Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez
and her Family’s Fight for Desegregation
Separate is Never Equal
By: Duncan Tonatiuh
Copyright: 2014
Published by: Abrams, Harry N., Inc.
2015 Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor Book;
2015 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
Genre: Non-Fiction
3rd-4th Grade Read
Aloud
My rating:
Grade Level Equivalent: 5.1
Lexile Measure: AD870L
Sylvia Mendez and her parents helps to end school
segregations, almost 10 years before Brown
vs. Board of Education. As a Mexican
American, Sylvia was denied enrollment into a “Whites only” school. Her parents took action and organized a
lawsuit with the Hispanic community with the federal district court. Their persistence to this matter eventually
brought an end to the segregated education in California.
Suggested Delivery:
Read Aloud
Words to Describe book:
Inspiring
Informative
Determined
Passion
Persistence
Useful Electronic Resources:
A Readers’
Theatre script that students can practice and present to the class to get a
better idea about the book by reenacting some of the characters in the
book. This script allows for 8 people to
play a part.
This is a great
teaching resource to use and for ideas when teaching and reading this
book. There are many different
discussion questions that students can use before and after reading the
book. The questions are engaging and
help students use their literal and inferential comprehension skills. There are also extension activities that
students can participate in that allow the students to engage more deeply with
the text. Great resource and ideas!
This is a short
video that students can watch that goes over the Brown v. Board of Education with regards to the Mexican Americans
in Orange County. This video shows the
real case and shows the characters that were in the lawsuit case. This video is a real-life representation and
showing of the events that occurred in Separate
is Never Equal.
Teaching Opportunities:
Key Vocabulary:
Segregation-
Action or state of setting someone apart from other things
Desegregation-
To eliminate segregation; to free any law or practice regarding the separation
and isolation of members of a particular race
Spacious- Having
ample space
Citizen- Legally
recognized subject or national of a state or commonwealth
Petition- Formal
written request, appealing to authority with a particular cause in mind
Injustice- Lack
of fairness
Reading Strategy Suggestions to increase
literal and/ or inferential comprehension:
Pre-Reading
Strategy
Visual Imagery-
Students use their prior knowledge and background experiences to visualize and
connect the author’s writing with a personal picture.
Students can
draw a time when they felt secluded from a group to relate to Sylvia and her
family in the book.
During-Reading
Strategy
Timeline
As a class, we
will create a timeline of the major events that occurred in the book as they
occur to keep track of the sequence and series of events. By the end of the book, there will be a
completed timeline of the major events.
Post-Reading
Strategy
Piktochart/
Infographic
Students will
create a Piktochart/ Infographic to represent the series in events in the text,
their favorite part, the characters in the book, or another aspect of the book
of their choosing.
Writing Activity
Have
students reflect on the actions the Mendez family took in ensuring school
segregation. Ask students: What did Sylvia’s father do when he found out that
she and her brothers could not attend the Westminster school? Why did he decide
this was an important rule for him to fight? Are there any school/community
rules or decisions which you think are unfair? Help students brainstorm a list of things they
think are unequal or unfair and with them, prioritize the most important ones.
Then have them write a persuasive letter to the principal, superintendent (in
the case of a school issue) or their town’s mayor or someone who is relevant to
the issue. In the letter, they should include what their position is, why they
think it is unfair (with evidence, quotes or stories) and what they would like
to change.
