Show Me a Sign

Show Me a Sign

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade historical
• Originally Published: 2020
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 730L; grades 3-7
• Structure/Length: 2 parts; 37 chapters with prologue; approx. 288 pages; approx. 6 hours, 15 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Eleven-year-old Mary, who is deaf, lives on Martha’s Vineyard in 1805, a community that includes many deaf people and where everyone knows sign language. When a prejudiced researcher kidnaps Mary and takes her to Boston to study her deafness, she learns that the rest of the world is not as accepting as her home community.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Prejudice against deaf people; grief and guilt after tragic death of sibling; physical abuse of a child

Ann Clare LeZotte, Author

• Bio: Born in Long Island, New York; is completely deaf and has been deaf since childhood; loves to travel; works in public library youth services and enjoys helping young readers find just the right book; first learned from a cab driver on Martha’s Vineyard of the history of deafness on the island; lives in Gainesville, Florida
• Other Works: T4 (2008); Set Me Free (2021)
• Awards: Jane Addams Children’s Book Award (finalist; 2020); NPR Best Books (2020); School Library Journal Best Books (2020); Schneider Family Book Award (2021)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• A Tale of Two Towns
• Social Hierarchies
• Defining Deafness and Debunking Myths

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the cultural and historical contexts regarding deafness that incite Mary’s conflict.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of A Tale of Two Towns, Defining Deafness and Debunking Myths, and Social Hierarchies.
• Collect and describe an object to represent family and culture based on details from the novel.
• Analyze and evaluate the plot and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding conflicting views on deafness, social distinctions, and other topics.