Intro to POV Analysis Using the Editorial Section of a Newspaper

I have been thinking a lot about different ways to help students learn how to conduct point of view analysis, to focus on the unstated, subtext of a source rather than ONLY on what is stated, what is literal.

Throughout our social studies/history courses, students (I hope) will spend considerable time engaging with the text, subtext, and context of various sources.

As an entry point or fairly non threatening activity, you might try something like this.

Find an article in the newspaper that has a point of view that you think is fairly accessible. All sources have POV, though some are easier to detect and articulate than others.

I used this text, which I read on the op-ed page of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Prompt: Write 100 words conducting a POV analysis for this source excerpt.

Source: Op-Ed Page, Phila Inquirer, 7/13/2014

Information about the Author: Perry Brown is director of pediatric education at the Family Medicine Residency in Boise, Idaho. He wrote this for the Idaho Statesman.

“There are certain injuries that I, as a pediatrician, would like to see on more kids these days: skinned knees, poison ivy, and blisters.”

POV ANALYSIS

Dr. Brown penned an Op-Ed arguing that parents and children need to get outside and play much more than they currently are. As a pediatrician, he is naturally concerned with the health and well being of children. On a daily basis, he sees the adverse consequences of a sedentary lifestyles, the biggest of which is likely obesity. As a result, he believes that  Americans are doing themselves a disservice by not connecting with nature and exercising more. The Dr. values the natural environment, physical activity, and promoting a healthy lifestyle. By getting this piece published in a large newspaper, he is hoping to influence an audience well beyond his medical practice.    

Commentary

You'll notice that in this exercise students are only being given information about where the source comes from, a sentence about the author, and a sentence pulled from the text. This is done intentionally, for use as an introductory exercise. Over time, you can increase the amount of information students are given in the source excerpts. Also, you will  notice that in my example I increased the font on certain words. These words are helpful triggers when conducting point of view analysis. After students have completed this exercise, have them read the text and discuss the following questions: After reading the text, how would you assess your POV analysis?

Did the author surprise you in any ways?

Did the author make points, use examples that you expected?

Did you read this text differently *because* of the POV analysis?

If so, in what ways?

How You Might Explore Students' Ideas about Texts and Truths on Day 1

Present students with a fictional account of an event. Maybe a page or two.  I think if it is the first day or two of a course it is probably better to avoid using a work of historical fiction. Though, at some point in the course, maybe even after this activity, introducing some historical fiction may be exactly what is needed to push students to make more connections, delve deeper into the themes introduced here.

After students read the excerpt of fiction, talk to them about what this is.  Show them the book that it is from, give them some details about the author. What questions does this text trigger in their minds? Is this text true?  I assume most students will quickly respond that the text is not true. After all, you just told them it was a work of fiction.

At this point, your goal is to push students to consider the following question: are there ever truths within a fictional account? That is, while the details of an account may be made up, might there still be certain truths within the text? If so, what do we mean when we talk about a text containing truths?

Now give students another account of an event, this time from a personal account of  something that students are aware happened in the past.  After students read the text, ask the following: Is this account more true than the previous story, which we all agreed was a work of fiction? Again, I assume that most students will be quick to say yes. Push students to articulate why. Help students to think about how one might test whether or not details in the account are accurate. Also, help students to see how an historian might use this source to learn about more than just the details contained in the account.  It is important to think about who created the account. What does this tell us about the time period? Make the point that historians use personal accounts in many ways, often ways that the creator of the source likely never could have imagined.

Next, push students to consider what the first two texts have in common?  It’s important, I think, to linger here. Keep digging. What will  students likely say here? I suspect   students will initially struggle with this question. That’s ok. You will come back to this question in a bit.

Finally, take a look at an account from a textbook. What is going on here?  Ask students: Is this the least fictional account?  Or, stated  more directly, the text that is most true?  If students say yes, push them to articulate why.

What do ALL 3 texts have in  common? Are they more similar than we initially thought? If so, in what ways?


As you move away from this lesson, some  of the key points that you will have helped students consider: All texts were created by authors. All authors are people with certain perspectives. When a text is constructed, a number of choices have to be made, including what words to use, what to emphasize, what to ignore. These choices tell us much about the creator of the source and the time period he or she is from. 


In addition, we are thinking about truth in simple, even elementary, terms if we are going to place texts into buckets labeled true or false. Throughout this course we are going to unpack and challenge our preconceived notions about truth.