Identify an author’s perspective, compare it with your own, and connect the author’s points to evidence

Learning goal: This lesson teaches two of Ohio's 2026 reading standards for informational text, first implemented in 2027-28. You will identify perspectives in a text, including the author's perspective; compare the author's perspective with your own perspective; determine whether the author would agree or disagree with a stated perspective; and describe the connection between the points the author makes and the evidence the author provides to support those points.

Original article — Let Readers Choose (from a fictional school newsletter, written by the school librarian, Ms. Rivera)

Every Friday, our third graders visit the library. For years, each class checked out books from a cart I filled ahead of time. This year, I tried something different. Students chose their own books from the shelves. I believe that letting students choose most of their library books makes them stronger, happier readers.

My first point is that choosing a book makes students more interested in reading it. When students picked from the cart, many books came back unopened, with the bookmark still in the front. This fall, when students chose for themselves, I kept a record of returns. Out of 60 books checked out in one week, 51 came back with the reader saying they had finished it or read most of it. When I asked students why, one answer came up again and again: "I picked it because I wanted to know about it."

My second point is that choosing teaches students to find books that fit them. I teach a quick check: open to any page and read it. If there are five or more words on that page you cannot read or understand, the book may be too hard for now. Students have used this check to trade a too-hard book for one they can enjoy. A skill like this helps a reader for life, long after library class ends.

My third point is that everyone loves choosing. My nephew, who is in second grade, told me he loves picking his own books.

Some families have asked whether children will pick only easy books or the same kind of book every time. That can happen, and it is a fair worry. That is why I still read aloud a new kind of book to each class every week and put one "try something new" book on display. Assigned books and read-alouds still have a place. But for most library books, I think readers should choose.

What a perspective is. A perspective is the way a person sees a topic: what they believe, what they care about and why. An author's perspective is how the author thinks and feels about the topic of the text. Sometimes the author states it outright. Ms. Rivera writes, "I believe that letting students choose most of their library books makes them stronger, happier readers." Her ending repeats it: "for most library books, I think readers should choose." Other clues to perspective are the reasons the author gives, the words the author chooses (stronger, happier, enjoy) and what the author decides to include. A text can show more than one perspective: the families who worry about easy books have a different perspective, which Ms. Rivera reports and answers.

Comparing the author's perspective with your own. Your perspective comes from your own experiences and reasons. To compare, say what the author thinks, say what you think, and explain whether you agree, disagree or partly agree, with a reason. For example: "Ms. Rivera thinks students should choose most of their books. I partly agree. I like choosing, but I also found my favorite series because a teacher assigned the first book." Notice that the comparison uses the text for the author's side and your own experience for yours. Agreeing is not the same as understanding; you can understand an author's perspective completely and still disagree.

Would the author agree or disagree? Sometimes you are given a statement and asked whether the author would agree with it. Test the statement against what the author actually wrote. "Teachers should pick every book students read": Ms. Rivera would disagree, because her main belief is that readers should choose most library books. "Libraries should get rid of all assigned books and read-alouds": she would also disagree, even though she likes choice, because she writes that "assigned books and read-alouds still have a place." Be careful with statements that go further than the author does.

Points and evidence. A point is an idea the author wants you to accept. Evidence is the information the author gives to support the point: facts, numbers, examples, observations or quotations. The connection is how the evidence shows the point is true. For the first point, the evidence is the record of returns (51 of 60 books finished or mostly read in one week) and the students' repeated answer. That evidence connects well because it is about interest in chosen books, but it has a limit: the librarian did not count the cart books the same way, so the record cannot show exactly how much choosing changed. For the second point, the evidence is the five-word check and the students who traded too-hard books, which shows students learning to find books that fit them; it would be stronger if she said how many students did this. For the third point, "everyone loves choosing," the only evidence is what one nephew said. One child's opinion cannot show what everyone thinks, so this connection is weak.

A misconception to avoid. Some readers think any sentence after a point counts as evidence. Evidence must actually show the point. Ask: Does this information match the point? Is there enough of it? The nephew's comment matches the topic but is not enough to support "everyone." Also, remember that the returns record in this newsletter is fictional practice data, invented for this lesson; in a real article you would want to know how the record was kept.

Worked example 1 — Identify the author's perspective. Question: What is Ms. Rivera's perspective? Look for a stated belief: "I believe that letting students choose most of their library books makes them stronger, happier readers." Check the ending: "for most library books, I think readers should choose." Answer: she thinks students should choose most of their own library books because it makes them more interested and more skilled readers.

Worked example 2 — Agree or disagree with a stated perspective. Statement: "Children should never be introduced to new kinds of books by an adult." Test it against the text: Ms. Rivera reads aloud a new kind of book each week and displays a "try something new" book. Answer: she would disagree; she wants choice for most library books but also wants adults to introduce new kinds of books.

Worked example 3 — Judge the connection between a point and its evidence. Point 1: choosing makes students more interested. Evidence: 51 of 60 chosen books were finished or mostly read in one week (fictional practice data), and students said "I picked it because I wanted to know about it." Connection: fairly strong, because the evidence is about interest in chosen books; it would be stronger with the same count for the cart books. Point 3: everyone loves choosing. Evidence: one nephew. Connection: weak, because one person cannot show what everyone thinks. A better piece of evidence would be asking many students.

Point-and-evidence chart (record task): Make a three-column chart: Point, Evidence, Connection (strong or weak, and why). Fill in one row for each of Ms. Rivera's three points. Then add a fourth row for the families' worry and write how Ms. Rivera answers it.

Perspective line: Draw a line labeled "Teachers choose every book" at one end and "Students choose every book" at the other. Mark where Ms. Rivera stands, using a quotation. Mark where you stand and write one sentence explaining your reason.

Independent performance: Read a new short opinion article or letter chosen with your teacher. Write a response that (1) states the author's perspective in one sentence with a quotation, (2) compares it with your own perspective and gives a reason from your experience, (3) decides whether the author would agree or disagree with a statement your teacher gives and explains why with a detail from the text, and (4) describes the connection between two of the author's points and their evidence, saying which connection is stronger. Success criteria: the author's perspective is supported by the text, not guessed; your own perspective has a reason; your agree or disagree decision cites a detail; and you explain why evidence does or does not support a point.