The teaching of this lesson is meant to introduce students to one of the precursor cases that help set the foundations for the Brown argument, the Mendez v. Westminster case.
Essential questions
What is fairness?
Are kids entitled to quality education?
Outcomes and objectives
After the lesson students will…
Be able to articulate what the Mendez case is about and use that information to better understand the Brown decision.
Preparing to teach
Familiarize yourself with the Mendez case and think about its relationship to Brown. Make sure students have some understanding of the racist policies put in place due to Plessy v. Ferguson and expand that scope to include other minorities besides Black people.
Scaffolds and accommodations to support learners
Reading support
The reading should be accessible for students, especially since much of the modality is illustrated.
Differentiation
If you want to provide more difficult differentiation, provide the opinion from the Mendez case for students to read, or increase the requirements for the assessment.
Adjusting for HIGH school grades
For high school students, assign the book as homework and read the case itself in class together. Then give them examples of Japanese internment and apply that situation to the Mendez logic, and have them write an opinion on how Mendez should be applied to interned Japanese Americans.
Instructional activities sequence
Begin class by asking the essential questions and having students write a one- to two-sentence personal response. Then read Separate is Never Equal: Slyvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation. Since this is a book designed for late elementary students, it should be a quick read for students. The reading can be done as a whole class reading or in small groups to help give developing readers scaffolds to help with comprehension. After reading the book, students will write a summary of what the Mendez case was about. They should be answering the questions: What caused the Mendez family to file the lawsuit? What was their specific problem? What did the court decide was right? Why is this case important in American history? This writing assignment should be a first draft that can later be revised to practice revision skills.
Assessment
The assessment will be the summary writing task where teachers can see both if the student has an understanding of what happened during the case and also is an opportunity to assess and develop writing skills around summary writing. The instructions for the writing assessment are below:
Write a summary paragraph of Separate is Never Equal. To help you think about what to write about, here are some questions you should be able to answer to help someone know what happened in the book: What caused the Mendez family to file the lawsuit? What was their specific problem? What did the court decide was right? Why is this case important in American history? We will be revising this paragraph later; this is a first draft.
Materials needed and additional resources for enrichment