Objectives

After completing this lesson, students will be able to:

• Discuss the health and monetary impacts of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on individuals and society.
• Explore ways in which health education can help reduce the number of cases of HIV and AIDS infection.
• Apply the reading skill of separating fact from opinion to an op-ed essay on the HIV/AIDS crisis.

Introducing the Lesson

Bring to class or download from the Internet the editorial and "op-ed" pages from a newspaper. (e.g., http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html). Display these facing pages. Ask whether any students in the class read-or at least recognize-them. Remind students that one of the developmental tasks associated with reaching adulthood is showing concern for the welfare of the community and world around them.

Elicit that the editorial pages contain articles on important issues expressing the opinions of the staff of the newspaper, generally supported by facts. As you say the words opinion and fact, write the words on the board. Note that the op-ed page, short for "page opposite the one on which editorials appear," is a page on which writers not connected with the newspaper may express their own views.

Point out that since the first cases of HIV infection were reported in this country in the early 1980s, the editorial and op-ed pages of newspapers across the country have contained opinion pieces about the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Tell students they are about to read such a piece.

Teaching Strategies

Point to the words fact and opinion on the board. Reveal that one of the most important reading skills students can learn is distinguishing opinion from fact. Note that this is particularly true when reading about matters related to health. Exemplify by writing the following sentences on the board: "The U.S. government spends nearly $2 billion a year on HIV research." "The U.S. government should spend more money each year on HIV research." Ask for a show of hands of students who can identify the sentence that contains a fact (the first) and the one that expresses an opinion (the second).

Explain that separating fact from opinion requires careful reading. Advise students also to be on the lookout for clues like the following:

• Phrases that precede an opinion such as it seems, it appears, and it would make sense.
• The phrases yours truly and this writer, both of which are used to identify the author of the reading selection and, hence, a subjective-rather than objective-statement.

After students have completed the reading, you may either use the following as class discussion questions or assign them as individual or group work.

Follow Up

1. Analyzing. Explain the author's opinion on each of the following points. Tell which, if any, are supported by facts.
   1. Whether money should be spent on seeking out a cure for HIV.
   2. Whether more should be done to ensure that all HIV/AIDS patients can afford the costs of medications.
   3. Whether current health education on HIV/AIDS is adequate for reducing the number of cases of infection.
    
2. Synthesizing. In the second section of the essay, the author refers to "illnesses that are virtually unheard of among healthy people." Using information from your health text, identify what type of illnesses the author is referring to. Give concrete examples.
3. Evaluating. Which section of the essay do you think contains the most factual reporting? What aspects of the HIV/AIDS crisis does this section discuss?
4. Summarizing. What is Doctors Without Borders? What is this organization attempting to do?

Writing an Op-Ed Piece

The essay that you read is a strongly opinionated piece about a complex issue. Working as part of a group, choose some aspect of HIV/AIDS that is either mentioned in the article or covered in your health text. Possibilities include:

1. Better methods of educating the public and especially young people on high-risk behaviors that can lead to HIV infection.
2. The search for an HIV vaccine.
3. The development of effective medications to help people already infected with HIV.

Write your own essay, using information from your book as well as from outside resources. Submit your article to a local newspaper to appear on the op-ed page or to your school newspaper as a guest editorial.

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