At school Beanca and her classmates learned American Sign Language Everything changed for Beanca when she went to school All the children in her class were deaf The teacher communicated with the children by forming signs with her hands The signs were words and ideas that the deaf children could see and understand The teacher was using American Sign Language ASL Beanca and the other children watched the teacher They learned new signs every day Soon Beanca was 6
using these signs to ask questions tell stories and explain how she felt For the first time in her life Beanca could communicate with other people She could understand what they said to her Beanca began to use ASL with her family Her mother and father took ASL classes so they could Beanca’s family learned ASL so that they could all communicate 7
Beanca and her brother sign to each other 8
communicate with Beanca Beanca’s older brother and sister learned some signs too Her younger sister learned to sign very well She became the best signer in the family after Beanca herself ASL is Beanca’s first language She is learning to read and write English too She has written several books with her own stories and pictures She practices speaking English words every day She is learning to Beanca s Favorite Things Today Beanca is nine years old She is a fourth grader in Calumet City Illinois She uses ASL in all of her classes Her favorite subjects are art gym and math She loves to draw and make up stories Beanca also likes to watch TV and play with her sisters After school she takes care of her pet hamster She feeds him and cleans his cage Sometimes she takes him out and lets him go exploring around her room 9
