Gesture Geniuses

BSL lessons are varied and exciting. Children engage in role play, research, singing and signing. Lessons are carefully planned to create learning links to mainstream topics and whole school events and projects. This term the focus has been on delivering lessons with more active participation from the children, with increasing opportunities for partner work, questioning and feedback to the class. This has been particularly successful in KS2.

Signed Sentences - EYFS

Reception have been learning about My Community. They are beginning to sign simple sentences such as “I have…”, “I see…”, and “My school…”. They have been practising working in pairs to build confidence. We also used a Deaf puppet to explore road safety and how Deaf people stay safe in the community.

Signing Through the Flames - KS1

Year 2 have linked BSL with their Great Fire of London topic. They have built key vocabulary and focused on sequencing (first, next, then, finally). In groups, they retold the story in BSL to strengthen storytelling and teamwork skills.

Hands on Nature - LKS1

Year 3 have been learning about The Natural World in BSL. They have developed vocabulary for animals, habitats and weather, and practised building longer sentences to describe different environments. They have worked in pairs and groups to present their ideas in BSL.

Hands of Courage - UKS2

This term Year 6 have been learning about Deaf history, focusing on James Wolfe and linking this to WW1 and WW2. They have taken part in research, discussions about Deaf experiences during wartime, and at the end of term created posters about a Deaf survivor to show their understanding.