Sign Language Focus

Weekly Plan Overview for Languages Week – New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL)

For Year 1-5 Mixed-Age Class (Ages 5-11) | Catholic Primary Context

Class size: 15 students with broad ability (NZ Curriculum Levels 1-3 mostly Year 4 standard) Daily structure: Three teaching blocks—Morning, Middle, and Afternoon Lesson duration: 60 minutes per daily block Focus: Communication, cultural awareness, hands-on and play-based learning Whole class instruction with targeted workshop sessions Includes Pentecost connection on Monday morning

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Curriculum Alignment Summary

This plan aligns with the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh for Learning Languages (focus on NZSL), the English Learning Area (oral language strand including NZSL), and Catholic school values emphasizing cultural respect and community. It integrates the curriculum’s key competencies of using language, symbols and texts, relating to others, participating and contributing, and managing self through scaffolded, multimodal, and interactive activities.

Learning outcomes draw on phase 1 and phase 2 progress outcomes in oral language acquisition, communication conventions, cultural insights, and developing positive identities as language users and communicators.

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Monday: Pentecost & NZSL Introduction

Morning (60 min): Pentecost Symbolism & NZSL Welcome

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the meaning of Pentecost in the Catholic context
• Learn NZSL signs related to Pentecost (fire, spirit, wind)
• Develop oral language skills including NZSL fingerspelling and greetings

Activities:

1. Story & Symbol Discussion (15 min): Read a short, illustrated story about Pentecost. Discuss symbols (fire, wind, dove). Ask students to share what they know about the fire/spirit.

2. NZSL Fingerspelling Intro (10 min): Introduce NZSL alphabet with a song. Practice fingerspelling names and Pentecost keywords.

3. Pentecost Signs Teaching (20 min): Teach NZSL signs for "fire," "spirit," "wind," "church," and "peace". Use videos and live modelling, then practice in pairs.

4. Circle Share using NZSL (15 min): Each student shares their Pentecost sign choices or greetings in NZSL with feedback from teacher.

Assessment: Oral participation; teacher notes on individual progress in fingerspelling and signs.

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Middle (60 min): NZSL Cultural Stories & Songs

Learning Objectives:

• Appreciate NZSL as a language and culture
• Follow and sign simple NZSL songs
• Scaffold learning from Level 1 to Level 3 through differentiated support

Activities:

1. NZSL Storytime (15 min): Watch/read a story in NZSL (storytelling with signed narrative and visuals). Students follow along.

2. Song & Sign (25 min): Teach a simple NZSL song like “Hello, How Are You?” Students learn signs with rhythmic movement. Support scaffolded for mixed ages.

3. Worksheet Activity (20 min): Worksheet matching signs to images (for younger or Level 1 students). More advanced students write simple sentences describing signs.

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Afternoon (60 min): Hands-On Play-based Learning Using Playdough

Learning Objectives:

• Reinforce NZSL vocabulary through tactile engagement
• Foster creativity and fine motor skills
• Encourage peer collaboration and descriptive communication in NZSL

Activities:

1. Building Signs with Playdough (30 min): Students shape their favourite NZSL signs or Pentecost symbols (flames, doves) in pairs. Use NZSL to describe their creations.

2. Show and Tell (15 min): Each group presents their playdough creation using NZSL signs learned. Teacher scaffolds language and encourages descriptive signing.

3. Reflection Circle (15 min): Reflect on what they learned about Pentecost and NZSL using a shared NZSL greeting and simple sentence structure supported by the teacher.

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Tuesday: Basic NZSL Communication

Morning: Greetings and Everyday Signs

• Teach fundamental greetings/introductions in NZSL
• Play interactive signing games (“Simon Says” in NZSL)
• Scaffold complexity by age and ability (sign short phrases vs. single signs)

Middle: Storybook with NZSL Support

• Read a bilingual English/NZSL picture book about community
• Workshop groups practice fingerspelling and contextual vocabulary

Afternoon: Role Play & Interactive Games

• Role-play simple conversations using NZSL signs for family, feelings, and numbers
• Use flashcards and charades for reinforcement

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Wednesday: Number & Colour Signs

Morning: Numbers 1-10 in NZSL

• Teach number signs using counting songs
• Differentiated tasks: tracing numbers and fingerspelling for beginners; creating number stories for advanced

Middle: Colour and Shape Signs

• Explore common colours and shapes in NZSL
• Use playdough to make shapes and colour labels in NZSL

Afternoon: Consolidation Game

• Small groups rotate stations: number bingo in NZSL, colour matching, shape puzzles, and sentence building

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Thursday: Expressing Feelings & Family in NZSL

Morning: Feelings & Emotion Signs

• Teach signs for emotions (happy, sad, tired)
• Discuss emotions in a circle time supported by NZSL

Middle: Family Members & Descriptions

• Vocabulary teaching on family signs (mum, dad, sister, brother)
• Worksheet with family tree and NZSL labels

Afternoon: Story Creation & Signing

• Students create short stories about their family using NZSL sentence frames
• Share in small groups with teacher feedback

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Friday: Review & Celebration

Morning: NZSL Recap & Quiz

• Whole class quiz of signs learned using Kahoot style questions or paper quiz
• Teams compete to reinforce learning

Middle: Sign Language Performance Preparation

• Prepare simple NZSL songs or poems to present as a class
• Practice with peer feedback and teacher guidance

Afternoon: Performance & Reflection

• Performance of NZSL songs and stories to school or class
• Reflection on NZSL learning and cultural respect
• Certificate presentation: “NZSL Learner” badge

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Teaching and Learning Strategies

• Scaffolding: Activities have built-in support for different levels (simple signs + phrases + sentences)
• Multimodal learning: Visual, auditory, tactile, and kinaesthetic modalities included
• Inclusive pedagogy: Encourages peer collaboration, respects diverse learning needs, builds confidence
• Workshop sessions: Targeted small groups post-introduction to support scaffolding and extension
• Cultural awareness: Focus on NZSL as a living language and its significance in New Zealand society and Catholic values (community, communication, respect)
• Technology: Use of NZSL videos and signed storybooks for modelling

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Assessment

• Ongoing formative assessment via teacher observation during signing activities and group discussions
• Use language rubrics linked to NZ Curriculum progress outcomes for oral language including NZSL (Level 1 to 3 descriptors)
• Peer and self-assessment through reflection circles and performance feedback
• Evidence collected in portfolios including photos of playdough creations, worksheets, and video samples of students signing.

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