Lesson 3

We will read two articles that provide explanations for the first Framing Question: Why have some parents been concerned about giving their children vaccinations? The first, a 2012 article from JAMA, addresses the history of resistance to mandatory vaccinations; the second, from The New York Times, examines more recent challenges to new state mandates. We will be introduced to a tool that will help us evaluate ideas as they are presented in a text; we will analyze how ideas and supporting details represent perspectives on an issue, such as vaccination, and how perspectives influence the positions taken by parents, scientists, and government officials.

Lesson Goals

Can I formulate and use questions to establish and deepen my understanding of texts and topics?
Can I evaluate the relevance and credibility of information, ideas, evidence, and reasoning?
Can I analyze how perspective influences the position, purpose, and ideas in an article?

Texts

Core

- “Eager to Limit Exemptions to Vaccination, States Face Staunch Resistance,” Roni Caryn Rabin, The New York Times Company, 2019
- “New Media, Old Messages: Themes in the History of Vaccine Hesitancy and Refusal,” Jason Schwartz, AMA Journal of Ethics, 2012

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Write

We will finish reading “New Media, Old Messages: Themes in the History of Vaccine Hesitancy and Refusal,” paying close attention to vocabulary. We will research and define the most important vocabulary in the text.

Read the entire article independently, carefully annotating key ideas and circling any words you see as important, or are struggling to understand. Write down new or important words in your Vocabulary Journal.

With a partner, compare your paraphrases and analyses of the quotation from the introduction to the article, considering how it establishes the author’s perspective and position. Identify and discuss the three to five most important vocabulary words or new words you found while reading. First, use the Vocabulary in Context Tool to try to define the words using the context of the article.

If you are unable to define the words using context, use dictionaries to look up their definitions, copying them in your Vocabulary Journal. After coming up with a working definition for each of your words, write them on the board, or add them to a class Word Wall, to be discussed with the rest of the class.

Activity 2: Discuss – Read – Write

We will reread and annotate sections of “New Media, Old Messages: Themes in the History of Vaccine Hesitancy and Refusal,” using a tool to analyze relationships among details in response to a text-specific question.

Individually, read closely one section of the article, using a copy of the Analyzing Relationships Tool to identify and analyze key details and ideas in response to one of the following questions:

Introduction: The author states: "At the heart of these conflicts are the complex, long-contested relationships among citizens, science, and the state, and their implications for public health policy and practice." What does this claim, and the supporting details from the article, suggest about the challenges of balancing the common good and individual rights?
Patterns in the History of Vaccine Opposition: What are the two primary themes seen throughout vaccine opposition movements of the past and present? What key details explain or exemplify these themes?
Contemporary Opposition to Vaccine Policy: How have modern information technologies changed the ways in which parents, scientists, physicians, and others skeptical or critical of vaccines communicate and collaborate? What key details explain or support this claim?
Preserving and Promoting Vaccination in a Democracy: What does the author suggest is a superior strategy for advocates of vaccines and why? How do key details from the text explain and support this strategy?

Work with a partner who has responded to the same question, and compare and discuss what you have written down on the Analyzing Relationships Tool.

Activity 3: Discuss

We will discuss some of the main takeaways from the article, “New Media, Old Messages: Themes in the History of Vaccine Hesitancy and Refusal.”

As a class, review the four sections of the article to discuss some of the key ideas presented in "New Media, Old Messages: Themes in the History of Vaccine Hesitancy and Refusal." Share what you have written down on your Analyzing Relationships Tools in response to the last prompt on the tool, Explain Effects.

Activity 4: Read – Write

As a class, we will learn how to evaluate ideas presented to us in a text.

Review the Evaluating Ideas Tool, going over the elements and steps as a class. Compare the tool’s organization to the Analyzing Relationships Tool that you used in the previous activity. As you review the tool, think about the following questions:

What might background information about an author or concept tell you about a certain text and the claims that an author makes?
How does information presented in a text connect to an author’s perspective?
What kinds of key details might you want to look for when evaluating the ideas in a text?
What does it mean to "assess the accuracy, credibility, and relevance of the author’s ideas and information"? What might you need to know to do this?

As a class, briefly review and evaluate "New Media, Old Messages: Themes in the History of Vaccine Hesitancy and Refusal" using the Evaluating Ideas Tool.

What conclusions can you agree on about the text’s position, argument, or value based on your evaluation of its perspective and ideas?

Activity 5: Read – Write

We will independently read and annotate the article “Eager to Limit Exemptions to Vaccination, States Face Staunch Resistance” to gain a deeper understanding of the opposition legislators face when trying to eliminate vaccine exemptions.

Read the article "Eager to Limit Exemptions to Vaccination, States Face Staunch Resistance" using the Evaluating Ideas Tool as a framework for understanding the text. Use one of the following questions to help guide your reading, analysis, and evaluation of ideas presented in the text:

What are key arguments and tactics used by parents who oppose mandatory vaccinations?
What are key arguments and approaches used by legislators who are trying to mandate vaccinations?

As you read, make special note of the following:

a key quotation from someone on one side of the issue or the other, which you will use as the starting point for your evaluation of ideas
key details about why legislators want to eliminate exemptions and why there is opposition to eliminating them, including any specific words, phrases, or sentences that are related to your question
instances in which someone’s perspective might be presented, including examples of how details and language communicate the person’s point of view

Activity 6: Read – Discuss – Write

We will evaluate ideas presented in Rabin’s article in terms of both the soundness of their positions and their relationships to the common good and individual rights.

Individually, use the organization of the Evaluating Ideas Tool to evaluate the ideas in the key quotation you identified in the previous activity.

Report to the class the quotation you selected, your overall evaluation of it, and the details and analysis that led to your judgment.

As a class, re-examine the arguments reported on in Rabin’s article, using the following questions from the Analyzing Ethical Issues Question Set to further analyze and discuss the ethical perspectives they represent:

Philosophical Issues and Approaches

The Common Good: In what ways does the argument reflect consideration of the common good?
Individual Rights and Personal Liberty: In what ways does the argument reflect consideration of individual rights or personal liberty?

Public Health Issues and Controversies

Mandates and Objections: In what ways does the argument reflect controversies between governmental mandates and citizen objections?