Hand Shapes

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American Sign Language is a language that is communicated with the hands. When signing, the dominant hand does most of the work. It typically comes naturally to people to sign with their dominant hand. When the sign involves two hands, the dominant hand does the majority of the work, while the non-dominant hand is the more passive component of the sign.

​Most signs are a combination of the handshapes pictured below and are used in different motions and in different forms. For example, the sign for the color brown, is a “B” handshape lightly pulled down the cheek of the signer. 

Here are some different handshapes that are commonly used in American Sign Language to create signs: 

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Navigation Menu

1. Course Agenda
​2. Sign Language Introduction Video
3. ASL Video Discussion
4. Deaf Culture and Community
5. Cultural Influences on Language
6. Video Protecting Deaf Culture
7. Discussion Deaf Culture
8. Hand Shapes
9. Facial Expressions and Body Language
10. Signed Alphabet 
11. Discussion: Facial Expressions

12. Occupations with and without the Agent Marker
13. Basic Signs
14. Color Signs
15. Days of the Week
16. People Signs
17. Place Signs
18. Animal Signs
19. Food Signs
20. Feeling Signs
21. School Signs
22. Basic Signs
​23. Discussion: Signs in the Classroom

24. Check for Understanding
25. Where to Begin when Teaching Signs
26. Signs by Age
27. Older Children Signs
28. Classroom Management
29. Make it Fun!
30. Discussion: Make it Fun!
31. Sign Language Quiz #1
32. Sign Language Quiz #2
33. Sign Language Quiz #3
34. Sign Language Quiz #4
35. Sign Language Quiz #5
36. Evaluation Form​
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