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Alice Cogswell, Martha’s Vineyard, the Deaf President Now protest, and put Deaf history in order on a timeline.
Grades 3–5
Meet Laurent Clerc
Read about the Deaf teacher who helped start the first permanent school for the deaf in America, then answer the questions.
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Grades 3–5
Meet Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Alice Cogswell
Read about a hearing minister, a Deaf girl named Alice and the school they helped start, then answer the questions.
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Grades 3–5
Martha’s Vineyard: An Island That Signed
Read about an island where deaf and hearing people both signed, then answer the questions.
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Grades 3–5
Deaf President Now
Read about the week in 1988 when Gallaudet University students won a Deaf president, then answer the questions.
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Grades 3–5
Deaf History Timeline
Write each event from the box in the right place on the timeline.
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How ASL works Grades 2–5
Meet the five parts of a sign, see how eyebrows change a question, learn which hand to sign with and find ASL words in a word search.
Grades 2–5
The Five Parts of a Sign
Every sign is made of five parts. Match each part to what it means, then answer the questions.
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Grades 3–5
Eyebrows Ask Questions
In ASL your eyebrows show what kind of question you are asking. Circle up or down for each question.
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Grades 2–4
Which Hand Do I Sign With?
Read about your dominant hand and answer the questions.
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Grades 2–5
ASL Word Search
Find twelve words about ASL and Deaf culture. They go across, down and diagonally.
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Grades 3–5
ASL Vocabulary Match
Draw a line from each ASL word to what it means.
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Fingerspelling games Grades K–5
Play fingerspelling bingo, find the odd handshape out, cut out handshape memory cards, solve riddles answered in ASL letters and search for fingerspelled words.
Grades K–3
Fingerspelling Bingo
Two different cards on one page. The caller says a letter: find its handshape and cover it. Four in a row wins.
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Grades 1–3
Odd Handshape Out
Three handshapes in each row are the same letter. Circle the one that is different.
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Grades K–3
Handshape Memory Cards
Cut out the cards, turn them face down and match each letter to its handshape.
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Grades 2–5
Fingerspelled Riddles
Each riddle’s answer is spelled in handshapes. Read the letters to solve it.
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Grades 2–5
Handshape Word Search
Each word is fingerspelled in the list. Read it, then find it in the letter grid.
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Practice and goals Grades K–5
Track daily fingerspelling practice, check your own handshapes, set ASL goals, teach a friend and earn an ASL alphabet certificate.
Grades 1–5
My Fingerspelling Practice Log
Practice a little every day. Write what you spelled and check the box each day.
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Grades 2–5
Check My Handshapes
Look in a mirror or ask a partner. Check off each letter you can make clearly.
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Grades 2–5
My ASL Goals
Think about what you know and what you want to learn next. Set three ASL goals.
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Grades 1–5
Teach a Friend
Teach a friend or family member some ASL letters, then write and draw about it.
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Grades K–5
ASL Alphabet Certificate
A certificate for a student who can fingerspell the whole ASL alphabet.
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One topic
Each topic has a pack of its five sheets and their answer keys: asl alphabet, look-alike letters, fingerspelled words, spell it yourself, more fingerspelling, deaf culture, deaf history, how asl works, games, practice.
How to use them
- Warm up with the alphabet: post the ASL Alphabet Chart and sign A to Z together each morning. Trace and Sign A to M and Trace and Sign N to Z make the first week easy.
- Sign before you write: on every handshape sheet, have kids make each shape with their own hand before they write the letter. Their hand should match the picture.
- Practice the tricky ones: Fist Letters: A, S, T, M, N and E, Two-Finger Letters: U, V, R and K and Sideways and Down Letters: G, H, P and Q each take one group of look-alike letters at a time.
- Make it a game: Fingerspelling Bingo, Handshape Memory Cards and Partner Spelling Game get the whole class signing.
- Learn about Deaf culture: read What Is ASL? and Getting Someone’s Attention before kids practice with each other, then the Deaf history pages later in the unit.
- Bring in Deaf voices: the sheets teach fingerspelling, not full conversation. Invite a Deaf guest, or watch videos made by Deaf signers, to see ASL used for real.
Start here by grade
- Kindergarten and 1st grade: ASL Alphabet Chart, Trace and Sign A to M, Fingerspelled Sight Words, Match the Letter Handshapes, Letters Before and After.
- 2nd grade: Name That Handshape, Read Three-Letter Words, Find the Missing Letter, Rhyme Time Handshapes, Getting Someone’s Attention.
- 3rd grade: Fist Letters: A, S, T, M, N and E, Secret Message Decoder, What Is ASL?, The Five Parts of a Sign, Meet Laurent Clerc.
- 4th and 5th grade: Sort the Handshapes, Eyebrows Ask Questions, Deaf President Now, Martha’s Vineyard: An Island That Signed, Deaf History Timeline.
- Any age: Fingerspell Your Name, My Fingerspelling Practice Log, Check My Handshapes and the ASL Alphabet Certificate.
More free printables for the classroom
- Phonics worksheetsFingerspelling goes well with letter sounds: phonics pages for K–2.
- Sight word worksheetsSpell each sight word in ASL, then practice it on paper.
- Special education printablesVisual schedules, communication boards and adapted work.
- SEL worksheets200 pages for feelings, friendship and kindness.
- Social studies worksheetsMaps, communities, history and holidays around the world.
- Classroom activities and gamesBrain teasers, bingo, scavenger hunts and whole-class games.
Books for early finishers
The characters on these worksheets come from Kevin Coulston’s drawing books. Keep one in the classroom for kids who finish early: the How to Draw books build a drawing one small step at a time.
Questions
Are these ASL worksheets free?
Yes. All 50 worksheets, the 37 answer keys and the topic packs are free to print for the classroom, homeschool, ASL club and home practice. Print one sheet, a topic pack of five or the whole set.
What grades are they for?
Kindergarten to 5th grade. Each card shows the grades it suits best, and the grade buttons hide the rest. Beginners of any age start with the alphabet chart, tracing and three-letter words; older kids add the look-alike letters, Deaf history and how ASL works.
Do the sheets teach signs for words like hello and thank you?
Not yet. Word signs move, and a still picture can easily teach them wrong, so this set sticks to what a picture shows well, the fingerspelling alphabet, plus reading pages about ASL and Deaf culture. ASL numbers are not included yet either. For word signs, learn from a Deaf teacher or a video dictionary made by Deaf signers.
Where do the hand pictures come from?
They are a public domain ASL fingerspelling set from Wikimedia Commons, first drawn for wpclipart.com, the same style as the classic ASL alphabet chart. Every letter is drawn with the right hand, and J and Z have arrows that show their movement. Left-handed signers make the same shapes with the left hand.
Do I need to know ASL to use them?
No. The ASL Alphabet Chart is part of the set, four of the five look-alike letter pages spell out each difference in a box at the top, and every sheet with right answers has an answer key page right after it. Practice the handshapes along with your students.
What order should I teach them in?
The topics are grouped by kind, so follow the grades rather than the topic order. Start with the alphabet chart and tracing, then read fingerspelled words, practice spelling and play the games. The look-alike letters, Deaf culture, Deaf history and how ASL works pages suit 2nd to 5th grade.
Do they print in black and white?
Yes. The handshapes are black line drawings and nothing depends on color, except the crayon on the color word sheet, which kids color in. Sheets are US Letter and also print on A4.
All sheets are US Letter, print well in black and white, and are free for home and classroom use. The hand pictures are a public domain ASL handshape set. More for teachers in the teacher resources library.
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