Have students line up in rows facing the board.
Stand on something elevated (but safe) so that everyone can see you clearly.
Spell vocabulary words to the students.
The students at the front "race" to the board and write an English word that corresponds to the ASL sign.
Whichever student gets done writing the word first
wins a point for his or her team.
Notes:
I just did this with three classes.
It went well in each class.
I used a vocabulary list of 20 items.
I also used a set of 20 sentences. Each sentence contained previously
covered concepts and at least one of the new vocabulary words.
The 20 sentences were divided into four different "practice sheets."
Each sheet was an eighth of a page in size (about two inches by three
inches) and contained 5 sentences. (I just used the normal vocabulary
and practice sentences from one of the Lifeprint.com / ASLU curriculum
lessons).
I prepared the blackboard (whiteboard) by dividing it into four sections and
put the numbers 1 through 4 at the top. Then over at the side of the
board I wrote: Team one, team two, team three, and team four. This was
my "scoring area."
I printed out a sheet with a list of my vocabulary words in large print
to make it easy for me to read from while doing the activity.
I also prepared the room by arranging the chairs in four rows about 2 and a
half feet apart. All of the chairs were facing forward toward the
board.
I stood on a chair so everyone could see me.
This activity was done without voice. It was relatively easy to convey
the concept of the game to the students since the room had been set up
already.
After spelling the word, determining the winner, and marking the point--I showed them the sign for the concept. After doing five signs I'd get off the chair and review all five signs and then call students to the front to ask them questions using the new vocabulary. Then I'd pass out the practice cards and have the students ask the question to the person in the next row over.
I repeated this process until all 20 sentences had been covered and reviewed.
I have done this with various sized classes. I recommend you aim for five people per row. If you have fewer than than five people per row, I'd have everybody stand up during the fingerspelling phase.