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American Sign Language Video Lessons on Estuaries

ASL lessons on estuaries

To foster greater engagement in science topics among deaf and hard of hearing K-12 students and increase the number of deaf people entering science and technical professions, the Learning Center for the Deaf, Boston University, and three National Estuarine Research Reserves in New England collaborated to develop new American Sign Language resources for watershed and estuarine concepts.

About this resource

These five short videos explain key principles of estuary ecology using American Sign Language. The videos address Watersheds, Water Quality, Water Quality Monitoring, Estuary Values, and Sea Level Rise, teaching important concepts as well as new scientific vocabulary in sign language. As part of the project, deaf scientists and educators from ASL Clear developed 50 new American Sign Language terms following linguistic principles in which the signs communicate information about the concepts they represent. You can view the English translation by clicking on the closed caption (CC) feature in the lower right corner of the videos.

To learn more, visit: ASL Clear and view their sign language tutorials that include the new coastal science vocabulary.