Signing Naturally Unit 8.4 Answer Key

"I was driving when the accident happened."

A major part of the 8.4 exercises is the order of description. In ASL, you typically start with the most distinguishable feature (usually gender/height) and move to details (hair/eyes).

For instructors:

Furthermore, the answer key often includes specific notes on non-manual markers (NMMs)—facial expressions that function as adverbs or adjectives. In Unit 8.4, the signer might use a specific mouth morpheme (like "mm" or "cha") to indicate the size or comfort of a room. The answer key that merely lists the vocabulary words without acknowledging these markers is pedagogically insufficient. A robust answer key highlights these NMMs, teaching the student that the "answer" is not just the handshape, but the entire body performance.