Lesson Tutor: Learning to sign ASL Animals

 American Sign Language Series II Lesson 1: Forest Animals
By Elaine Ernst Schneider

deer	squirrel	porcupine
bear	fox	eagle
wolf	raccoon	owl
chipmunk	bird	duck

Signs	Description of Sign Actions
bear	Cross your arms over your chest (left over right) With hands almost at the opposite shoulders, make a scratching motion with your all of your fingers.
bird	Place the right “G” hand at the right side of the mouth with fingers pointing forward, as if to create a bird’s beak. Open and close the finger and thumb once or twice to emulate the movement of a bird’s beak.
chipmunk	Touch the thumbs of “C” hands to the cheek, moving both hands outwards. Hint: The motion highlights the fact that chipmunks have fat cheeks.
deer	Place the thumbs of open hands, palms forward, at the temples to show the buck’s horns.
duck	Create the “duck” sign by adding one finger to the “bird” sign (see “bird” word description). This emphasizes the flat beak of the duck.
eagle	Gently place the back of an “X” hand against the lips. Note: This illustrates the eagle’s crooked beak.
fox	Lightly touch the forefinger of a right “F” hand to the nose.
owl	Rotate “O” hands over the eyes, moving back and forth twice.
porcupine	Place the palm of an open right hand on the knuckles of a left “S” hand. Then roll the right hand across the back of the left hand, illustrating the porcupine’s prickly needles.
raccoon	Use “R” hands to draw imaginary circles under the eyes where the raccoon’s black markings are. Move hands from the nose to the sides.
squirrel	Curve the first and second fingers of “V” hands and then touch palms twice.
wolf	Hold a right curved hand in front of the nose as if you are about to grab it. Then move the hand outward and forward, closing the fingers into an “and” sign. The sign should move forward about the length of a wolf’s nose.

Continue to Lesson 2: Farm Animals – click here

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