Description
Get your ASL students researching famous Deaf people and signing in the target language with this Deaf culture speed dating activity! Students research one of 24 famous Deaf people, become that person, and meet classmates on quick “dates” in ASL. Then comes the big reveal: is it a match?
Students learn about Deaf actors, activists, artists, athletes, and leaders while practicing how to ask and answer personal questions in ASL. Your room stays full of signing, and students have a reason to pay close attention to every classmate.
At a Glance
- Level: ASL 2 and up
- Time: 1–4 days of instruction (depending on your bell schedule adn research time)
- Format: Printable PDF with a link to the digital Google Slides version
- Skills: Research, Deaf culture, asking and answering questions, describing people, and giving reasons for a choice
- Language: Receptive and expressive language, question asking
What’s Included
- For the Teacher page and directions for both versions
- Student rules pages for both versions
- 24 digital or print student research pages, one for each famous Deaf person
- Speed Date Notes pages for tracking traits, fun facts, and what students have in common during interactions
- 12 Questions to Possibly Ask
- 24 name tags with photos, in color and black and white
- Whole hearts for matches and broken hearts for no match, in color and black and white
Two Ways to Play
- Version 1, Partners: Pairs research the same person together. One side rotates while the other stays put, then partners reunite to choose a “second date.”
- Version 2, Free Flow: Students research on their own, then mingle and ask “WHO YOU?” until they have met everyone.
Famous Deaf People Included
Chuck Baird, Sean Berdy, Linda Bove, Bernard Bragg, Deanne Bray, Peter Cook, Nyle DiMarco, Ashley Fiolek, Sean Forbes, Andrew Foster, Phyllis Frelich, Haben Girma, Claudia L. Gordon, Matt Hamill, Greg Hlibok, CJ Jones, I. King Jordan, Troy Kotsur, Ella Mae Lentz, Nathie Marbury, Marlee Matlin, Nancy Rourke, Shoshanna Stern, and Christine Sun Kim
Please Note
This purchase is one educator license. Please direct other teachers to Creative ASL Teaching to purchase their own.
Follow Creative ASL Teaching to hear about new ASL resources, and please leave a review. I’d love to hear how this went in your classroom!




