A Silent Language

A Deaf person is someone who cannot do what?

• see

• hear

• smell

• taste

When Thomas Gallaudet wrote the word “hat” in the dirt, Alice, a Deaf girl, could understand the word. What effect did this event have?

• Thomas got sick and had to take a vacation to France, where he didn’t have time to think about school.

• Alice’s father was mad at Thomas for trying to teach his daughter, so he sent Thomas away.

• Thomas moved to England and didn’t hear from Alice or her family again until he was very old.

• Alice’s father told Thomas he should start a school to teach Deaf students how to read and write.

Thomas’ school changed a French system to help Deaf people in the United States.

What evidence from the passage supports this conclusion?

• “He went to England. There was a school for Deaf people there. He went, but he did not like it.”

• “Alice's family was happy too. Her dad was a doctor. He told Thomas that he thought Deaf people could learn words. They could learn to read.”

• “At the school, they started teaching and learning French sign language. Then they formed their own signs. They made American Sign Language.”

• “Babies and toddlers are not always strong enough to speak. But they can sign. They can tell their parents what they need.

The author says that American Sign Language has hundreds of signs, and that new signs are still being added. What does this tell you about American Sign Language?

• It has stayed the same since Thomas made it.

• It is hard to convince everyone to add new words.

• It changes over time.

• It is confusing to try to come up with new signs.

What is the main idea of this text?

• Thomas Gallaudet once visited a school in France that taught Deaf people, and although he liked the school, he decided he would rather live and teach in the United States.

• Thomas Gallaudet created the first American school for Deaf people, where American Sign Language was created as a way for Deaf people to communicate.

• One problem with American Sign Language is that it’s almost impossible to get new words added to its dictionary, even if those words are commonly used.

• To form an “e” in American Sign Language, you can either spell out the word letter by letter or you use the sign for the whole word.