Story Time

Before the meeting:

1. Familiarize yourself with the American Sign Language Reference website.
2. Watch the YouTube video “Pat and Katherine sign ‘The Thank You Book’ in ASL” to see how a story can be signed.

During the meeting:

1. Explain to Cub Scouts that they will be telling a short story to the others in their den using sign language. Sign language is a language used by the deaf community to communicate. They speak with their hands instead of using their voice. Using facial expressions is also important signing.
2. Have Cub Scouts watch the YouTube video “Pat and Katherine sign ‘The Thank You Book’ in ASL” to see how sign language is used.
3. Have Cub Scouts buddy up.
4. Each set of buddies are to create a short story and use sign language to share the story. They may use the American Sign Language Reference website to find signs for their story. The story should be no more than 5 minutes.
5. Give Cub Scouts 15 to 20 minutes to put together a story.
6. Have each buddy pair share their story with the den.
7. After the stories have been shared, ask Cub Scouts how sharing a story using only sign language was different and the same from telling a story using their voice.