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Lesson | 80 Minutes or Two Parts (part one - finding facts & part two - understanding opinions)

Elementary Express: Fact vs. Opinion

Overview

Facts vs Opinion

This lesson includes multiple activities to include in a classroom lesson on fact vs. opinion. Students will have the opportunity to work together as a class, in small groups, and independently to practice.

This lesson is part of SRL's Elementary Express Toolkit, introducing students Grades 3-6 to key media literacy and journalism concepts. Each lesson is designed to facilitate classroom engagement and discussion that encourage critical thinking, media literacy, and civic connections. You can find more here:

Central Questions

  • How do you make sure what you read and watch is correct?
  • How can you tell is a statement is fact or opinion?
  • Why does it matter whether something is fact or opinion?

Learning Outcomes

  • Students will practice distinguishing the difference between facts and opinions.

When Would You Use This Lesson?

Use this lesson during media literacy units, and before student research projects. This lesson can be paired with an existing curriculum for English and History units.

Media Literacy Connections

This lesson will help students’ learn how to analyze sources for accuracy. Students will practice how to rule out facts from opinions through classroom discussions and games.

Civics Connections

It is crucial for students to learn the necessary skills to analyze media carefully. With the rise of social media, misinformation, and online propaganda, it’s more important than ever to view media with a critical eye.

Warm-Up Activity

Open the lesson with a class discussion on facts versus opinions.

Create a T-chart to write down ideas. Together, discuss the definitions of a fact and opinion, show. Afterwards, brainstorm your own definitions and come up with examples as a class.

Activity 1: Finding the Facts and Opinions

  1. Use the Fact vs Opinion Game Sheet to complete this activity.
  2. Use an open space in the classroom for this activity. Have students line up into a single file line in the space.
  3. On the opposite side of the room, set out two bowls, one labeled “fact” and the other labeled “opinion”.
  4. In front of your students, set out a bowl with slips of paper that contain facts or opinions on them.
  5. Instruct the students to read aloud the sentence and run to the bowl across the room, where they believe the sentence fits into. For an added suspense, time the students to see how fast the class can complete the activity.
  6. Tip: If a student makes a mistake, pause the timer, and share the correct place for the sentence.

Activity 2: Make Your Own Facts and Opinions

  1. Keep the T-chart in view during this portion of the activity. Review the definitions and examples written by the class, if needed.
  2. Split up the class into groups of 3-4. Have students use paper and pencil to write their responses on.
  3. Let students pick one nonfiction book from the classroom library for this activity
  4. Give students 5-10 minutes to read through their nonfiction book.
  5. Instruct students to write down 3 facts and opinions they found in their book.
  6. When a group is done, have the students share their responses with one another.

Bonus Activity: Fact-Check

  1. Pass out the “reliable sources worksheet”
  2. Fill out the Reliable Sources Worksheet to explain what kind of information should be fact checked. Allow the students to work in pairs.

Reflection

Ask students to share a time where they believed something that turned out to not be true. How did you find out? How did you feel?

Exit Ticket

Using the Detective Badge Exit Ticket Template, ask the students to write a fact, opinion, and one thing they remembered from the lesson.

ABOUT THIS RESOURCE

This resource is part of the Elementary Express Toolkit geared toward Grades 3-6.

Resources

Journalism

Journalism is the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information.

Source: American Press institute

Journalism Ethics

Ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough. An ethical journalist acts with integrity. Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists should be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.

Source: Society of Professional Journalist Code of Ethics

Trust

Belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc.

Source: Merriam Webster

Bias

Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

Source: Lexico, Powered by Oxford

Accountability

An obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions.

Source: Merriam Webster

Perception

Awareness of the elements of environment through physical sensation or intuitive cognition. A capacity for comprehension and understanding.

Source: Merriam Webster

Relevance

People are attracted to information that helps them make good decisions. If you like music, you find musician interviews relevant. If you’re looking for a job, the business news is relevant. We need to depend on relevant information that helps us make decisions.

Interview

A conversation between two or more people where the purpose is to gather information and facts. The interviewer asks questions and the interviewee provides information based on their knowledge about a specific topic or issue.

Story

An account of past or current events. In journalism, stories are presented with a combination of people, facts, and typically includes a beginning, middle and end.

Evidence

The availability of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid

Fact

Something that is known or proved to be true.

Opinion

A view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

Research

An investigation into and study of sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

Source

A source is an individual, company, document or more that can provide information to fuel a new story. In order for a story to be considered verified and to maintain a reputation as a news outlet, it is important to have a credible source.

Accuracy

Free from mistake or error. Coverage of topics and facts in appropriate detail.

Fact-check

The process of verifying the accuracy of a piece of information.

Curiosity

A desire to learn and know about something or anything.

Participation and Deliberation

Civics teaches the principles—such as adherence to the social contract, consent of the governed, limited government, legitimate authority, federalism, and separation of powers—that are meant to guide official institutions such as legislatures, courts, and government agencies. (NCSS D2.Civ.7.9-12 - D2.Civ.10.9-12)

Determining Helpful Sources

Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of view represented in the sources, the types of sources available, and the potential uses of the sources. (NCSS D1.5.9-12)

Empowered Learner

Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences. (ISTE)

Knowledge Constructor

Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others. (ISTE)

Language - Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grades 9–10 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.6: Acquire and use accurate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.

Gathering and Evaluating Sources

Whether students are constructing opinions, explanation, or arguments, they will gather information from a variety of sources and evaluate the relevance of that information. (NCSS D3.1.9-12 - D3.2.9-12)

Language - Knowledge of Language

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.3: Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Language - Conventions of Standard English

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Perspectives

Historical understanding requires recognizing this multiplicity of points of view in the past, which makes it important to seek out a range of sources on any historical question rather than simply use those that are easiest to find. It also requires recognizing that perspectives change over time, so that historical understanding requires developing a sense of empathy with people in the past whose perspectives might be very different from those of today. (NCSS D2.His.4.9-12 - D2.His.8.9-12)

Speaking and Listening - Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.4: Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.5: Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.6: Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.

Speaking and Listening - Comprehension and Collaboration

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.1: Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.2: Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.3: Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.

Writing - Text Types and Purposes

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.1: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

Reading - Craft and Structure

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.5: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.6: Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.
Topics

Journalism

Media Literacy

Education

Tutorials

Lessons

Levels

Beginner

Materials

White board, chalkboard or other visual board

Markers

Slides

Projector

Online Worksheet

Internet

Notebook

Estimated Time

80 Minutes or Two Parts (part one - finding facts & part two - understanding opinions)