Fact or Opinion: Part 1

Explicit instruction/Teacher modeling

• Draw a KWL (know, want to know, learned) chart on the board, and have students tell you what they think they know about howler monkeys, or whatever your chosen topic is, and what they want to know about them.
• Pre-read by looking over the pictures and seeing if there are any "facts" on the KWL chart that can already be marked as an opinion or falsehood, or something that can be disproved.
• Read Meet the Howlers aloud to the class.
• Discuss what "facts" turned out not to be facts and why some are opinions. For example, the idea that howler monkeys don't have tails is a falsehood because it can be disproved, and the idea that monkeys like to sing is an opinion.

Guided practice/Interactive modeling

• Hand out the Fact or Opinion worksheet.
• Read the first passage together, and determine as a class whether or not the passage contains facts or opinions.
• Answer any questions your students may have before independent working time.

Independent working time

• Ask students to complete the second case of the Fact or Opinion worksheet.
• Next, tell students to write their favorite howler monkey fact that they learned on the back of the completed worksheet. Have them write an opinion about the monkeys.
• Write what your students learned in the L column of the chart.

• Enrichment: Encourage your students to use other resources to find information on the howler monkeys. Have them research another topic and write a paragraph that has both facts and opinions.
• Support: Give your students the coloring page to complete, and have them write their own opinions about monkeys on the side of the paper.

• Computers or tablets can be used for students to research facts.

• Assess students through observation of interaction during the KWL chart and working periods.

• Remind your students of the definitions of fact and opinion.
• Close by having your students reflect on the importance of distinguishing facts and opinions.