Fact versus Opinion
Objectives: Students will be able to distinguish fact from opinion.
Materials: sentence strips with the definitions of fact and opinion, chart paper containing a paragraph with a mixture of facts and opinions.
- Check for prior understanding of fact vs. opinion. Hold up the sentence strip defining opinion. Have the definition written on one side and the word 'opinion' on the other side. Read the definition and see if the students know whether you are defining fact or opinion. Do the same for the 'fact' sentence strip.
- Further explain the difference between fact & opinion using examples and a sample dialogue. You may want to invite another teacher to your class to help with the dialogue.
- Check for comprehension by having children signal with hands the letter "F" for facts or "O" for opinion after each statement you make.
- Read the chart story aloud. Then read individual sentences from the chart story, asking children to listen for facts and opinions. Take a vote on each sentence to decide if it is fact or opinion.
- Record results on the chart by underlining the facts and opinions in different colors. It may be helpful to color coordinate the sentence strips and the marker used to underline sentences for both fact and opinion.
- Clear up misunderstandings and answer questions students have
Closure: Have children state one fact and one opinion to each other in pairs. Ask for volunteers to give the statements they came up with.
Evaluation: Were the students able to differentiate between fact and opinion? Post the chart story and sentence strips somewhere in the room. Encourage students to continue to listen for facts and opinions and write them down as they hear them. You can share these each week or day. This will help you to see who really understands and who may need additional work.