MANCHESTER COLLEGEDepartment of Education
LESSON PLAN BY: Alina BigJohnyLESSON: Facts vs. OpinionsLENGTH:
about 50 minutesAGE OR GRADE INTENDED: 5th grade
Academic Standard(s):English 5.2.5: Expository (Informational)
Critique:Distinguish among facts, supported inferences, evidence,
and opinions in text.
Performance Objective:Fifth grade students write a five sentence
fact/opinion paragraph about Miss BigJohnys class, which will
include at least two facts and two opinions after they learn how to
analyze the difference between opinions and facts in text through
whole group examples and group work practice.
Assessment: To prove mastery, students will write a five
sentence paragraph, correctly stating and labeling at least two
facts and two opinions within it.
Advanced Preparation by Teacher:_ Make handout copies: overview,
statements, and passages_ Prepare videos for quiz over persuasion
terms_ Gather random objects for introduction (balls, small toys,
pencils, etc- anything will work)_ Make passage rules copies
Procedure:Introduction/ Motivation: (5 minutes)Once class
begins, begin tossing random objects to students. Ask questions or
state statements such as: Jordan has a blue ball. Is that true?
Then, have Jordan toss the blue ball to Hailey and say: Hailey has
the prettiest blue ball I have ever seen. Is that true? How do you
know its true? (Gardner: Bodily-Kinesthetic, Blooms I: Knowledge)
Continue to do this for a few minutes until the students have
caught on to the facts versus the opinion statements. What can you
say about facts versus opinions? (Blooms II: Comprehension) Nice
job realizing that some things that I said were completely true
facts and some were simply opinions. Today, we are going to
practice the skill of distinguishing between opinions and facts so
that we are able to do so when we research for our persuasion
essays. While doing research, we now have the skills to recognize
when someone is using ethos or logos to persuade us but we also
need to be able to see if they are simply stating their own opinion
and not facts. Step-by-Step Plan: 1) Fact Vs. Opinion Overview and
Practice ( 20 minutes) It is an important skill to be able to
recognize the difference between facts and opinions. Many times,
when people write persuasive essays they will use types of
persuasion such as ethos to draw in the audience. By doing this,
they make the reader agree with them without ever really stating
any true facts. Can anyone think of examples of this? (politicians,
commercials) Hand out F vs. O overview sheets (Gardner:
Visual-Spatial) Have select students read through the information
out loud. (Gardner: Verbal-Linguistic) Hand out F vs. O Practice Go
over the first two questions, have students raise hands to answer
to ensure that select students are not calling out the answers
while the rest just sit back and not pay attention. Pair students
and have them work together for the rest of the questions.
(Gardner: Interpersonal) You have 10 minutes to finish these
questions and then we will go over them. Go over answers address
any difficulties.
2) Passage Writing (15 minutes)You will now write your own
paragraph including facts and opinions. You will write about Miss
BigJohnys English class in general. (Gardner: Intrapersonal)The
rules are that you have to have at least five sentences. Within
those sentences, you need to include at least two facts and two
opinions. You need to label your facts and opinions, along with pay
attention to your punctuation, grammar, and spelling. Hand out
passage rules. Make sure to turn this rule sheet in with your
paragraph or else I cannot grade you. You will need to fill in your
name and topic; I will do the rest. But this sheet will remind you
of what you need to include so that you can get all of your points.
Ask a student: What will you choose as your topic? (Blooms VI:
Evaluation) Would this be a good topic? Why or why not? (Can you
easily write about this topic with facts and opinions?) (Blooms I:
Knowledge) Quiet work time for students. Raise your hand if you
have any questions. Collect passages that are completed.
Closure: (5 minutes) Today we spent a lot of time analyzing the
difference between facts and opinions. Why do you think it is
important to know the difference between facts and opinions?
(Blooms IV: Analysis) (So that people cannot trick us by stating
opinions and making us believe them; so that we can base our own
opinions on facts and know what is really true; etc) How will this
skill be useful when we go to write our persuasive essays? (Blooms
VI: Evaluation) (We need to present our audience with facts so that
they believe us and then maybe throw in other persuasive
techniques, but facts need to be there for a basis) For tonight,
your only homework will be to finish your passages, if you have not
yet done so. They are due tomorrow as soon as class starts. Now
that we have the skill of telling the difference between facts and
opinions, we are going to learn some facts about the war for our
persuasive essays. So think a little more about how you feel about
war and what you want to persuade your audience to think.
Adaptations/ Enrichment:1) ADHD: I have several different
activities already implemented into this lesson which will help
this child. During the individual pass writing, I will make sure
that I visit him at least twice to ensure that he is on task. As
soon as this segment of the lesson begins, I will make sure that he
is one of the first I visit. This will allow me to make sure he has
a chosen topic so that he can start on his paragraph. 2) Learning
Disability: Students with LDs often lack metacognitive skills. To
help with this, I will require this student to use an assignment
book for my class. For this lesson, I will have her write: Fact vs.
Opinion (handout, statements, passages), Write own Fact vs. Opinion
Paragraph Homework: Finish own paragraph (look at rubric). If
needed for this particular LD I will shorten the quiz or allow her
to take it with an aide or with me before or after school. I will
also take consideration when choosing this students partner during
group work. 3) Intellectual Disability: It is important to monitor
peer relationships with students who have an ID. I will choose
wisely when pairing this student during group work. If needed, I
will have this student come in before school to take his quiz
individually without the distractions of other students around him.
Since the handout is already simplified, I think this will be
helpful to a student with an ID; however, I will probably have this
student seated next to another student who is good at helping and I
will allow the other student to make sure he is filling out the
handout as we go through it. If handwriting is a problem, I will
allow him to type his paragraph on the computer. I will also make
sure I frequently visit him during individual work time. 4)
Emotional Disturbance: ED students often need positive reassurance
and solid relationships. I will make sure that anytime this student
answers, she is positively reinforced for answering. To help this
student focus, I think that having the rules of the paragraph
assignment lesson typed out is beneficial. ED students often need
private space and extended time for test; therefore, I will have
this student come in before or after school to take her quiz. If
this student prefers working alone, as some ED students do, I will
allow her to work alone during the partner time.
Self-Reflection: Was this lesson engaging enough for fifth
graders? Did allowing them to choose their own topic make them more
interested in what they were writing? How did the quizzes turn out?
Do I need to recover persuasion terms? How are grammar, spelling,
and punctuation coming along, as far as the paragraphs go? What
method did the students seem to like the best: whole-group,
partners, or individual work? How well did partners work out when I
chose the pairs? Was it similar to when they are allowed to choose
their own partners?
Name:_______________________________ Date:____________________
Period:________________
Fact Vs. Opinion
A fact is a statement that can be proven by research or concrete
knowledge. Example:My car has been driven for 30,345 miles. Michael
Jordan was born on February 17, 1963. The Empire State Building is
1,250 feet tall.
An opinion is someones view, belief, or way of thinking about
something. Example:Beethoven is the greatest composer that ever
lived. Goodnight Moon is the best childrens book ever written.
Aliens exist.
When you are reading, it is important to be able to distinguish
between facts and opinions. Written materials such as newspaper
articles, website information, biographies, and journals often
contain both fact and opinion. Being able to tell them apart will
help you judge the validity of a writers ideas. It will also help
you choose appropriate sources when doing research. Valid:
logically correct; justifiable; provable fact.
Name: ______________________________ Date:____________________
Period:_____________Fact Vs. OpinionPracticeDirections: Write F for
fact beside the statements below that are facts. Write O for
opinion beside the statements below that are opinions.
___ 1. Washington, D.C. is the capital city of the United
States. ___ 2. Walt Disney World is the best family theme park. ___
3. The War on Terrorism will help the United States become
stronger. ___ 4. Whales are mammals. ___ 5. John Adams was the
second president of the United States. ___ 6. Abraham Lincoln was
the best president the United States ever had. ___ 7. Michael
Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. ___ 8. Will
Smith starred in the movie Men in Black. ___ 9. There are glaciers
in Alaska. ___ 10. Every time you wash your car, it always ends up
raining. ___ 11. Cats are not as friendly as dogs. ___ 12. Britney
Spears sings better than Demi LeVato.___ 13. Justin Beiber is
younger than Justin Timberlake. ___ 14. Whales are prettier mammals
than dolphins. ___ 15. English is the best subject to study.
NAME:_____________________________________
TOPIC:_____________________________
_____ 5 SETENCES (5)
_____ 2 FACTS LABELED (3)
_____ 2 OPINIONS- LABELED (3)
_____ GRAMMAR, SPELLING, AND PUNCTUATION (4)
NAME:_____________________________________
TOPIC:_____________________________
_____ 5 SETENCES (5)
_____ 2 FACTS LABELED (3)
_____ 2 OPINIONS- LABELED (3)
_____ GRAMMAR, SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION (4)
NAME:_____________________________________
TOPIC:_____________________________
_____ 5 SETENCES (5)
_____ 2 FACTS LABELED (3)
_____ 2 OPINIONS- LABELED (3)
_____ GRAMMAR, SPELLING, AND PUNCTUATION (4)
