Signing Stories Come Alive

Lesson 2 of 3 in Unit: "Signing Our Names"

Subject Area: Languages – New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL)
Curriculum Level: Level 1, New Zealand Curriculum
Year Level: Years 1–2
Lesson Duration: 50 minutes
Class Size: 14 students

---

📚 Learning Area and Curriculum Links

Learning Area: Learning Languages – New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL)

Curriculum Intentions (aligned with NZC and NCEA guidance):

• Develop students’ communication skills in another language (NZSL)
• Foster understanding of language patterns and conventions (e.g. alphabet and name spelling in sign)
• Encourage students to relate to others and express identity through language and gesture
• Practise Key Competencies: Participating and Contributing, Relating to Others, and Using Language, Symbols and Texts

---

🎯 Learning Intentions (What are we learning?)

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Recognise and sign each letter of the NZSL alphabet with more confidence
• Use fingerspelling to sign their own name and 2–3 simple vocabulary words
• Collaboratively create a visual storyboard integrating letters and words in meaningful context
• Express meaning visually and through gesture, demonstrating creativity and teamwork

---

✅ Success Criteria (How will we know we’ve learnt it?)

Students will:

• Accurately fingerspell their name using NZSL
• Work in pairs to create a completed mini-storyboard using selected letters and signs
• Confidently demonstrate their storyboards through signing and showing images
• Reflect on what letter(s) they signed today and how they felt during the activity

---

🧠 Prior Learning

Students have already:

• Been introduced to the NZSL alphabet
• Practised fingerspelling their own names
• Identified basic NZSL vocabulary such as "friend", "school", "cat", "happy"

---

🧩 Resources & Materials

• Large printed NZSL alphabet charts around the room
• Laminated copies of the NZSL alphabet for each pair
• Whiteboards and markers or crayons
• Storyboard templates (A4 size with 4 boxes per page)
• Paper name tags for reference
• Visual aids of basic signed words (simple nouns and actions)
• Timer or visual countdown tool
• Open floor space for performance

---

🕐 Lesson Breakdown

1. Karakia & Welcome (5 mins)

• Quick karakia or welcome routine appropriate to your school/kura
• Circle time to revisit what we learned in Lesson 1 — “Whose name can we remember how to sign?”

---

2. Warm-up Game – Alphabet Freeze! (7 mins)

• Play music and let students move freely around the mats
• When the music stops, teacher signs a letter (or shows it) – students freeze and fingerspell that letter
• Level up: call a student by name and repeat their full name using fingerspelling

Encourages fast recall and alertness while reinforcing visual-spatial recognition of signs

---

3. Model and Explain Storyboard Activity (8 mins)

• Show a pre-made example: storyboard with 4 boxes—each box has an image and a signed word (e.g. A for "apple", B for "bird", C for "car", D for "dog").
• Teacher models signing each letter, then signs associated word (support with visuals).
• Explain: “We’re going to make our own little stories using signs and pictures! You’ll use letters from YOUR name. You and your buddy will work together.”

---

4. Pair Work – Storyboard Creation (15 mins)

• Students pair up (teacher pairs purposefully to suit mixed abilities)
• Each child picks 2 letters from their own name
• Pair brainstorms vocabulary that begins with those letters (visual prompt sheets available)
• Students draw a picture in each box and practise the sign with their partner
• Teacher circulates, supports signing accuracy, models vocabulary where needed

Encourages creative storytelling based on letters known, while practising signing in context

---

5. Sharing Our Stories – Signing Showcase (10 mins)

• Each pair shares their storyboard with the class (verbal speaking optional, focus on visual & signed presentation)
• Encourage others to guess the signed words as a group

Boosts confidence, public speaking, and visual comprehension of signs

---

6. Cool-down and Reflection (5 mins)

• Circle time again – quick thumbs up/down:
  • Did we enjoy the story activity?
  • Was there a letter that was easy/hard to sign?
• Quick silent self-assessment: students hold up fingers to show how many words they remember signing
• Preview next lesson: “We’ll be creating a group story together using your signs!”

---

🔄 Differentiation and Support

• Neurodiverse Learners / ELLs: Use visual prompts extensively; sentence starters and peer modelling
• Advanced Learners: Challenge to use a longer word or sign an emotion in their storyboard
• Shy Students: Option to present from seat or with partner doing more of the signing

---

⚡ Extension / Fast Finishers

• Create a second storyboard using different letters
• Use whiteboards to write the first letter of guessed words from peers’ presentations
• Match signs with printed flashcards in a mini-alphabet hunt

---

✍ Teacher Notes for Reflection

After the lesson:

• Which students confidently led the signing?
• Did pair dynamics work well – was reinforcement happening between students?
• Were there common letters or signs that students struggled to remember?
• What vocabulary seemed to excite or inspire storytelling?

---

🌱 Next Steps:

Lesson 3 Preview – “Our Signed Group Story”
Students will bring together letters and signs practised so far to co-construct a narrative as a class, using signs, images, and gestures to tell their collaborative story.

---

He taonga te reo – language is a treasure. Let’s help our tamariki keep it alive through stories signed by little hands and big imaginations.