Teaching about person and viewpoint

Why is it important to know how to teach about person and viewpoint?

The 1999 National Curriculum for English at Key Stages 3 and 4 has the following requirements:

Reading

Understanding texts: Reading for meaning

To develop understanding and appreciation of texts, pupils should be taught to identify the perspectives offered on individuals, community and society

Understanding the author’s craft

To develop understanding and appreciation of texts, pupils should be taught to distinguish between the attitudes and assumptions of characters and those of the author

Writing

Composition: Writing to persuade, argue and advise

Pupils should be taught to anticipate reader reaction, counter opposing views and use language to gain attention and sustain interest

The Key Stage 3 National Strategy: Framework for teaching English: Years 7, 8 and 9 contains the following objectives:

Year 7

Reading for meaning

Pupils should be taught to distinguish between the views of the writer and those expressed by others in the text, e.g. the narrator, quoted experts, characters.

Write to persuade, argue, advise

Pupils should be taught to express a personal view, adding persuasive emphasis to key points, e.g. by reiteration, exaggeration, repetition, use of rhetorical questions.

Write to analyse, review, comment

Pupils should be taught to identify criteria for evaluating a particular situation, object or event, present findings fairly and give a personal view.

Group discussion and interaction

Pupils should be taught to adopt a range of roles in discussion, including acting as spokesperson, and contribute in different ways such as promoting, opposing, exploring and questioning.

Year 8

Word Level: Vocabulary

Pupils should be taught to understand the implications when a word is in quotation marks or is used ironically.

Reading for meaning

Pupils should be taught to recognise bias and objectivity, distinguishing facts from hypotheses, theories and opinions.

Write to analyse, review, comment

Pupils should be taught to weigh different viewpoints and present a balanced analysis of an event or issue, e.g. an environmental issue or historical investigation.

Group discussion and interaction

Pupils should be taught to take different roles in discussion, helping to develop ideas, seek consensus and report the main strands of thought.

Year 9

Sentence level: Sentence construction and punctuation

Pupils should be taught to integrate speech, reference and quotation effectively into what they write.

Reading: Understanding the author’s craft

Pupils should be taught to analyse how an author’s standpoint can affect meaning in non-literary as well as literary texts.

Writing

Write to imagine, explore, entertain

Pupils should be taught to explore different ways of opening, structuring and ending narratives and experiment with narrative perspective, e.g. multiple narration.

Write to analyse, review, comment

Pupils should be taught to present a balanced analysis of a situation, text, issue or set of ideas, taking into account a range of evidence and opinions.

Listening

Pupils should be taught to compare different points of view that have been expressed, identifying and evaluating differences and similarities.

What are KS3 pupils good at and what do they need to develop in this area?

Good at….

  • Pupils use first, second and third person pronouns accurately in everyday conversation.
  • They have a clear understanding of the difference between singular and plural.

Need to develop….

  • clarity about whose viewpoint is being expressed;
  • the range of linguistic devices for attributing a viewpoint to a person;
  • consistency within a text in the choice of first-person or third-person viewpoint;
  • awareness, when reading, of the ownership of judgements expressed.

Why person and viewpoint are important at Key Stage 3

Reading

Viewpoints can be promoted or undermined in fairly subtle ways. In their own reading of books, newspapers and magazines, pupils in KS3 should be aware of the linguistic techniques or devices being used to elicit a particular response from them. The more aware they are the freer they will be to form their own judgement.

Speaking

One of the challenges for work in the Speaking and Listening strand of English teaching is to help pupils develop focused and acceptable language with which to promote a viewpoint.

Pupils who do not learn to express their point of view effectively will be unable to play their full role in a democracy in which talking and exchanging viewpoints are the main means of reaching important decisions about how we live.

Writing

Writing often presents the ideas and experiences of a number of different people within a single text. Mature writers can use a range of linguistic devices to keep these ‘viewpoints’ distinct, so that the reader knows at each point in the text whose viewpoint is being expressed. Sometimes, writers choose to introduce opinions surreptitiously by blurring these distinctions.

Consistency is important. A text that starts in the third-person should not turn into a first-person narrative, unless this switch achieves some deliberate effect. KS3 pupils should be encouraged to consider narrative viewpoint in their own writing.

An example of KS3 writing

Here is a discussion, by a KS3 writer, of a newspaper article about the Loch Ness Monster.

The writer starts by describing the castle as ‘picturesquely situated’ suggesting the surroundings are quite perfect and stunning. It overlooks the Loch Ness and is known to be one of the best spots for sighting The Loch Ness Monster. The Loch is given a nice feel as they call it ‘Nessie’s home’ and I don’t think you’d call a horrible disgusting monster a name like Nessie which seems friendly and gentle. It describes the loch as lying in ‘spectacular surroundings’. They also say it is ‘a moody lake, subject to quick change’ which gives an exciting and mysterious feel as we don’t usually say lakes have feelings.

This writing presents a combination of different viewpoints:

  • The KS3 writer‘s views.
  • The journalist‘s views.

The writer starts by describing the castle as ‘picturesquely situated‘ suggesting the surroundings are quite perfect and stunning. It overlooks the Loch Ness and is known to be one of the best spots for sighting The Loch Ness Monster. The Loch is given a nice feel as they call it ‘Nessie’s home‘ and I don’t think you’d call a horrible disgusting monster a name like Nessie which seems friendly and gentle. It describes the loch as lying in ‘spectacular surroundings’. They also say it is ‘a moody lake, subject to quick change‘ which gives an exciting and mysterious feel as we don’t usually say lakes have feelings.

The writer distinguishes the two views quite successfully by a combination of punctuation (speech marks), grammar (I don’t think) and vocabulary (seems, suggesting).

Teaching about making choices

Pupils can be encouraged to explore conflicting value judgements and to examine the kind of reasoning that supports each one, in order to see how far they agree or disagree.

Discussions are important at KS3, as this is a time when many pupils are becoming more interested in ethical issues, and are consciously beginning to determine the kinds of values they stand for.

Conflicting value judgements can be explored through:

  • class discussion
  • debates
  • group or paired work
  • hot-seating and role play (such as a panel of ‘experts’ or public officials answering questions from members of the public).
 

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