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Sing and sign
Learn BSL through singing and signing
The children and teachers from Northern Counties School in Newcastle upon Tyne love to sing and sign!
Here they share their tips with you, whether you're singing and signing at home with your children or with a class in school...
- Always be enthusiastic – it rubs off on the kids!
- Wherever possible perform songs in front of others – encourage them to be proud of their sign language and enjoy showing it to others.
- Facial expressions and body language are so important – they really help to tell the story of the song.
- Make sure the children understand the meaning of the songs – tell the story of the song before you sing and sign it, talk about the themes, concepts and difficult vocabulary.
- And introduce props, instruments and dress-ups as much as possible to help get the children into character.
- Don't be afraid to mix age groups – the younger ones look up to the older kids as role models, and the older ones learn new skills from helping the younger ones.
- If you’re singing at school, get the parents involved. Invite them to a sing and sign class – and get the kids to teach their parents new signs.
- During instrumental parts of music when there’s nothing to sign, encourage the kids to dance – you can choreograph a dance or let them make up their own moves!
- Most importantly – have fun with singing and signing. It's a great way to build confidence and help children and families bond!
