Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation written by Duncan Tonatiuh

Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation
Duncan Tonatiuh
AD870L

            This is an account of Sylvia Mendez’s experience after her family sued their school district for segregating their family because of their heritage. The story covers Sylvia’s family’s experience before, during, and after the court case.

SLJ Best Books 2014, Nonfiction
Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2014, Picture Books
Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature, Best Multicultural Books of 2014
New York Public Library, 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2014, Nonfiction
Winner, IRA Notable Books for a Global Society, 2015
2015 NCTE Orbis Pictus Honor Book
2015 Pura Belpré Award, Honor, Illustrator
2015 Robert F. Sibert Medal, Honor Book
ALA Notable Books for Children 2015, Middle Readers
2015 Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award
2014 Cybils Awards Finalist, Nonfiction for Elementary & Middle Grades
2015 Jane Addams Award Winner, Young Readers; 2015 Ameréicas Award Winner
Capitol Choices 2015
2015 Robert F. Sibert Award Honor Book
Pura Belpré Award, Honor, Illustrator
NCSS Carter G. Woodson Book Award 2015 Winner, Elementary

Learning Activity:
After listening to the story, the student will answer the following questions about the courtroom scene: Sylvia sat watching the superintendent’s talk on the stand to the lawyer. He says the Mendez children were denied entry to his school because after he spoke with them, they didn’t know English, they had lice, tuberculosis, hygiene and behavioral problems. Sylvia is upset because his answers weren’t truthful. What actually happened to Sylvia and her family when they spoke to the superintendent? What was his actual reaction/response to them? Lastly, using the illustrations as guide, their character shapes/outlines were all the same so can the student see what is different between the characters in the story? What stood out between Sylvia and her cousins’ skin tone that caused the school to reject her but not her cousins?

Standards:
CCSS.ELA-L.RL.2.1 - Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate an understanding of key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-L.RL.2.3 - Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
CCSS.ELA-L.RL.2.7 - Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate an understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

Goal:
The student will recount details of the story to understand that what they hear is not always the truth. The student will look over the illustrations in the story and explain the reasons for the characters’ actions within the story.

Objective:
Cognitive -
            The student reviews the story and illustrations in the book to identify the discrepancies within a character’s dialog by using evidence from earlier in the story.
            The student will use the illustrations to provide support for their reasoning why the character reacted as they did.
            The student will write 2 paragraphs on how a character’s dialog was not truthful based on evidence from the story.

Outcome:
The student will listen to the story, look through the book’s illustrations for how different characters are drawn/colored, and answer the questions provided by the teacher. The student will discuss their thoughts on court case and discrimination in schools with the teacher and class.

Selling Tools: Read Aloud
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ag0U21XcgaBqeOf8_7WextMYxIEcQnn1/view?usp=sharing