DIRECTIONS: The two signs in each box mean different things, but only one thing about them differs. Write what.
You don’t need to know any sign language. Just look.
first sign
second sign
1. What is the one thing that changed?
first sign
second sign
2. What is the one thing that changed?
One More, With Arrows
American Sign Language · Page 2 of 4
DIRECTIONS: Same job. The arrows show movement.
What the arrows mean. An arrow means the hands move. One arrow means the movement happens once. Two arrows mean it happens twice. Nothing else about the arrows is a clue.
first sign
second sign
3. What is the one thing that changed?
What You Just Did
American Sign Language · Page 3 of 4
DIRECTIONS: Read this. The questions are on the last page.
MOTHER and FATHER
Same hand. The only thing that changed was where on the face it goes — the chin, or the forehead.
CANDY and APPLE
Same place, same twist. The only thing that changed was the shape of the hand — a straight finger, or a hooked one.
SIT and CHAIR
Same hands, same place. The only thing that changed was how many times it moves — once, or twice.
Change one part, get a different word. You do it with sounds too:
pat → bat · pat → pit · pat → pan
Signs are built from parts too, and none of the parts is a sound.
What a Part Is For
American Sign Language · Page 4 of 4
DIRECTIONS: Answer in your own words.
You got all three right without knowing any sign language. What were you actually looking at to decide?
A hooked finger does not mean anything on its own, and neither does the chin. So what is the job of a part?