Practice class subjects, fields, and careers signs
Practice signing more hobbies and interests
Create a mini-story describing a career or interest
Read about ASL ABC/Number Stories
Creative stories in ASL that utilize specific handshapes (Classifiers), whether they be letters or numbers, to constrain the possible sign choices of the "storyteller". Fluency and skill in ASL are required—a depth of vocabulary, a breadth of visual "puns", iconic/gestural content, body language, surrogation (taking on the characteristics and style of people, animals, objects), and humor are typically embedded within ABC/Number Stories.
Typical Rules include:
A range of letters and/or #s without repeating or skipping (though sometimes going forward through the range, then back again, is a creative iteration on just starting at A and ending at Z, or 1-9)
Supporting body language, facial expressions, and surrogation/depiction/characterization (acting "like" someone or something)
Creating a clear story (even if it's far-fetched, unbelievable, or breaks real-world rules!).
At Schools for the Deaf, upperclass students passed down ASL ABC/Number Stories to younger students. Some stories were frozen, retaining the exact same handshapes, rhythm, ABC/# order, characterization, and storyline. Other stories might be riffs off of "famous" stories that had been told and passed down since time immemorial. And still others might just be silly or juvenile attempts to entertain and push the boundaries of linguistic rules and possibilities.
Note that even stories constrained by a single handshape are possible in ASL, depending on the masterful creativity of the storyteller. Those storytellers who were adept at fashioning entertaining and witty confabulations in ASL were honored and esteemed within their classes and schools!
Even at Deaf Clubs, certain members were known for their tall tales and amazing ASL ABC/# Stories, being asked again and again to entertain the membership with old tales, new creations, and fun pokes at themselves or others in the community.
Try your hand at creating an ASL ABC/# Story (pick a letter handshape or a number!) and try to string together a sentence or two.
Ex. Index-Finger:
Upright = person standing or moving, "I/me"
Horizontal = pointing/gesturing at someone in the distance/signing space
Down = indicating the floor, the ground, the legs/feet
Specific pointing = To head/other body parts
2 Hands = describing movement of each leg (walking gingerly/carefully/timidly)
Alternatively, you can think about all the signs you might know that use the Index finger/Classifier:
1 (or D)
PERSON
I, YOU, S/HE/IT, WE, THEY
EYES/Body Parts (point to them)
THINK
HERE
over-THERE
LEGS (2H)
MOUSE
LONG
BLACK
PAIN/HURT (2H)
SHOW
"cut throat"/RISKY/DANGEROUS
HEAR
SAY/TELL-to-____
HEARING
DEAF
"pick your nose"
etc.
Then, can you make a story out of these signs? Or even create a few related sentences? Try! (And use the stories below for some inspiration.)
Cody Francisco demonstrates an ABC Story in ASL (voiced and captioned, though hearing or reading a translation defeats the purpose of experiencing and appreciating the thrill of "catching" all the letters/signs!).
Try watching first without sound or captions.
Terrylene provides a brief introduction to ABC/Number Stories, as well as preps you to see her perform her first Number Story as a young girl...
Here Terrylene tells her ASL Number Story (and enumerates each number/sign along the way). Remember that the point is creatively following the strict format:
#s 1-5 without repeating/skipping
including supporting body language, facial expressions, and surrogation/depiction
creating a clear story (even if it's far-fetched, unbelievable, or breaks real-world rules!).