Show Me a Sign

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

Show Me a Sign takes place on Martha's Vineyard, an island belonging to the state of Massachusetts. What might it have been like to live on a small island in the early 1800s? Consider the conveniences and technology inaccessible in that time and place.

Teaching Suggestion: The protagonist of the novel, Mary, is a young girl who is deaf but has never viewed it as a disability; the islanders of Martha’s Vineyard have a unique culture because many of the residents are deaf due to genetics. It might be beneficial to introduce the setting of the novel with these general geographical context questions. You might also ask students to point out Martha’s Vineyard on a map or globe and to briefly research daily life in 1805 as it might apply to an island setting. It might be helpful for students to use these or other resources to begin discussing the historical context of the novel as well.

• This article describes the history of the deaf culture of the residents of Martha’s Vineyard. According to the article, what is unique about the culture of Martha’s Vineyard? How was deafness viewed on the island? Why were many people on the island deaf?
• This 5-minute video describes one man’s history with Martha’s Vineyard.
• This map shows the location of Martha’s Vineyard in the United States.

Short Activity

Use reputable online resources to investigate the questions below.

• What initially inspired deaf education in the early 1800s?
• What was the oralist movement for teaching the deaf?
• What percentage of the population is estimated to be deaf?
• How is deafness defined?
• What are the earliest records of deafness?
• What misconceptions about deafness occurred in history?

Note your responses in your reading journal.

Teaching Suggestion: It might be helpful to supply students with resources such as the ones below to answer the questions individually or in small groups. Investigating these questions will help to provide context for the protagonist's life, as she grows up never experiencing prejudice in a deaf community. She is shocked to learn that there are many misconceptions about deafness among those who believe people experiencing deafness are unintelligent, hold attitudes of superiority over them, and mistreat them. The questions and links also may help build students' understanding of and empathy for the deaf community.

• This article describes the history of deaf communities in the early 1800s.
• This article describes deafness throughout history.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Describe a time when you felt excluded for being different. What differences did people around you criticize? How did it make you feel? What is your reaction to people who make judgments about who you are and what you represent? In what ways can people inform the public on living together peacefully despite differences?

Teaching Suggestion: Due to the personal nature of this prompt, students might benefit from answering in partners or in a personal journal. You might want to consider your classroom culture and students' comfortability with sharing before asking students to speak to the group.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who might benefit from an additional challenge, consider allowing students to research the cost prejudices have on society and throughout history. Students may want to consider wars that have been fought over prejudices, policies that have been made, human rights organizations that have been formed, and various other topics that reveal the impact of prejudices in society. Advanced learners might then share these ideas with the larger group via visual aids or brief discussion.