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Story and Sign

Tips, Techniques, and Cautions in using ASL in Biblical Storytelling

My name is Liz, and I'm a certified biblical storyteller who has a passion for sign language.  If you are a storyteller in a face-to-face tradition, this blog offers ways to incorporate signs in the stories you tell.

For the alphabet and basic signs, start from the bottom of the blog and work your way up. 


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Black Fire on White Fire

Jewish midrash speaks of Torah being black fire written on white fire. Black fire refers to the words that are printed. They can be...

Zooming in on Zacchaeus

One of the techniques in ASL storytelling is using elements of cinematographic perspectives. As a camera zooms in or out, panning in to...

What Does One Letter Matter?

In an article entitled, "What Silence Conceals -- and Reveals" https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/what-silence-conceals-and-reveals...

A type of biblical ASL Alphabet story

The summary of "Face-to-Face Tradition in the American Deaf Community" includes a description of ABC stories. In its pure form the...

Rhythm and Music

In the summary of "Face-to Face Tradition," there is a reference to percussion signing. In recent years, ASL interpreters at music...

Spirit, Breath, Wind

The Hebrew word ruach and the Greek word, pneuma, both have three meanings -- breath, wind, and spirit. Different translations of the...

Psalm 51:10-12

I will periodically post specific stories with signs for you to use in telling or learning a story. In this first telling, I am using...

Visual Vernacular

Visual vernacular is an art form combining elements of signing and mime to tell a story. Indigenous to deaf communities, it uses...

Too Much of a Good Thing?

In spoken and sign language, words can be emphasized for meaning and intensity. We understand the differences between being cold and...

Pro Tips

This is a collection of things to keep in mind when storytelling, especially if you are planning to incorporate signs. Clothing -- Avoid...

Multiple Signs, Multiple Meanings

It has been said that there are 100 Inuit ways to talk of snow. While the actual number is closer to 50, that's still about 40 more...

What Not to Sign

Whether or not you intentionally plan to use signing in your storytelling, there are some gestures you could unintentionally make that...

Basic Signs

The video below shows some common signs you may use in biblical storytelling or other religious settings. Signs include: God, Jesus,...

Similar Signs, Different Meanings

One sign can have multiple meanings. For example, the sign for clean is the same for nice and simple. With slight variations, the sign...

Syntax Errors

Each language has its own sentence structure and grammar. Although American Sign Language is native to the United States and can be...

ASL Alphabet

Each country has its own sign language, and each sign language has its own alphabet. Like spoken words, fingerspelling each letter of...

The Significance of the Sign for Story

When you hear the word story, what comes to mind? You might imagine bedtime stories, told or read by a parent or loved one. In a...

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