ASL worksheet · Deaf culture and manners
Getting Someone’s Attention
Sort the ways to get a Deaf person’s attention into polite and not polite.
- Grade level
- Grades 1–4
- Time
- About 15 minutes
- Answer key
- Yes, page 2 of the PDF
- Kids practice
- Knowing that ASL is its own language, Polite ways to get attention, Understanding name signs, Respecting the many ways people communicate
What kids do
Printed on the sheet:
- Ways to get attention tap their shoulder gently tap the table so they feel it throw something at them wave where they can see you shout their name flick the lights for a group grab their face to turn it wave right in front of their eyes
- Write each one under Polite or Not polite.
- Answer the questions.
- Once you have their attention, where should you look while you sign?
- Why is it rude to look away while someone signs to you?
Teacher tip
Practice the polite ways right away: a light tap on the shoulder, a wave in view, flicking the lights. Then talk about why the others feel rude.
How to use it
- Read the passage aloud together and stop to talk about each idea.
- Practice the polite attention-getters in class before kids try them with each other.
- Make every handshape with your own hand as kids work. Your hand is the best model in the room.
Watch for
Calling ASL a code for English. It is a full language with its own grammar.
Talk about it
- What surprised you about ASL?
- How is your hand different from the picture? What would you change?
Take it further
Practice a silent lunch or a silent game where everyone uses gestures and fingerspelling.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More deaf culture and manners worksheets
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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