Grades 2–5
ASL Word Search
Find twelve words about ASL and Deaf culture. They go across, down and diagonally.
ASL worksheet · How ASL works
Which Hand Do I Sign With?
Read about your dominant hand and answer the questions.
- Grade level
- Grades 2–4
- Time
- About 15 minutes
- Topic
- How ASL works
- Answer key
- Yes, page 2 of the PDF
- Kids practice
- Naming the five parts of a sign, Using eyebrows to ask questions, Choosing a dominant hand, ASL vocabulary words
What kids do
Printed on the sheet:
- Most people have a dominant hand: the hand they write with and use the most. When you fingerspell or make a one-handed sign, use your dominant hand.
- If you are right-handed, your right hand is dominant. If you are left-handed, your left hand is.
- Both are correct in ASL.
- Pick one hand and stick with it. Switching hands back and forth makes your signing harder to read.
- In two-handed signs where the hands do different things, the dominant hand usually moves and the other hand stays still, like a base.
- What is a dominant hand?
- Which hand do you use to fingerspell?
- Is it OK to sign with your left hand?
Teacher tip
Ask kids which hand they write with and have them hold it up. That is their dominant hand for fingerspelling, and it stays the same every time.
How to use it
- Ask each child to name their dominant hand before they start.
- Show the five parts by changing one at a time on a letter kids know, like moving the A handshape to a new spot.
- Make every handshape with your own hand as kids work. Your hand is the best model in the room.
Watch for
Switching hands mid-word. Pick one hand and keep it.
Talk about it
- What happens if you change just one part of a sign?
- Why do you think ASL is its own language and not English on the hands?
Take it further
Play eyebrow charades with a list of questions.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More how asl works worksheets
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.
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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