To sign attendance, start with both hands in front of your body in flattened 'O' handshapes, with your palms facing up. Move your hands slightly forward and upward while springing your fingers open. This motion is identical to the sign for 'how many', which is commonly used in ASL to represent taking attendance or counting the people present.
To sign this, start by signing 'teacher' using the 'teach' sign followed by the person marker. Then, use this sign for 'attendance' to indicate the act of counting the students. You do not need a separate sign for 'taking', as the concept is already built into the context.
Begin with the sign for 'attendance' to establish the topic of the sentence. Then, sign 'must' by bringing a hooked index finger down firmly, and finish with 'today' using both 'Y' hands bouncing slightly. This clearly conveys that showing up is mandatory.
Start by signing 'perfect'—bringing your two 'P' handshapes or middle fingers together in a precise motion. Follow it immediately with the sign for 'attendance'. This combination is a great way to celebrate that every single person has shown up for the class or event.
To sign this, start by signing 'teacher' using the 'teach' sign followed by the person marker. Then, use this sign for 'attendance' to indicate the act of counting the students. You do not need a separate sign for 'taking', as the concept is already built into the context.
Begin with the sign for 'attendance' to establish the topic of the sentence. Then, sign 'must' by bringing a hooked index finger down firmly, and finish with 'today' using both 'Y' hands bouncing slightly. This clearly conveys that showing up is mandatory.
Start by signing 'perfect'—bringing your two 'P' handshapes or middle fingers together in a precise motion. Follow it immediately with the sign for 'attendance'. This combination is a great way to celebrate that every single person has shown up for the class or event.
Yes! In many contexts, especially in a school, classroom, or meeting setting, the sign for 'how many' is used to mean 'attendance'. This is because the core action of taking attendance involves counting exactly how many people are present in the room. It is a great example of how ASL uses visual concepts.
It depends entirely on the context of your sentence. If you are talking about the physical act of going to an event or a meeting, you would use the sign for 'attend' (two index fingers moving forward). However, if you are referring to a teacher taking a headcount, this 'how many' variation is the correct choice.
While the standard, formal version of this sign opens into full '5' handshapes with all of your fingers spread wide, casual signing might look a bit looser. Sometimes, signers may not extend every single finger perfectly straight. As a beginner, you should focus on making the clear, springing motion from closed hands to open hands.
